It’s crazy how little we know about the people living next door to us. Sharing a building or a fence with strangers is considered normal today. Sometimes, we don’t even know our neighbors’ names.
However, there’s no shortage of risks related to not knowing who your neighbors are. The good news is that there are many background check sites to help you learn more about the people around you. Here’s why you’d want to run a background check on your neighbor.
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Do They Have a Criminal Record?
Are your neighbors acting suspiciously? Perhaps, they’re always watching you come and go and demonstrating erratic behavior. Or maybe, they avoid everyone in the building or make you nervous for another reason. Therefore, you might want to check their background to see if they have any criminal history.
Background check sites help to reveal important information about your neighbors by using many different sources, such as census data, court records, and property ownership records. You might find their business information, past addresses, aliases, names and addresses of relatives, where your neighbor works and what they do, or their date of birth.
When is Suspicious Behavior Dangerous?
Are the police or ambulances always coming to your neighbor’s place? This might be a cause for concern. Perhaps, your neighbors are engaging in illegal activities. Beyond doing a background check, you can talk to other neighbors or even to the authorities to find out why they’re visiting your neighbor’s home so frequently.
Too Much Attention
Perhaps your neighbor’s house is getting too much attention. In fact, it may even seem as if it’s under surveillance. Are random people asking about your neighbor or the area? In addition, someone trying to obtain information about your neighbors by phone, by mail, or onsite in person also indicates some red flags.
Shady Business
Does your neighbor have their cars parked in unusual locations? Likewise, if there are many packages, suspicious materials, or garbage left on your neighbor’s front step, this could indicate that they engage in some form of illegal activity. Moreover, having windows open all the time isn’t normal, even for chain smokers – excessive ventilation can be an indicator of illegal activity.
You might feel nervous because you’re seeing strange items lying around, such as lantern fuel cans, duct tape, drain cleaner, or antifreeze boxes. Maybe your neighbor is running a perfectly legal business out of their home or garage. Many people do this today. However, you just can’t shake the feeling that this is not the case with them. This would be a good time to run a background check.
Another red flag is abnormally high traffic outside regular business hours. If you’re always seeing people delivering stuff to your neighbor’s home, and it’s not just Amazon, you can tell neighborhood watch about it.
They Never Open Their Curtains
Closing your curtains is normal when you’re away from home. However, a neighbor who never opens the curtains or uses something to blackout their windows could be hiding shady activity.
Neglected Property
Finally, one last sign of a dangerous neighbor is them having a neglected property. Signs of neglect include an unkempt yard or lawn, groceries or newspapers left lying around, or decrepit cars in the driveway. Frequent and strange noises arouse suspicion, especially if you hear them at odd hours. This could indicate that your neighbor might be doing drugs or hiding from the police.
