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.

Good recommendation.

While I can see your point, you would then have some Villagers begin writing posts about "The Grass Gestapo".

It probably is best to let Community Standards be a complaint driven process.

I would not depend on TV's help exclusively.

If the property is in Sumter County you can file an official, written complaint with the County. They will investigate and will take (legal) action if warranted. Be sure identify health and safety concerns as a result of the conditions. ;)

Don't know about other counties but I suspect they also have codes regarding your valid complaints.

Often these situations require tougher remedies. Make the consequences for the owner more unpleasant than the lack of maintenance.

Hope it gets resolved soon.

Don

If nothing positive happens after reporting the proper authorities, I would suggest trying to engage the owner. There could be health problems, mental and/or physical, and or financial challenges. The neighbor might not be a ass**** landlord, just a person with bigger problems. Then the neighbors could chip in and help.

I had the same problem when I moved to north KC 2 years ago in August 2012. The neighbor's yard and landscaping directly to the left side (corner lot, no neighbors on right), looked like crap. I planted 17 trees, put in landscaping and added a sprinkler system. Our home was a spec home and of course, the condition of the yard was less than desirable.

I never said anything to him regarding the yard, was always friendly and cordial. By the summer of 2013, my yard looked like the 2 golf courses I manage (neighbors even kidded me about the maintenance dept. doing the work). Slowly, he started coming over and asking me on things he could do to his to make his look like mine. I told him to get a sprinkler system (the same person that did mine, did his) and if I was doing something to mine, he needed to do it to his (fertilizer, aerate, etc.).

Going into this fall, his yard has made a 180* turnaround and really looks great. 2 additional neighbors across the street even improved the looks of theirs.

To make a long story short, kill them with kindness and shame them incessantly in a subtle way with the way your yard looks; some it will work on, others are no hope.

With the way people are nowadays, don't **** your neighbors off by staying on them, they could become your worst nightmare, let the "powers that be" do your complaining for you.

I have a son-in-law that was kind of like your neighbor. His yard was not a pig sty, but it always looked ragged and lumpy and bare in spots. He came around when he started to learn from his new neighbors. His challenge was that he grew up in a row house in a large east coast city and did not even know what a lawn was.

We have called Community Standards and will see what happens.
Indydealmaker, I would agree that if there were health, money, or other issues, we would probably help them as best we could but this is not the case. They are in good physical shape (golf, bowl, dance, party) and take several cruises/trips out of the country every year. They definitely have the bucks. They told us after they moved in that they had problems selling their home up north because of upkeep....we were hopeful things would change....

I don't understand what makes them tick. I am sure one of the primary reasons they moved here was the overall appearance of the community. I wonder what their cruiseline cabin looks like when they check out.

I have seen the inside of their house, even with weekly cleaning service, would not want to eat a meal there! You know, I think so people just don't get it....maybe it was the environment they were raised in...