In an ideal world, everyone’s neighbors would be quiet, friendly, and work to improve the look and feel of the neighborhood. But unfortunately, we don’t live in this ideal world. Rather, many people have to deal with neighbors who are loud, rude, and potentially bring down the home values around the neighborhood. Luckily, there are some things that you can do to hopefully work with your neighbors to get things back on track.
To help you with this, here are three tips for dealing with bad neighbors, be it a neighbor living across the street or someone living in the room next to you in your senior living facility.
Talk To Them Using “I” Statements
The way that you approach your neighbor when you’re having an issue with them can have a big impact on how the conversation goes and what kind of results you’re able to get from this conversation.
While you might be feeling really upset and think that your neighbor is creating all kinds of problems, it’s going to be best if you speak to them using “I” statements. This can be done by starting each sentence with the word “I” and focusing on how you feel or are being impacted by their actions. When you speak in this manner, you take some of the blame off of them in the situation and can make them more likely to accept what you’re saying without getting defensive.
Suggest Solutions To The Problem You’re Having
Once you’ve brought the problem up to your neighbor, you should then come to them with a few possible solutions to the problems that you’re having. They could be as simple as asking them to start or stop doing something by certain hours of the day or to allow you to take over something for them if they’re having a hard time keeping up.
By coming up with your own solutions, you might also spark an idea within them and make them more willing to start some kind of change in their behaviors that will impact you and your other neighbors more positively.
Consider Going The Administrative Or Legal Route
While speaking with your neighbor directly about what’s been going on and how it’s affecting is the best route to take at first, if you do this and there’s no change or your neighbor escalates the situation, you may need to consider going the administrative or legal route in order to get things to change.
If you live in a place with an HOA or other board, you can come to them with your issues and see what they can do about them. Or, if what your neighbor is doing is illegal, you can also bring up the issues with the police and allow them to take over from here.
If you have bad neighbors that you’re having a hard time dealing with, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you figure out what to do next.
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