How well do you know your neighbors?

[Midpack]

The poll is what I expected, and we (alas) fit in with the majority. Seems sad that more of us don't socialize with some of the neighbors, probably part of many trends; urban>suburban, before internet>after, before TV>after, SAHM>dual incomes, etc. We're going to try for more of a community in our next home/neighborhood, but who knows. I hope we're not going to become even more isolated as a society in the years ahead. $20/gal gas may change that one day.

Thanks everyone who participated...

 

[Texas Proud]

I don't see how they would even know, as long as the mortgage payments were being kept up. Personally, these days I'd rather pay the taxes and miss the mortgage payments, since the foreclosure process is so slow. And the mortgage collectors don't carry guns like the gov't ones do. But you're probably right. Missed taxes would indicate a problem probably heading to foreclosure to me.

They hire a firm that checks to make sure taxes and insurance are up to date... you have to list the mortgage company on your insurance...

The mortgage company MIGHT have already sent them letters, but with all of the people who are not even paying their mortgage it sits on the back burner..

 

[East Texas]

However, I will have to admit I enjoy snooping on my neighbors on the online tax records. We get a tax break when when we reach 65, so you can get a rough idea of your neighbor's age and acreage. Also, if they they have a mortgage and if they pay their taxes on time and exactly who actually owns the property.

Your hobby is one reson why many others are not drawn to the rural lifestyle.
Ha

I did more [-]snooping[/-] researching the neighbors tax and public records when we lived in the Megacity. These days we sit on the porch in the late evenings and shoot feral hogs. So far I'm ahead on distance and size.

A side story: One of the local ranchers was cutting our hay meadow at night a few years ago when he saw three large hogs. Without missing a beat - the tractor was still running in a straight line - he picked up his rifle and dropped three boars. Thank goodness he had already mowed that area or we would have had to move them right then.

We'll never go back to living in the city. As our grandson says "this is more better!"

 

[Backpacker]

Here in MI we get noticed from the taxing authority if taxes are 3 years past due - at which point they get sold for back taxes. We notify the borrower that we will pay the past due taxes but as soon as we do we will consider them in default and call their loan due in full and proceed with foreclosure.

Mortgage companies do keep track of "their" interests. We pay insurance and property taxes separately from our mortgage. While we were overseas, we had our property manager pay these bills for us, but somehow, the mortgage company got the notion that we had dropped our homeowner's insurance. They sent nasty letters to our home (forwarded to us, several weeks later) threatening to purchase insurance "on our behalf" and send us the bill. Every six months, we had to beg our insurance co. to FAX proof of insurance to the mortgage co - they wouldn't accept it from the property manager. I can only imagine how the mortgage co. would react if they got the notion that we'd failed to pay our property taxes!

It's possible that the neighbors, who haven't paid their property taxes, inherited the property (mortgage free). From what I've read, people can squat for years before the property is sold out from under them for unpaid taxes.

Amethyst

 

[walkinwood]

We just moved so can't expect to have neighbors be our friends, but we have been disappointed with the social / community aspect of this neighborhood. Fortunately, we are renting and will buy in another area.

Our neighbors in NJ were & are our friends. We would regularly meet at each other's homes. Neighbors took care of each other's children when needed, helped out when needed, were there to just shoot the breeze with etc. It is the best neighborhoods I've lived in.

 

[Dimsumkid]

Been in my cul de sac of 7-8 houses for 3 years. No one does work themselves, except for me. Neighbor to the left is OCD, after 1 yr, I replaced all 6 upstairs windows, then broke my ring finger. He came over to tell me he wasn't too happy that I hadn't painted my house yet and wanted to know when I was going to get it done. Claimed I was "bringing down the value of the neighboring houses" and that he wasn't the only one that complained. Ever since then (2 yrs now), he makes a point to not say Hi and tries to avoid me....all because I didn't paint the house right away, while I had a broken finger! I never realized that my DW wasn't my boss! I notice he makes drive bys so he can check out my house (I'm on the wrong side of the street exit, so there's never a reason for him to drive this way). One time he complained that I left buckets on my driveway for a few days when I was moving a lot of dirt for the landscaping. The neighbor to my right has issues with the neighbors across who get landscapers that trim back the bushes too low in her opinion. She'll complain to me for about a month on how bad it looks, they just cut it back today and she's definitely not happy! The neighbor across from me did this earlier this summer, didn't bother me, but that's how I know it bugged her for over a month. If it wasn't for the school system, I'd prefer to live somewhere else where other's work a little more on their homes themselves, maybe this town is a little too upscale for my liking.

 

[Nuiloa]

. We have several watchful people who know all that goes on.... The good thing is that someone is always watching out for you and your home. However it's often more invasive than I am comfortable with Lol

I know exactly how you feel. I have one neighbor who not only knows all that is going on but intercepts everyone she can to tell them all about it. I dread going home, because I park just outside her living room windows. She makes a beeline for the lobby every time she sees me coming. She must think (and no doubt has told all the neighbors) that I live on ice cream because I blow by her every chance I get and tell her I can't talk because things are melting. I've told her repeatedly that I don't know the people she's talking about, I don't care about their issues and I don't like gossip. Nothing stops her.

Ah well, I've never had a break-in. It's like having my own personal pit bull.

 

[FIREd]

We have 5 immediate neighbors. Three of them go out of their way to avoid making eye contact. We are on speaking terms with the other two (the two that are closest to our house). We give each other a hand when needed, but we rarely socialize.

 

[Ally]

Dim Sum, I sympathize since I have neighbors like this.

Speaking of people not paying taxes, etc. Our next door neighbors from a couple of years ago apparently didn't pay anything, because one day I came home from work to see the sheriff throwing all their possessions on the lawn. They had lived there 10 years and had a mortgage. They weren't home at the time. Then they came home and tried to put things in boxes, sacks, etc. The sheriff wouldn't let any of us step on their property to help them. My husband gave them a bunch of boxes, but they wouldn't allow him to help.

The man had a good paying government job, more than we make and she was a school nurse. So I can't quit figure out what happened. We used to get calls from collectors for their bills (telling us to go tell them to answer their phone to the bill collector or they would call all the neighbors.) I would just hang up. But I did know there was some type of financial issues going on from those calls. Anyway, the family now in the home is very friendly and we really like them.

 

[Ally]

I know exactly how you feel. I have one neighbor who not only knows all that is going on but intercepts everyone she can to tell them all about it. I dread going home, because I park just outside her living room windows. She makes a beeline for the lobby every time she sees me coming. She must think (and no doubt has told all the neighbors) that I live on ice cream because I blow by her every chance I get and tell her I can't talk because things are melting. I've told her repeatedly that I don't know the people she's talking about, I don't care about their issues and I don't like gossip. Nothing stops her.

Ah well, I've never had a break-in. It's like having my own personal pit bull.

This makes me laugh so much. I have a similar lady across the street. If she catches me out front, she starts telling me everyone's business and I just keep saying " I don't know anything about that. I just stay in my house. I don't keep up on the gossip and don't really need or want to know that." But nothing deters her.

 

[haha]

I did more [-]snooping[/-] researching the neighbors tax and public records when we lived in the Megacity. These days we sit on the porch in the late evenings and shoot feral hogs. So far I'm ahead on distance and size.

A side story: One of the local ranchers was cutting our hay meadow at night a few years ago when he saw three large hogs. Without missing a beat - the tractor was still running in a straight line - he picked up his rifle and dropped three boars. Thank goodness he had already mowed that area or we would have had to move them right then.

We'll never go back to living in the city. As our grandson says "this is more better!"

That part sounds very good to me also. When I lived in eastern WA I used to shoot doves over the pond on the back of my place.

Do you clean them up an put them on a spit?

 

[Orchidflower]

Fabulous single, Greek guy who was educated in the US and worked for Wells Fargo (it's okay, we have a mutual understanding: we both hate Wells Fargo), etc. Great, great neighbor who helps all the time pretty much all of us nearby. He's a treasure.
Talk to others, but tonight am going to bingo for the first ever time with my one single gal (55 y.o.) neighbor. We heard it was fun, so....my first socializing with a neighbor. Was hard for me to pick the right dot on this poll.

 

[veremchuka]

A side story: One of the local ranchers was cutting our hay meadow at night a few years ago when he saw three large hogs. Without missing a beat - the tractor was still running in a straight line - he picked up his rifle and dropped three boars. Thank goodness he had already mowed that area or we would have had to move them right then.

East Texas, would you start a thread describing the situation? I saw a show a while back how these hogs are a huge problem in Texas, probably the south in general. They are dangerous! What caliber rifle do you use. Don't want to hijack this thread. Thanks!

 

[veremchuka]

I live in the country on a dirt road. I have 3 neighbors. I can't see any of their houses with leaves on the trees which I like. To the east there's 3 rows of spruce trees 15-30' tall and a 12' stockade fence, you'll see why soon. That place I never see which I like.

Diagonally across the road the wife waves to me and is nice.

The neighbor to the west I never see though when he built his home I let him run an electric cord to my outlet for juice until they had it. The father was nice but the son is a mean, foul mouthed, scowling SOB. The father may be dead as I have not heard any loud cursing between the 2 in a couple of years and it occurred every day! The language that SOB used towards his father was despicable. I used to talk to Gary and complement him on his landscaping and stone walls but he is such a nasty person I stopped.

The AH to the east, well if their house caught fire I'd watch the flames and smoke over the tree tops but I would not call 911.

If your relatives did not live in this town 150-200 years ago you are a new comer. Nice and quiet most of the time so I like it here. If only that house to the east would catch fire...

 

[W2R]

My neighbors all seem really nice. We wave and briefly comment on the weather or whatever now and then. Sometimes we get into longer conversations about agreeable topics while standing in the front yard, and after hurricanes we work hard helping one another with the damage. That's about it.

 

[Redbugdave]

We live more in the country, although it's changing rapidly. I would like to have friendlier neighbors since I am more outgoing and open. But it's like Veremchuka said..."If your relatives did not live in this town 150-200 years ago you are a newcomer". I guess people look at it like if they did not know you growing up, then they don't need to know you now. Many lack social skills and are more closed in their way of thinking.

So, no I don't really know my neighbors, (after 16 years), and since they have had their chance...I don't want to know them now, anyways. We are self reliant.
That's not to say we don't have real friends that live several miles away.

We are looking to move further out in the country and buy more acreage, and build the house we really want after I retire in about 3 years. Hopefully, we may have a real neighbor or two...

 

[SteveR]

We live in a small town in a subdivision that is about 8 years old. They are still building out the last few lots as we speak.

We have met our immediate neighbors and find them OK for the most part. No social life to speak of but a few seem interested in helping out if needed; the others seem distant and passive. Some is the religious difference, some is age differences and some is just a desire to be left alone (them not us). We have tried to make our neighbors friends but they are too busy or just not interested. It seems a common occurrence these days.

We do have some friends that live in a 55+ community with 600+ plus homes and they seem to know and socialize with a lot of folks. I guess being in a "club" be it religious or age helps to grease the social gears.