Would you worry if you saw this guy (from Jim’s Jihad?) mowing the lawn next door?
Unlikely. . . but it does illustrate the fact that neighbours can have a big effect on your enjoyment, or otherwise, of your house.
In fact 20% of us have fallen out with a neighbour in the last 5 years, and only 1% said all their neighbours were great.
Top Five Reasons for Neighbour Problems
Domain recently carried out a survey, and here are the top 5 reasons why people had problems with their neighbours:
- Loud music (30%)
- Late night parties (28%)
- Barking dogs (26%)
- Overhearing Shouting and arguing (16%)
- Untidy property (15%)
Its often said “Tall fences make good neighbours’. . . . but with the top four problems being noise related perhaps it should be “Tall fences and Good Sound Proofing make good neighbours!”
Before Buying a Block
If you are buying on a new subdivision who your neighbour will be is always a lottery . . . . so corner block have always been attractive to me as it means one less neighbour.
If I was looking at a vacant block (or Knock down rebuild) in an established suburb I would aim to make visits:
- During the middle of a working day to check for barking dogs.
- Mid to late evening to check for loud music.
At Selection/PreStart
If you want better sound proofing two things you should consider are:
Smaller Windows – As solid walls have better sound reduction than Glass
Double Glazing – Much better noise insulation than single panes
See Noise for more posts
Photo courtesy of neighborshame.com where you will find more bad neighbour photos.