Isn't it always good when there is neighborhood improvement?

Neighborhood construction is only good when it's your house lol. Some people from NY bought a house up near the corner of my block and did reno for renters. Then my neighbors across the street recently had some renovations done and my other neighbors up the street complained about the noise everyday...then started their own reno!

Since I live in a highly sought after location ( beach , So California) there are no vacant lots , only resale’s of existing houses, which are either torn down & rebuilt or remodeled each time there is a sale. The house across the street from mine sold a year ago, it’s STILL being extensively remodeled, new owners haven’t moved in yet. Doesn’t bother me, looks like it will be beautiful when finished. I have more important things to worry about....

Bought our current home to renovate took almost two years from start to landscaping. House next to us was torn down and a new home is being built. All good for our neighborhood. We supported other neighbors in getting a variance. I always make an effort to meet the owners and their construction crews and have found this keeps issues to a minimum.

Reinvestment is good because it leads to increasing property values overall; however, the flip side can be a loss of neighborhood visual identity such as when small scale single story homes with large yards are randomly replaced by tall mcmansions that cover nearly their entire lots and loom over the next door original homes. I find that when this occurs there is also a loss of friendly neighborly vibe as the new wealthy neighbors’ lifestyles and tastes are very different than the original residents. It really takes extra effort to generate a sense of community amongst people of vastly different backgrounds and ages, but then isn’t that what we need more of right now?

Unfortunately, my close next door neighbor is converting an existing family room to a rental apartment. While I don't necessarily think this type of thing is always bad, in this case the apartment entry and patio are just a few feet from my bedroom window. To make it worse, the neighbor does not appear to have a building permit for this project.

My neighbors down the street are adding a downstairs bedroom and bath to their beautiful Victorian home. When it's done I believe it will look like it was originally built that way. Beautiful home and lovely neighbors.

Joanne, I probably would tattle to the building inspector.

In the meantime, our neighborhood has been under constant construction since we moved here 4 years ago. For the most part, the changes are improvements. I do object to one but it's a taste/style thing. He has none. :)

Sadly, new house construction has demolished the vintage houses and their gracious yards in my neighborhood, replacing them with towering multi-family ‘boxes’, built up to the property line. Short term profit and renting to tenants is paramount, not landscaping.

We live in a typical Bavarian Village, with gingerbread houses and beautiful postcards to prove it. Tourists come here, though thankfully not too many. Over the past few years old houses have been torn down and replaced typically by blocks of 6 flats. These buildings would never make it on a postcard and destroy the character of the village. If it were up to me, I would kick out the person responsible for approving the planning permit and ban him to a life in a drab East German town where he can enjoy such ugly building for the rest of his pathetic days. Our heritage wherever we are makes us proud. Don't destroy it.

I'm almost finished a short sale/ reno from basement floor to attic. Basement- major mold- burst pipes while vacant... kitchen/ bath-total gut. hundreds of feet of crown/base moldings. Major trees removed, gardens regarded. You get the idea. Here's my rule of thumb- No noise before 9 am and "hammers down" at 4 pm so people can eat dinner in peace. Lawn work/ painting (quiet jobs) reserved for weekends, if possible, when most neighbors are home. In return? Neighbor has chimes that belong in the Sistene chapel heard throughout my entire 1/2 acre, 1/2 of house... kid behind screams nonstop and heard from one end of house to another (windows closed) and every inch of property, especially at dinner. Lets not even talk about bus stop etiquette!!! (None). So, construction noise? Consideration at play. Neighbors? Ignorant beyond belief.

I hate having construction near my house. There is dust and noise and strange people and trash and the roads are harder to navigate. We have a bunch of new construction near my home. They decided to expand the neighborhood. It causes problems for some people because they occasionally block the roads and they can't get out to go to work (lots of dead-ends in my neighborhood, only one way out).

People doing small exterior improvements or mostly interior improvements doesn't bother me. Really has no effect, positive or negative. I just don't like there being big trucks or the big dumpsters around all the time.

In the long run, improvement is always good for property values, assuming they did a good job. But while it's happening, it sucks.

We currently have a dumpster in our front yard. I'm sure the neighbors are thrilled. :)

Because our town was devastated by Superstorm Sandy, many of us chose to elevate our homes. Five years later, there are homes on every block in various states of elevation and construction. There has been a positive domino effect which has benefitted the entire neighborhood. There's no place like home.

The updating and renovating is a very positive affect on our neighborhood. The bulldozing houses and then cramming 20 condos into the same space is NOT positive.