Neighbors who don't care
 

We take a lot of pride in our lawn and landscaping as do most of our neighbors. Sadly, our next door neighbor has no lawn service, does not water the lawn, does no maintenance themselves, and there lawn is full of diseased grass and weeds(young active couple in early 60's without $ issues). The mold on the pavers around their house could grow penicillin. Dead plants and overgrown bushes surround the house.
I know it has been addressed before but I couldn't find the threads. Where can I go within The Villages to get help in possibly improving this property value lowering situation? Thanks!

Call Community Standards 352-751-3912.

Keep the number handy. Odds are you'll be calling them every few months if typical.

redwitch, are you telling me I am wasting my time in contacting them or is it they don't have any power in correcting the situation? Thanks for your feedback!

I have the same issues... this guy bought the house next door as an investment and it looks like a tenement... i have to call Community standards every month but they get in touch with the owner and then its resolved...... its a shame that I have to do this but I spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars every year to keep my home looking nice.... it really sucks but keep calling.... i hope that eventually he will get tired of the calls and sell it...

For those that want more information regarding Community Standards.
VCDD Community Standards

No, they'll get the work done, either by the homeowners or by someone they will hire. The problem is that homeowners like your neighbor will probably revert to old ways and you'll have to call to have work done again. The nice thing is that Community Standards will never give your name as complainant.

Sorry for not explaining it well.

I found it a little disturbing that a pocket gopher was tearing up several lawns in my neighborhood. They listening to a lawn guy that said they could do nothing about it, as it was caused by moles. Also disturbing is the lack of concern about this problem, and no willingness to spend a dime to correct it, as this situation was going on for a year and I wasn't aware of the neighborhood problem, as it hadn't directly affected me.

I called Massey and they referred me to a wildlife specialists. The pocket gopher was caught and life goes back to normal. It's good to know that I could have called community standards to resolve this issue.

Bottom line is that 2 of my neighbors did step up to the plate and share the cost to resolve this problem. I guess what bothers me is, that some people will spend a lot of money to repair a situation, but not spend any money when the problem is much smaller. It doesn't make sense to me to have several thousands dollars in lawn repairs, when it could be resolved with a couple of hundred.

What were they thinking?

I moved from my last house in Florida because my neighbor didn't take care of his house. He moved and rented it to bums. The sad part is when I sold my place most people didn't want to live next door to an overgrown organic dump. So yes I took a little beating up on the selling price.

Renting out houses at Tv is a big mistake and this will hurt resale values. Many developments regulate this very carefully and do not allow full time rental, only occasionally.

We have a few homes in my area where the lawns are not kept up. There is one in particular a few streets over where the grass was cut once this past summer. The grass was literally over two feet tall. I called community standards a few times and nothing seemed to be done about it. Finally in August it was cut, but the lawn still looks a mess.

What I don't understand is that although Community Standards is strictly a reactive organization, why the Community Watch people can't write down the addresses of these homes and report them. having to report neighbors can make things very unpleasant in the neighborhood.

It's a shame this happens. 2 questions Have you talked to the homeowner and if one calls community standards are you anonymous or Can one find out who reported suspected violations?

You can read the rules, by going to post #5 and clicking on the link.

There is a cultural difference in how people handle this situation. Where I am from to tell someone that how they "run their railroad" is not up to par would be grounds for a life long not speaking situation.

I wouldn't want that.

I would anonymously call Community Standards and rat on them as often as needed.

Gracie, The Ohio Wuss.

Don't start on me.

Two things stood out when I read the rules.

1. Grass and weeds are non-compliant at the eight inch point. That is pretty damned lenient.
2. The District has the right to enforce but not the duty to enforce. Speak loudly and carry a small stick?

Not Wussy! Just strategic. Once you speak direct, there is no such thing as an anonymous complaint. If the anonymous report proves unproductive, then you still have the direct approach as a fall back.

But if you read all the way to the end, you'll see that the homeowners have an obligation to see that enforcement happens up to and including litigation.