Neighbor Lawn neglect...what to do?
 

I wish someone would mow that yard next door. The couple who owned it did a reverse mortgage and now it sits empty with the weed ridden so called grass being 12 inches tall. The plants have not been trimmed in the back for over a year. What is going on? How do I find out who I can complain to? Someone must be aware that the house is in need of weekly care!

Community Standards
Phone: 352-751-3912
VCDD Community Standards

call the villages code enforcement

If it is foreclosure, you will need to call the bank that holds the mortgage. They will not do anything but you will feel better.

Z

Had this exact same problem up North, tried calling bank and they would not talk to me. Went to the township, they handed me a form to file a formal complaint, which I did, and I had 2-3 of the other neighbors file also. I followed up with a call to the township, and they followed up with the bank, after they cut the grass the and put a lien on the property. I agree with the previous posters, contact VCDD and community standards, and follow-up with written complaints, and if possible have you neighbors complain also, you might be surprised with the results. I was.

If you call community standards, they will send someone out to mow the grass and do some general cleanup. They will put a lien on the house and get paid when it is sold.

We have the exact situation next door to us. House is in the hands of a bank in California and has been for almost 3 yrs now. That bank could care less what the place looks like or how many neighbors are sick of its appearance. The only thing you can do is call Community Standards, be specific as to what is in violation, they will send someone from that office who will photograph the complaint and then a company and I use that term loosely, will show up & do what they consider mowing. I have actually seen the place next to me be "mowed" with a weed whacker. I've talked with a few of the company's that have shown up & complained & I was told they get $15.00 to do these foreclosure places so what do ya expect.
Don't expect the mower company to do anything regarding shrub trimming as that is considered a separate violation so you have to place additional phone calls to Community Standards & specify the shrub issue. The same routine will follow...someone shows up, takes photos and hopefully within a short span some other so called company may show up & hack away.
All I can add is that we don't have much say in the matter other than constantly call & complain. We've been doing this for almost 3 yrs.

I bet I know the property you are referring to. It is near my house on San Marino. There is a mention of a Calif. company and phone number on the window. I called the number and they said they are no longer involved, since May. She would not share the name or phone number of who is left holding the bag. It is a night mare. I am ready to pit a fit. Otherwise, the mess will get worse and worse. Silence is what they want. I knew both of these people who once were alive and owned these homes and they would be shocked.

I was scared to death to click on this post, afraid I'd see mention of my yard. I promise, promise, promise that I've called Stellar several times about the fact that my overgrown grass went to seed last week. Not a happy camper right now.

Speaking of lawn neglect, anyone know anything new about the couple on Society Circle?

Are you on their new 2 weeek cut program...how is that working out??

If you were wanting to really get their attention. Call their mortgage company, I'm pretty sure that to qualify for a reverse mortgage you must occupy the home. The owner will be forced to repay the loan if they no longer use the home as their principal residence.

Who are they?

Is the couple on Society Circle not keeping their yard maintained? I am put out about the homes in foreclosure that are left to sit for years and have very little maintenance. I see you have 20,508 posts. That is a lot. I guess everyone knows you are out there. Good for you
I called Community Standards at 751-3912. They will have the
Community Watch people check it out and then they will see what they can do about the neglect. Just more of the same old thing. I will be glad if they mow next door and do some plant maintenance or a regular basis.

Apparently, I'm on their "whenever they want to show up" program since it's been three weeks now. It's not working out for me at all.

I have someone maintain my lawn, but if my next door neighbor had a problem with his grass I would cut it if I had a lawn mower. It helps the neighbor and me.

That is what we would do if this were to happen on our street in Collier. Up north the house next door foreclosed and the yard was not taken care of. It made the entire street look bad. My husband cut the lawn while I weeded. We didn't like doing it but we didn't like looking at a overgrown lawn either. We kept calling the bank along with the neighbors and eventually the bank took over the task.

i don't understand the relationship of the neglect and a reverse mortage. They can only get the reverse loan amount of 50% of the property value. It seems they would have sold the home.

It is very possible that the owners took out a reverse mortgage and then suffered medical issues which put then into assisted living or nursing home. Depending upon how their financial powers of attorney were written, their family may not be able to act on their behalf. Or they may no one who can act for them. Or they may think that they are going to recover and move back.

How about someone who's doing landscaping (mostly himself) and started about 8 weeks ago? The lawn is a mess with dirt all over and walls that were started but not finished. We have been looking at this mess for over two months and it seems there is no end. I haven't seen or heard Neighborhood Watch do anything and they drive by all the time. I thought we had high standards for aesthetics in The Villages and homes were supposed to be kept.

Neighborhood Watch will not do anything. (Do you mean Community Watch?) In order for anything to be said to the homeowner, someone must file a complaint with the deed compliance office. All the deed restriction violations are complaint driven. Nothing will be done unless someone complains.

just so you know......we have a home next to us in forclosure. I mowed the lawn once and then was told by others that I should not mow anymore.
If somehow I caused a rock or something to go threw the window, what would I do, retired lawyer explained it is like tresspassing.
go figure...

One of the reasons I moved here is so that I would not have to put up with lawn signs, garbage cans in the driveway, or neighbors not caring for their landscaping - its a shame when a lawn is not maintained and only group neighborhood pressure may cause a change.

What's the address?

No offense to any lawyers on here...but if I worried about every time someone could sue me I wouldn't leave my house. The lawyer is right, but really!

Neighbor and I trimmed trees on a foreclosed house across the street. Who cares? It was in that limbo where the bank can't do anything. The people that blew out of there sure didn't care. The new owners are meticulous about their property. All's well.