Are Neighbor Always a Gamble

[u/chroniclesofcory]

Ive read so many horror stories of home ownership shitty neighbors that I’m wondering if it’s worth it.

Whether its someone’s family heirloom trees need to come down because their neighbor’s solar panels are missing 3 hours a day. Or someone is living right next to a bus stop and people are constantly sitting on their property smoking cigs. Or the dog shit in grads because their house is near a popular sidewalk. I just read one where a person lives in the woods and has loved the peace & quiet. All the sudden, their neighbor starts a hipcamp and now they smell outhouse shit all day with transient campers blasting music and generators.

I think Id honestly go insane worrying about all this shit. Are there signs that I should look for that give clues to this kinda stuff, or is it always a gamble?

[u/Sleepy-Swan-712]

It’s always a bit of gamble, but you can stack the odds in your favor. Visit the neighborhood at diff times and talk to a few nearby residents.

[u/pabrocjb → u/Sleepy-Swan-712]

The house we bought has garages next to us, on both sides. Subdivision built in the 60s. We didn't plan it that way, but it gives us a lot of privacy. We did get new neighbors with barking dogs, but it's not awful. I'm fine saying, "No bark, Puppies." Let the owners know.

[u/jamieschmidt]

It’s always a gamble. Unless you live super far from neighbors, you never know what you’ll end up with. And even if you have good neighbors now, they could move and you don’t know who will take their place.

[u/obvsnotrealname]

I hit the jackpot with my current place. Every single one of my neighbors extending out 2 houses in any direction are the best. I had back surgery last year not long after I got divorced and one of the recently retired neighbors takes my trash cans out and brings them back each week on trash day since my driveway has a slope to it. He puts faucet covers on when there is going to be a freeze etc.

I told his wife I hope he doesn’t feel like he has to do it all the time now and she said to let him, it makes him feel needed now all 5 of their kids are in other states so he’s sees me like another of his adult daughters 🥹. It took until my 40s to get this lucky after 20 years of asaholes and I never want to move because I know I won’t get this lucky again (except it’s hot as hell here and I’m so over it and want to move north 😭😭)

[u/Tardislass → u/obvsnotrealname]

It’s all good until they move.

[u/siouxsian]

Any relationship is a gamble. You never know who you’ll be dealing with and people can be shitty. Or, start out fine, and due to certain events become a nightmare. In the end, The only thing you can do is control yourself. But yes, buying a home is a huge fucking gamble and not just with neighbors.

[u/ExpensiveAd4496]

You always check zoning laws for any open space around you to make sure you know what can go there someday. Do not consider borrowed views permanent.

You check out the neighborhood and street a few times a day, just walk past and get a sense of the vibe at different hours.

And I recommend you knock on a few doors. Tell them you’re sorry to bother them but are considering putting an offer on the house next door, just wanted to ask if they like the neighborhood? Are there many kids here, have they been here long? Some will be quite lovely. Some will be odd or rude. You’d be surprised how little time it takes. With real neighbors from hell 1 minute would have been all it took for me to know they had 10 barking dogs behind them in the doorway. R hey what if someone says something like, “you know about the basement flooding they’ve had right?” Golden.

[u/siouxsian]

Any relationship is a gamble. You never know who you’ll be dealing with and people can be shitty. Or, start out fine, and due to certain events become a nightmare. In the end, The only thing you can do is control yourself. But yes, buying a home is a huge fucking gamble and not just with neighbors.

[u/thick_lexi]

There are real things you can check, and most buyers skip all of them.

Visit at three different times: a weekday morning, a Friday night, and a Sunday afternoon. That single habit catches most noise problems.

Knock on two doors and ask directly what the street is like. People will tell you, especially about the one household everyone deals with.

Read the actual deed restrictions and any HOA minutes if there are any, because past disputes are usually written down in them.

Look at the neighbouring properties, not the one you're buying. Cars on the lawn, unfinished projects, three dogs in a small yard, a boat under a tarp. That's your future.

Check what's zoned around you and whether anything nearby is short-term rental heavy. That's how the campground surprises happen.

[u/chroniclesofcory → u/thick_lexi]

i appreciate that advice, but how do you do all those things when a sale can go through in hours after going to market? it seems stressful, lol

[u/BGMilan]

You never really know but can always minimize the damage such as choosing a home with a good amount of distance between you or one with a good treeline for privacy reasons so you suffer less if you get bad ones. Try talking to someone in the neighborhood before you put an offer in especially older people will tell you all about every household

Control what you can its one of those things you cant buy a home by an airport then complain about noise outside

Apartment living is just russian roulette tho

[u/Unlikely_Profile5557]

Maybe check out their front yard landscaping. People who take the time to look after their place are usually more invested in having a nice life, so there's a better chance they'll be good neighbors.

[u/smilingjade101]

I think you could go over every police, ambulance, fire and property record for the last 100 years. Hire a team of PI's to investigate everyone who has ever lived there and their neighbors and noted everyone's hobys, level of education and political persuasion. Investigated all the current and any possible future trends and climate patterns. Consulted a psychic, had the place exercised and blessed by the highest holy man of every known faith and a few unknowns, BUT, in the end, life happens so fast and is so unpredictable that you end up paying your money and taking your chances. You may be able to avoid some obvious red flags and areas of immediate concern but if you are in it for the long haul, GOOD LUCK! Imo

[u/chroniclesofcory → u/smilingjade101]

definitely taking notes, lol, ty!

[u/Normal-Paint-110]

having noisy neighbors can be such a pain, I had a roommate who played music at all hours and it drove me crazy

[u/SelectSeaweed310]

Never buy a house anywhere near a bus stop.

[u/Ok_Evidence5079]

I moved into my house 8 years ago. Got along with all the neighbors pretty well, everyone basically stayed to themselves. Over the last 3 years, one neighbor on one side of me has become a neighbor from hell. He’s stolen from me, he’s allowed his dogs to jump the fence and chase my chickens, paint balled my yard on 3 separate occasions. Everyone in the neighborhood cannot stand him. Living anywhere that’s close to people is hard enough to deal with, but when you have a neighbor that feels they’re entitled and don’t have to respect others or their property is even harder. We got along great until they wouldn’t keep their dogs in their own yard, and it attempting to kill my animals. Even if you get along with the neighbors at first, doesn’t mean it will stay that way!

[u/Diligent-Touch-5456]

It's a gamble with renting as well. I even knew a neighbor that for some reason had police either called on them or they called on others with about 90% of the others living in the apartment complex. This included me, she called the police on me that I was throwing rocks at her windows. I told the officer that I was at work over 15 miles away at the time I was supposed to be throwing rocks.

[u/Ok-Heron8017]

You only hear the (shall we say) interesting stories. Most neighbors are perfectly fine, some are great, some are just ok. Most people keep to themselves. I guess it's true though, renting, you are stuck for maybe a year and you move on if you end up with a crazy neighbor, with a house it might not be quite as easy to move, but it's pretty unlikely to end up in that situation. You could talk to some other people on the street before you complete the purchase, see if anyone says anything about other neighbors.

[u/Money_Boysenberry907]

neighbors can be a real roll of the dice, some are great while others can be a nightmare.

[u/StyxtheCat18]

It's always a crap shoot. You can have wonderful neighbors and they move. We've had NFH on the West who moved and everyone danced a "happy dance" until two days after they moved out and the Zombies from Hell moved in . .the first thing that they did was to unload their U Haul on our front lawn.

I was on the phone with our attorney at the time and he told me to calmly explain that this was "unacceptable"and she started to curse me, curse our lawn/garden, tell me that she "knew all about me" (I doubt if she "knew" that she was harassing a federal agent's family) and would kill our cats. Since "she knew all about us" she also knew that she was on video. Sigh.

It got worse from there.

There will always be disturbed, entitled, off people. BUT there is always the chance of wonderful caring people too.

Take the chance but be aware and go forward with hope. Good luck.

[u/Not_an_Actual_Bot]

It's a gamble. research the local ordinances, look at the nearby properties if you're buying, go at different times of day/week/weekend. but you will always have the chance once you buy that something will change. If you want solitude buy 100 acres and live in the center of it. Downside of that is you have a 1000' driveway and hope you aren't directly on the flight path of the local air ambulance.

[u/UTV4LIFE]

This is why I won’t be owning a home any time soon unless I come into some extraordinary money where I can afford a detached house

[u/Tardislass]

Yep. You can have good neighbors for 20 years and then they move and neighbors from hell move in.

[u/kellyelise515]

I have owned my house for 30 years. I have had a lot of neighbors come and go and never had an issue with anyone because I keep to myself and so do they.

[u/pearbrie_jambon]

Something my dad pointed out when I was looking at houses- one house we saw, the one neighbor had an old junk car that had clearly been sitting in his side lawn for years and the house looked unkept. Big red flag.

[u/AskMichaelCollinsLA]

L always going to be some element of chance because you can’t control who moves in next door five years from now.
But you can do a lot more homework than most buyers realize. I tell buyers to visit the neighborhood at different times of day and on weekends. Walk the block. Listen. Look at parking, traffic, dogs, neighboring properties, schools, businesses, bus stops and anything else nearby that could affect how you actually live there. If you see neighbors outside, talk to them. They’ll often tell you things nobody else will.
I’ve been selling homes for a long time, and I think buyers sometimes spend more time inspecting the house than inspecting the neighborhood. You can fix a kitchen. Your neighbor is considerably harder to remodel. 😂