Be good to thy neighbor and future ones too ...

Be good to thy neighbor and future ones too ...
Hello Heather Ostrom here.

I wake up today to reading all about all these suggested different websites as tools for real estate agents like Steve or other related fields. Most of them were phenomenal and I love great new ways of packaging real estate related information in a clear and concise way, but yet also relevant to Placer County and not just the Big Cities of the U.S.

So much information to absorb to make educated decisions in every facet of your life when buying your next home. "What are prices doing over the past two years? Who lives in this area? Where can I get the cheapest gas in this area or on my way to work? Is there shopping I need within five miles?" etc, etc. All valid reasons to base your home search on.

So THEN I get a place where you can vent about a BAD neighbor. Say WHAAaat? Sure this site has a place to mention good neighbors too. But is someone really going to google, "good neighbors?" Granted a "neighbor" less savory than others is perhaps not contributing to the community image, but is this the way to resolve it? I am all for venting, when not directly associated with an area.

I will not mention this "neighbor" marking / venting website, but it basically is a place to flog a neighbor or person at a particular location. And there are others like it. You can type a city or address and voila, if someone is or has vented for the positive or most likely negative, you will find it on this site. And there are many blog-like real estate places like this everywhere. And many have a respectful place and usefulness.

I am all for free speech, but this site was a lot for me to swallow. Maybe just me as it sickened me a little the power of marking a home as a negative or giving reason to others to raise their pitch forks and torches of others stumbling across this site.

BUT my question is who really gets punished here when marking bad neighbors? "Everyone" is my answer that lives in that vicinity of the "bad neighbor" in the eyes of a someone reviewing this site for a neighborhood. We aren't talking about a $10 meal, we are talking your investment or perhaps bringing in new, motivated people to improve your area with good ownership and unified beliefs in how to upkeep an area. That is my positive thinking, but I want someone living in my ears that is concerned with whether they live. We are in a new era of savvy buyers, where they have more information at their finger tips to evaluate neighborhoods and great weight comes from personal opinion.

So if you have fire in your soul and a two foot tall lawn irking you, before you go to the net (e-net that is ... we aren't in basketball season YET) and before you hit that "bad neighbor" tag, or go to any site to rant and name an area where a bad area to live is ... really weigh it's worth. It's permanent and hurtful not only to them but your new neighbors you just lost out on that saw your angry rant online. These are hard and frustrating times for many.

So I guess in support of free support, these sites exists, but I implore all people to make a neighborhood better, casting stones gets you nowhere.

And to leave on a good note, I must say I have some of the nicest neighbors. Some water and maintain other lawns that aren't even theirs because they are good kind hearted people and just want to help out. They see the value in neighborhoods and working as a team. The share with us and help others when they need it. Thank you.

Honey is sweet to share ... so keep the vinegar in a bottle unless you are making it for a tasty salad.