Adulting like a motherfuking adult. My house is on a private street, and is one of 8 houses on the street. Last night I got four of the homeowners together to look at bids for repaving our private street, as well as putting in new drainage, and gas lines to every house. Ballpark, it looks like it will be about $5-7k per house, for the whole project. But the road will be good for the rest of our lives, and the nice road and addition of gas service to each home will raise the value of our houses. Next step is an email to all 8 homeowners, inviting them all to participate in the next meeting, where we will review more bids and put together a proposal. My plan is for the project to be done in 2018, but, if we can get everyone on the street to buy-in soon, we might even get it done this year! There is only one rental house on the street, so we shouldn't have a problem getting 7 of the 8 houses on board with the plan. And the docs everyone signed when they bought their homes explicitly states that they are responsible for their part of the street, and cooperating when maintenance is needed. Fingers crossed. Might have a plan in place by May. That would blow my mind... I thought this was going to take MONTHS...
Wow. That is downright inspiring. I hope to be as proactive a homeowner and neighbor as you.
Technically, yes. The reasons are kind of arcane and not very interesting, but basically my property line goes all the way to the middle of the street, and I am responsible for maintaining my part of the street. This, in theory, makes the neighbors all equally responsible for the upkeep and periodic repairs to the street. Practically speaking, it is a bit harder than that. It takes negotiation, and some peer pressure to get stuff done.