Skimmed a couple of articles there just now, the one about vacant homes and weeds and overgrown shrubs and mold seemed pretty important. They're not allowed to do anything other than mow the lawn and weed, when a home is abandoned due to death or someone with Power of Attorney not understanding things or the owner no longer living there and not being able to afford the upkeep anymore.
Is it possible, and permissible, to have a volunteer emergency club that exists exclusively to assist with things like this? Surely some kind neighbors would love nothing more than to trim the hedges, sweep the outside porch, and hose off any mildew on the outside of the structure once every few weeks, swipe a swiffer on external windows, etc. There'd need to be some kind of criteria met - death and a prolonged probate period would qualify, as would a homeowner transferred to a memory care facility and the executor being overwhelmed and just needing someone to lend a hand with these kinds of details while they sort out the estate. Volunteers could sign a hold harmless, so there wouldn't be any insurance issues. There'd be no planting of new things, no beautification, no building, nothing like that. A free temporary short-term emergency service that would not infringe on the rights of commercial ventures who need to earn a living doing the same things. Just simple minor maintenance to minimize the risk of vermin, overgrowth, and decay, for a specified time period.
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