Kinda OT- Getting Good Neighbors

[Kurt Ullman]

And Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy (g).

[Existential Angst]

Word of mouth with people I know are decent people (and no criminal record, like the current neighbor). I was thinking of bribes and offers to do fix-ups pro-bono. ================================================

You mean like that "curb appeal" thing on HGTV, or whatever you are good at??

Proly would shock the hell out of the selling neighbor, but if you are game, and think you can add value/$$ to the house, thereby getting a "higher quality buyer", then it might be a good idea, if the seller is amenable.

But, in my mind, 99.9% of what makes a good neighbor is a QUIET neighbor. ALTHO, I myself managed to find myself with the quietest neighbor in the effing world, who fell into that 0.1% -- worthy of its own thread, which I'll post one day when I''m in story-telling mode.

The Q is: will whatever you can do result in an "improved" buyer?

AND, after all that, you could STILL wind up with the neighbor from hell.

I personally wouldn't get involved, unless some relatively small effort of mine could result in a really big change.

And frankly, I've yet to see ANYTHING in the DIY-ing world that has EVER been a "small effort". :) :( Of course, to me, just going to HD is fairly traumatic. :) :) :( :(

[Existential Angst]

Abraham Lincoln's father supposedly said, "when you can see the smoke from your neighbor's chimney, its time to move."

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Worse is when you can't see the smoke, but you can still hear/smell the neighbor.... Then, it's REALLY time to move!

[Existential Angst]

Yeah, maybe I should carry fliers on me at all times to hand out.

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Good idea. Mebbe get those printouts that the real estate peeple use. I'm sure they'd be willing to give you an inch's worth. While yer at it, BEG them not to stick you with some Octomom, or rapper, or rapping Octomom....

[Existential Angst]

No, it doesn't look like a foreclosure to me. That's what happened last time & the place was vacant for an extended period (which is better than bad neighbors). I definitely want the place to sell as soon as possible just so they don't change their mind. The wife will not be happy if the current neighbors hang around.

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I was watching that effing con man Russ Dalbey on his late-nite infomercial shell-game, but he DID make an innereting point:

He sez some sellers, cuz of the credit crunch, are "taking back paper", ie, acting as the mortgagor, ie, no bank involved. Hard to believe???

I'da thought Dalbey was fullashit-as-usual, had I not known first-hand that this was THE RULE in NYC in the '80s, with commercial property.

I just mentioned this cuz if Dalbey is not lying, and this phenom has indeed hit the residential market, this is a sure sign of a very tough market. So mebbe you, and/or a cupla other neighbors can in fact buy the house, and possibly get the sellers to hold the mortgage, and get a really good deal. But wait a while.

A cupla of us thought about buying neighbors houses where I am, but you need real cohesiveness, similar mindsets.

What's nice about that also is that if you can later refinance, some people will offer you a steep discount so's they can cash out of any paper they're holding. Criminals will proly offer the steepest discount!

I also thought the advice from Hell Toupe was diabolically priceless!! Heh, you might work an angle like that on the *current owner*, telling him your BIL is moving in, who is a hard-assed corrections or DEA officer or sumpn..... who is looking for a promotion..... and target practice.....

[Master Betty]

Word of mouth with people I know are decent people (and no criminal record, like the current neighbor). I was thinking of bribes and offers to do fix-ups pro-bono.

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I think you're at the mercy of chance. If you live in a dumpy neighborhood you're likely to get dumpy neighbors. Personally, I try to keep my property well maintained and hopefully set a good example. Good luck.

Jim

[Jon Danniken]

One word: Cookies.

Jon

[h]

Excellent. I can see many of my neighbor's houses in winter, but only 1-2 in the summer because of all the trees. Just the way I like it.

[Stepfann King]

Most people turn out to be crap.

[h]

Which is why it's great to be very far away from the "neighbors". I've lived here 25 years and except for the guy next door and the couple across the street (the houses I can see in the summer) I couldn't tell you the names of anyone on this block. Of course, the "block" is over a mile long.

[benick]

Same here..I love it that way...

[clare]

Around here, houses are still moving well - and sometimes above listed price. Up almost 20% over last year, and things never really went down. Unemployment is pushing 10% locally - which is very high for this area

- we lost a lot of manufacturing jobs over the last 10 years, but the high tech sector is holding its own very well.

Waterloo Ontario.

[Oren]

Fresh baked oatmeal?

[Master Betty]

Most of my neighbors are fantastic but it seems, here in Austin, there is always one who fits that discription. In Albuquerque I had the same immediate neighbors for 10 years and they were all pretty cool. Now I've got my "crap" neighbor pretty much under control now. Good enough so that I don't want him to move anymore. He doesn't have a barking dog, and that's a big plus.

[willshak]

mike wrote the following:

You have no control on what neighbors you want, or what you can do to attract 'good' neighbors, unless you own the house in question, as you have suggested. The best suggestion I can offer is for you to move to a house where the existing neighbors meet your expectations. I have no vacant houses in my neighborhood for you to consider, but I am the perfect neighbor. I don't bother anyone, and my only child living at home is my daughter who is 29 years old and working for a mortgage company. She is hardly home and spends a lot of nights in NJ where her job is. I will gladly lend anything I have, get up in the middle of the night to aid a neighbor, plow their driveways for free when they are not home, drive them anywhere when no other transportation is available, and invite them to all BBQs or festivities I am having. I do draw the line at lending money tho. That can kill the good neighbor relationship. :-)

[Phisherman]

You may want your neighbor's house to sell at a higher price. You can make your lawn and house neat and tidy. I dont really think you have any control at all who buys the house. My solution for crappy neighbors is to look the other way.

[Cheri]

If they're really bad, sell your house and move. You have no control over any of it anyway, you might have the best neighbors in the world, but you're always just one "heart attack" away from not having them anymore, and then the new ones come, like it or not.

Cheri

[norminn]

Send me your addy', I'm moving.

Well, I'll soon be departing the condo-from-hell and almost anywhere I lived in the past would be a vast improvement. I won't borrow anything but would appreciate help moving stuff I can't move alone...fair cook, make very decent apple pie :o) My kids own their own homes, so they won't be moving in with me. Step-son will replace me; in his fifth year at college with no end in sight (30 y/o).

[Johnie Kanuc]

Don't worry, I just double checked and the worst neighbours in the world (who happen to live next door to us) do not have a for sale sign up - so I think you are safe for now!

I can't tell you how many times a year I have had to go in to work on less than an hours sleep (usually on the day I had to do payroll for over 200 employees, while managing the store).

Out door speakers in the back yard, burning yard waste in a city with burning ban, that has curbside pickup for yard waste.

On a plus side... they put in a satellite dish over the winter and it looks like the tree in my front yard might be in its line of sight once the leaves come out... If not does anyone know of a good fertilizer for a tree? :)

[mike]

.

I live in a great neighborhood, but there is an increasing trend of low-lifes relocating to nice neighborhoods to avoid police detection.