Boost your home's value: be a good neighbor

[RickLee]

In my humble neighborhood, we are blessed by the initiatives of a higher than normal proportion of good neighbors. To my left and right, across my street, and down the next road, I can name a lot of people my family have come to know personally.

We help each other in times of practical need. We provide meals when we knew one is sick. We ask how family members are doing. My young daughter walks up to all of them and says hi by name. When a new neighbor moves in, we go over and say hi and ask to know their names.

I have a friend who lives in one of the most sought after and expensive neighborhoods of Toronto. She does not know her neighbors. When she moved in, she got stares from her wealthy neighbors, but no friendly hellos. Three years later and she still feels like a stranger.

I have come to conclude that being a good neighbor provides great living value every day, which for me is more desirable than property value, which helps only when I sell.

[FinanciallySMART]

Yes being a good neighbor is the way to go not only does it put up the values of one's property but it also prevent undesirables to come and make a mess of the community.

[Charley Forness]

Interesting correlation Rick, I have mixed results living in different neighborhoods. I grew up in a Wealthy suburb and we knew all of our neighbors, looked after each other's kids etc. There were a few who acted more private. I got five years ago and was not quite at the socio-economic stage of my parents and lived in a decidedly depressed neighborhood where home values averaged less than a third of the suburb. Apart from two neighbors, nobody seemed to want to get to know us for five years.

Anyways, we moved a couple streets over in April, same socio-economic strata and the neighbors have been great. I guess it takes all kinds of people....

-Charley

[starshard0]

I've never lived in a "neighborhood" in the traditional sense, so I can only imagine what it must be like.

[Cidre Jones]

Originally Posted by FinanciallySMART

Yes being a good neighbor is the way to go not only does it put up the values of one's property but it also prevent undesirables to come and make a mess of the community.

Que? Is that the politically correct way to say poor and black these days?