Moving is exciting! Whether it is your first house or your 1OOth, the opportunity to start again in your new dream home and stamp your own mark on a property is invigorating. However, you will probably not yet have given any thought to your new neighbors.
This is one factor you simply can’t control and yet it can drastically effect your enjoyment of your new home. The same is true if you have been living in your home happily for years and new neighbors arrive.
There are 5 main types of neighbors; hers how to deal with each of them:
The Difficult One
This is the type that any neighbor can actually turn into. One minute everything is fine and the next they are complaining that your car is half a foot across their driveway.
These are the people that will sue you instead of helping you if you accidentally damage the utilities. This particular issue can be avoided by knowing where the utilities are; you can find out more about these types of services if you click this link.
It can be difficult to keep a neighbor who always finds fault happy but communication is the key; once they see you as a real person they will find it harder to pick on every single fault; they may even become friends!
Value Reducers
You buy an expensive house only to discover the house is depreciating in value! This is often because of a specific house in the neighborhood. It’s the one that doesn’t cut their lawn regularly and has a variety of half finished projects in their drive.
They’re intent is not to cause harm; they simply aren’t aware or don’t have the time to deal with the issue.
The easiest way to deal with these types of people is again communication. You may find they have suffered an accident and are unable to maintain their property like they used to. This can be a great opportunity to build a better bond in your community as everyone can help deal with the tasks that they cannot manage.
Keeping Up With The Jones
It is actually quite sad that everyone feels the need to keep up with their neighbors. After all, you probably have different values to them and could be happy with far less then they have.
With the pressure to show that you are doing at least as well as your neighbors it can be very frustrating when you simply can’t compete with a richer neighbor. The trouble is they are not actually doing anything wrong.
The solution is to learn to accept it; everyone is different and you don’t know the stress that might be happening behind their closed doors. It is your happiness that counts, regardless of whether you have a Porsche on your drive or not.
The Offbeat Neighbor
This is the one you never quite know how to handle. They are full of energy and always starting new projects; even if they never come to fruition. That’s fine except they bang round at odd times of the day and night and always try to involve you in their projects.
You need two things to deal with this. Firstly, if you have the time listen, just don’t invest instantly in their idea; they might have changed their mind by the next day. Humor them; it can be fun and enlightening!
The second is several prepared excuses. If you really don’t have the time then have several excuses prepared in your mind and be prepared to be firm.
The Dangerous One
You never really know if you have a dangerous neighbor until they snap. Then it may be too light, they could attack, maim or even kill you or a loved one. The best thing you can do is to take note of all your neighbor’s boundaries and respect them; just as you would like yours respected.
Teach your children to do the same and you will not be the reason they snap.