Blog

Neighbours can bring joy and friendship to our lives, and they can also be the cause of stress and frustration.

While it might take a bit of effort at first to build a positive relationship with your neighbours, it usually is well worth it in the long run, as you develop mutual respect and even lasting friendships as a result!

Negative issue turned positive

Recently while one of our staff was building a house, the construction crew accidentally caused damage to the neighbour’s house. Things were off to a bad start, and conditions were ripe for an argument. Rather than letting things spiral, the owner who was building the house decided to ‘make things right’, and not only work through the damage that was caused but invited the block down for a neighbourhood BBQ. This kind gesture turned what could have been a potentially negative relationship into a wonderfully positive experience by getting to know each other and building relationships with the neighbours.

Once a relationship foundation is built, it’s amazing how much easier it is to have future conversations with them, and how much more receptive everyone is to cooperating. This includes everything from borrowing some flour to finish your baking recipe, to asking the neighbours to turn down the music.

As property managers, we can help with the enforcement of rules and by-laws, however, this approach usually doesn’t build the kind of positive relationships with your neighbours that make life so important.

If you do have a frustrating neighbour, you can gladly give our property managers a call, but before you do, we’d encourage you to think about ‘turning the other cheek’, and coming up with a creative way to build a positive relationship.

by Justin Schinkel, Manager