One of the things I love most about my blogging is that I don’t want to (or I guess HAVE to) always write about real estate. I know the general public is usually looking for two things when they visit my site, or any real estate site. Access to listings of homes For Sale or For Rent and market information like what’s selling, what’s not, etc. But there are all sorts of other things to consider when you purchase a home or condo.
Take Condominium Living. Do you Know thy Neighbor….or Not? Living in a condominium gives one quite a sense of individuality and privacy. It’s pretty easy to come and go, un-noticed by your neighbors. Heck, we all have different types of jobs, work hours, etc. Unless your TV or stereo are cranked a bit to loud, you never really know if your neighbor is home or not, right? If you live in a single family neighborhood, the same can also be true (if you hunker down in your house and close the blinds) but it is pretty easy to see a car come and go out of the driveway or see lights on at night. Such is not the case in a condo building.
In my time living in my condo, I only met 4 of the 18 residents on my floor (there were 18 homes per floor) and one of those was a client and I sold them the condo. And I’m a pretty outgoing kinda person! So, is this a good thing or a bad thing, Know thy neighbor?
This post is inspired by a story that appeared this week about an arrest made in a developer-owned vacant condo last week. First off, let me just say it was NOT in Midtown or Buckhead, two of the primary areas I serve and cover on this site. But, it raises the question of knowing who your neighbors are. In this case, if you live in a community that is not yet sold out, do you know which homes ARE still vacant? In a condominium building, with security and a 24-hour concierge, the chances of this are rather remote. I’m not familar with the community where this happened, but I do know it was gated and had security.
By knowing who your neighbors are, you can report suspicous activity, or if there is a problem, like noise for example, it’s much easier to knock on a door knowing who lives there and having a conversation with them. I recall another condo I lived in. It was a brand new building and we had not moved in yet. We visited one day and our neighbor had the music SO loud you could hardly even be INSIDE of our own home. We had yet to meet, but we quickly did, which lead to a big apology (he knew that no one else had moved in on that end of the hallway) but we never heard his music again, ever).
Maybe your neighbors are just private people, and don’t want to intract with their neighbors. Social events in my building are ALWAYS attended by the same people…it often makes we wonder where all the other people are. But at least if you know who is coming and going, you have a better sense of what is going on around you.
And for those that DO live in a single family neighborhood, perhaps your neighbors are private people. Maybe you offered up that welcoming plate of cookies and that was all you’ve ever heard from them since. But you can still recognize the car they drive so if you suddenly see totally different cars, you might take notice. Of course, they could of bought a new car but you know what I mean.
In Condominium Living, knowing thy neighbor is not always possible, but it can certainly help break the ice, make your floor an even more enjoyable place to live (think progressive dinner or drink party!) and also give you piece of mind.
