Is a welcome basket and letter too old-fashioned for today's homeowners?
Is being the antisocial (or quiet) neighbor OK, or would this person be considered rude?
I walked in the front door, looked around and smiled. This was the first official piece of property I’d purchased, minus a crowdfunding real estate venture that I wasn’t quite sure about. While the latter project could make me money way down the line, this condo would be my permanent residence. I’d already purchased custom blinds to immediately get rid of the horrendous rose-colored ones that came with the place. And I was examining the walls to see where all of my DIY artwork and photography would make the most sense.
While visually furnishing my new home, I paused when I saw a piece of paper on my kitchen countertop. I was pleasantly surprised to see a “Welcome” letter from my condo association’s property manager with a notification of an upcoming meeting. Although I briefly wondered how he got keys to enter, I was too excited (at the time) to care. This was a perfect opportunity for me to find out who the condo board members were, meet the property manager who my mortgage company had spoken with and check out a few other unit owners.
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But I was also left with another thought: In two other apartment rentals and a condo rental, I’d never gotten a welcome letter before. Do people still do things like that? Is it old school to write handwritten (or typed) letters? Do people regularly bake cookies, deliver fruit baskets or knock on your door to say “hello”? Or, do they just stop by to chat when they see you outside?
I found that out in a wacky way too. Two residents greeted me at varying times after I parked my car. One was an older man who complained about how he tried to buy my place but I’d beat him to it with my earnest payment. He ended his rant by telling me I’d be cold because the place wasn’t heated very well. I wanted to ask him, “Then why’d you want to buy it?” but instead let him walk off in a huff. The second greeter was a 20-something lady with two kids who told me I better watch out for mice because the last resident left due to all the rodents. I nodded my head, waved and walked away.
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Just like that, I preferred to rewind to simpler times — and not know my neighbors. (Those two “greeters” turned out to be father and daughter, which made so much sense later.) Assuming greetings are usually far less hostile and not as cringeworthy, how many new homeowners are greeted by neighbors these days?
It turns out I’m not alone in wondering how neighbors approach each other.