Neighboring Houses

When purchasing a house, you are really gambling. Is it a nice of a neighborhood as it seems in the middle of the day? Are there kids around? No kids? What about pets? If the neighborhood is a subdivision, another force is added to the mix with regulations about what can and cannot be done. Some of the questions are easy to answer. Driving through the neighborhood a several different times of the day should give an idea of what it is really like. The neighborhood association usually has a go-to person for any regulations that might be of concern. But there are a few questions that always remain unanswered, no matter how carefully a neighborhood is scouted. What does the street look like when it is Christmas time? Do the lights go up early and stay on late? Late, as in February? And what about dogs and kids? Is running through all yards exceptable? Or are restraints required for both? How about fences? Or those corner fences? What about trees? If your tree is hanging over my house/yard/driveway, do I have the right to critize your maintenance and upkeep of it? These are the sorts of things that make apartment living attractive, especially when your views and the neighbor's view don't match.