Good Neighbors Increase Your Property Value
It’s true. Having and being a good neighbor, translates into increased home values when it comes time to sell. Meanwhile, good neighbors increase your enjoyment of your home today.
I recently became aware of three free local community resources that might interest and benefit you. All three are web based and designed to encourage personal connections among neighbors. Each is run by volunteers with a goal of enabling neighbors to help one another, somewhat like the barn raising traditions of a bygone era.
The first is NextDoor.com. Nextdoor describes itself as “a private social network” designed to “build stronger and safer neighborhoods.” Members use the online network to communicate with each other about things like lost pets, recent break-ins, recommendations for local tradespeople, and selling or giving away personal belongings. More info at: www.roxhillseattle.nextdoor.com
The second is Time Bank of West Seattle. At its most basic level, time banking is simply about spending an hour doing something for somebody in your community. That hour goes into your timebank account as one credit hour. You then have a credit hour to spend on having someone else do something for you. All hours are valued equally. www.tops.timebanks.org
The third is a group within Facebook called Buy Nothing. As the name implies, the objective of the group is to help members avoid buying things that others might already have but no longer want. It’s a way to share our communal wealth. There is no bartering, trading or selling. Members offer each other things they have and ask for things they need. Each “Buy Nothing” group is neighborhood specific (Westwood homes fall within the West Seattle-South grouping). Joining this closed group requires permission from the administrators but the only requirement is that you live within the geographic boundaries set for the group. If you have a Facebook account, simply access it and in the search bar type in: Buy Nothing West Seattle (South). Or ask me to send you an invitation to join.
If you know of other valuable local resources, please post a comment or contact me and I will post about them in the future.