What Bill Gates Did (Reportedly)
It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood,
A beautiful day for a neighbor.
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?…
–Fred Rogers, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor”
It’s no secret that new construction can be annoying for the neighbors.
The endless procession of contractors, the noise, the debris — all those things are understandably off-putting, even if the long-term result is good for the surrounding area.
Now, add several zeroes and a home mostly burrowed into a hillside (lots of noisy excavation), and you can easily imagine a litany of complaints.
Unless you do what Bill Gates did.
An Ounce Ton of Prevention
At least according to one Seattle tour guide (I visited with my daughter earlier this Fall), Gates paid off his neighbors’ mortgages as appreciation for their gracefully tolerating his home’s construction.
Given that the homes were located in Medina, an ultra-exclusive suburb of Seattle, the total bill was reportedly north of $100 million.
On the other hand, I suppose, Gates’ home did take seven years to build, according to local media.
See also, “Contractor Etiquette“; and “Borrowing the Neighbor’s Dumpster.“
