Although they say you can pick your friends and not your family, the same holds true for your neighbors.

Sure, you have options about where you may want to move down the road. That said you do not have control of which people become your neighbors. As a result, you may end up with one or two neighbors who give you a smattering of the creeps.

With that being the case, what can you do to get a better feel for the neighbors around you?

An Online Search Can Yield Clues

In the event you have concerns about one or more neighbors, what options do you have to ease those concerns?

One such option can be to go online for a free people search.

There are some companies to help you learn more about strangers. As a landlord or employer wants to know more info, the same may be true for you.

Once you have a person’s full name, enter it into a database search. That search can yield a variety of clues.

Among them:

• Criminal background – In the event the person has a criminal background, wouldn’t you want to know about it? Although a traffic ticket or other such infraction is no big deal, a sexual assault etc. conviction is. By learning if the neighbor has spent time in jail for something serious, you are more educated.

• Financial background – It is not unheard of to talk on going into business with together. Whether a mutual small business idea or bigger, you don’t want to get involved with someone who’s had money issues. That said doing a search of the person’s financial history only makes sense. By knowing if they filed for bankruptcy etc. you will be better protected so that you do not end up in a financial hole.

Be Cognizant of What Goes on Around You

It is also important that you stay cognizant of all that goes on around you.

With that being the case, look for any of the following scenarios with your neighbors:

• Many visitors – If your neighbor has many visitors, it can usually mean one of two things. On the one hand, they have a large section of family members and friends. As such, all the visitors coming to see them may in fact be innocent. On the flip side, your neighbor is doing something illegal out of his or her home. One such possibility is drugs are being sold and traded from the home. If people come at all hours of the day, take note.
• Staying out of sight – Although much can be a reasonable explanation, do you almost never see them? Does he or she keep the blinds and curtains closed almost all the time? If so, there may be more to that than only wanting the normal privacy.
• Not very friendly – Last, does your neighbor seem to show little desire to be friendly towards you? Although some are shy, those anti-social or standoffish may be like that for a bad reason.

While you are not forced to have relations with neighbors, you likely want at least be on cordial terms.

By knowing background about neighbors, you figure out which ones are the safest to be around.