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How to Improve a Neighborhood

Crime, Isolation & Property Value

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What keeps you up at night? Lately I’ve been thinking quite a bit about some violent crimes that have occurred in my city. There was a drive-by shooting a few days ago that killed three teenagers and I’m grieved that things like this happen. I find myself getting less sleep and giving more of my attention to collaborating for results for some of these local problems.

I know blog experts say you should pick a niche and stick to it, but today I can’t help but take a little detour from the appraisal realm to talk about the importance of building community to reduce crime. Okay, technically speaking, safer neighborhoods tend to have higher property values, so maybe I’m still somewhat on topic. 

I think it’s easy to look at violent crime and see the usual suspects like gangs, guns, and drug-use, but there is often another culprit. Yes, isolation is a very great danger in our communities, yet it seems like the American ideal (at least on the west coast). We purchase real estate and often tend to drift into the backyard to actualize our yearning for privacy and exclusivity. There is nothing wrong with that of course, but when our normative practice as a community is to withdraw and no longer talk to each other or think each household has a responsibility to the community, we are setting ourselves up for some problems. Having good communication is the foundation for a strong neighborhood, so when communication sloughs off or hardly exists, a neighborhood is destined to have crime take over and property values dwindle.  

By the way, here is an advocacy campaign I’m helping to put together. I’m not looking for kudos nor am I bragging in any way either. This is very real to my world right now, and I welcome any locals to please get involved. News 10 actually interviewed me today about this effort. Together we can make some changes, but change will never happen without intention.

I would never blame something like a shooting on silent neighbors, so please don’t get me wrong here. I simply think that when tragedy strikes, it’s a good reminder for each of us to embrace a vision for the community by intentionally contributing to neighborhood life in very simple and practical ways. This can sound overwhelming, but improving a neighborhood really boils down to things like saying “hi” to neighbors, picking up litter, taking walks around the block, keeping the lawn mowed, grilling burgers with the family next door, waving to passersby and reporting suspicious activity. These are only mundane practices in life that require little time or skill, but they can have a very real impact on the community – if they are practiced or not practiced. 

If isolation does not help boost safety or property values, why is it so readily embraced in our society?

If you have any real estate appraisal, valuation consulting, or property tax appeal needs, contact me at 916.595.3735, www.LundquistCompany.com or via Facebook.

What Happened to our Neighborhoods?

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I think about houses and neighborhoods quite a bit because of my chosen career as a real estate appraiser. But beyond my job considering market value, I find myself delving into a different type of worth: neighborhood value. 

052108ins 182Isolation in Society: Something has happened in our society. There used to be a day and time where kids played outside more often, where families knew and relied upon households next door, and where it was normal to feel a sense of connection amongst neighbors. In thinking back to when you were a kid, did life in your neighborhood seem a bit more interactive and relational than your experience today? Did people trust each other more readily? Did passersby wave? Did you play outside without worrying about Megan’s Law registrants?

What happened?

I’m no big-wig expert by any means, but I wrote a group of short essays in a series entitled “Community Building 101” (pdf file), and I’d like to share them here. My take is that life is not just about the value of our homes, but the quality and value of the relationships we have – even in our neighborhoods. This series made an appearance in The Rancho Cordova Post and Sacramento Press.

Community Building Resources:

Let me know if you have any insight, ideas or other resources to share. Feel free to comment below.

www.SacramentoAppraisalBlog.com What Happened to our Neighborhoods?

Re-Believing in Community Participation

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Below is an article I wrote in 2008 in a series entitled “Community Building 101” (pdf file). “Re-Believing in Community Participation” is part 4 in this mini-essay series and I wanted to share it here on my real estate appraisal blog because life is not just about the value of our homes, but the quality and value of the relationships we have, even in our neighborhoods – and especially in this economy.

Re-Believing in Community Participation by Ryan Lundquist

I recently attended a funeral of a local man. He raised four kids, stayed married for fifty years, knew success in his career, and had many remarkable traits. His eulogy was full of all the great stuff we often hear, but there was something more mentioned that was a very high compliment: he was a good neighbor. Story after story was shared about how he was known to say hi to others, pay attention to people around him, find ways to care for folks next door, talk to passersby, befriend local teenagers, and even share his roses and vegetables with neighbors.

The notion of being a contributor to the health of a community is seldom on the radar in today’s society. Somewhere along the way we lost the value for connectedness and are now more isolated and self-reliant. If we can re-believe though that it really does matter to have residents involved in neighborhood life, then our communities will thrive.

Whose responsibility is it anyway to help a neighborhood grow in the right direction? Is it the City and its programs? Council members? An HOA? Apartment managers? Local Business? Police? Code Enforcement? The answer is all of the above, but most of all it is the privilege of residents to shape the values of their tract. Just as each of us needs to eat certain foods to yield a healthy body, in neighborhoods individual households help to nourish the overall well being of their area. Not everyone has a desire to be social or get to know others, and that is understandable, but as more and more residents choose to be intentional about their community, we will experience a vibrancy that no HOA fee could ever create.

When we begin to put effort into the stream of subdivision life we will see stronger relationships and a greater sense of communal vision, not to mention having a whole lot of fun. This is not about taking on big neighborhood projects, but instead buying into a belief that our individual contributions and giftedness are valuable for the soul of the neighborhood. Let’s begin to re-believe that each household has something to offer for the health of the community and then act accordingly.

You are important for your neighborhood. Do you believe that?

The Art of Hospitality: Having Neighbors Over for Dinner???

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052108ins-182aI spend quite a bit of time each week thinking about houses and neighborhoods because of my chosen career as a real estate appraiser. But more than my job, I find myself often imagining how neighborhoods can improve and become more connected like they used to be. 

Below is an article I wrote in a series entitled “Community Building 101” (pdf file). “The Art of Hospitality” is the last article in this mini-essay series and I wanted to share it here on my real estate appraisal blog because life is not just about the value of our houses, but the quality and value of the relationships we have, even in our neighborhoods. Eating with neighbors is one of the the most profound but simple ways we can build a better community.

The Art of Hospitality by Ryan Lundquist

What is the best dining experience you’ve ever had? A few years ago I ate at a joint in San Francisco called Asia De Cuba. This fusion restaurant had spectacular ambiance and the feel of a hip club with its dim lights, pulsating beats, trendy décor, and exotic menu. Our group enjoyed four hours of eating and sitting together and we were never rushed to leave. The bill was substantial, but the unique experience was worth the high cost.

When guests leave my house after dinner, I want them to feel something similar. It would be great if they complimented the lavish food, stylish decorating, and festive atmosphere. That would be nice. I have a feeling though they’d more realistically say they’d eaten good non-gourmet food and felt mostly comfortable even though there were energized toddlers running around. Dining at the Lundquist home is not anything like an upscale restaurant, but that’s a good thing because practicing hospitality does not necessitate a gourmet experience.

There is something significant about welcoming others into our homes. When we ask people over we are giving them much more than a meal – we are inviting them into our lives. In an age of birthday card emails, drive-thru dinners, and brief cell phone interactions, it’s refreshing to sit down together for an unrushed hour or two and really get to know others. Sometimes though we think that being hospitable means we have to prepare the most scintillating dishes and spend all day cleaning the house. But it’s okay if the walls are not acid-washed, if toys are visible, and if there’s a stack of bills on the countertop. True hospitality is not about offering our guests perfection, but relationship. Sure, it’s nice to clean the house and spice up dinner a bit, but let’s remember that our guests are not customers to please but rather participants in a family meal. One of the most respectful things we can do is invite people into the life we really live. Besides, if we put so much effort into a meal we might exhaust ourselves and also cause our guests to feel intimidated about inviting us to their house.

Life is busy, so where do you find the time to eat a meal with others? Thankfully dinner is something that most of us do every night, so it’s just a matter of coordinating our schedules. If my household is eating dinner anyway and yours is too, it doesn’t seem all that overwhelming to combine efforts to dine together – especially on a weekend night. It always helps too to ask guests to bring a side dish or assist with preparation somehow.

The practice of hospitality is about sharing meals, but is more broadly about sharing our lives with people. This might seem like an odd topic to end a community building series, but by taking the initiative to invite other residents into our daily routines we can profoundly impact our neighborhoods. When we get intentional about helping our tracts become more connected like they used to be, we will begin to taste something wonderful – a sense of community.