Pursuing financial security together
How to deal with your neighbor’s bad curb appeal
Comments (65)
Hipsters at the marketing company Brainiacs From Mars are looking for a few homeowners willing to turn their homes into brightly painted billboards.
In exchange, the company will make your mortgage payments for as long as you keep the advertisement up.
This company's unconventional campaign has earned it dozens of mentions in places like The Huffington Post and The Boston Globe.
It's also resulted in more than 42,000 applications from homeowners nationwide willing to sacrifice good taste for some home loan help.
God help you if your neighbors become one of the 3,000 homes to win a new coat of gaudy paint.
While they’re getting the mortgage paid, every time you look out the window, you’ll be blinded by their neon orange and green monstrosity.
If your neighbors turn their home into a giant ad, paint it Barbie pink or permanently stop mowing the lawn, try these 7 tips for dealing with your neighbors’ bad curb appeal:
- Check the rules. Do an online search to see if they’re violating local or state outdoor advertising laws. Many jurisdictions outlaw outdoor ads in residential neighborhoods. To look for the law, try an Internet search using your city name and keywords like these: “outdoor advertising laws” or “sign code.” Warning: These rules sometimes don’t apply to political signs. If the issue is yard-related (high grass, overgrown shrubs) or involves home maintenance (peeling paint, holes in the roof) contact the local zoning board to ask about local laws about home appearance.
- Ask what’s up with that? Be curious about what’s going on with the neighbor’s house. Maybe that shade of blue paint is very popular in their prior neighborhood. Maybe once the paint was up they didn’t like it either, but they can't afford to try another color. Offer to help them repaint. Better yet, offer to treat them to a new color.
- Help correct the issue. Sometimes an offer to help solves the problem. In South Carolina, a Korean War veteran threatened with jail time over his yard full of junk was bailed out by neighbors who hosted a yard sale to help him pay a $500 fine, WCNC-TV reported. Meanwhile, the owner began cleaning up his property. Perhaps the neighbors would be happy to be rid of the rotting play set if you offer to take it to the dump. Can you help them patch the hole in the roof?
- Sue them. If the neighbors’ actions are aimed at harming you, say they put up a sign declaring your family is a bunch of jerks, see an attorney to find out what remedies you have.
- Block the view. Put up a high fence or plant fast-growing shrubs to hide the view. Pull the shades on the windows that face the neighbors. It won’t make the problem go away, but at least you won’t have to look at it so often.
- Beg them to go to mediation. A mediator can help negotiate a deal between you and your annoying neighbor. Check with your city or county government to see if they can recommend a local mediation center.
- Move to a community with lots of rules. When you live in a community association, homeowners association, co-op or condominium that tightly regulates home appearance, you won’t have to worry about living next door to a neon orange home.
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Well if you have been to San Francisco and some other parts of California - you have and will see houses painted bright colors and all kinds of colors and it is a beautiful area. We came from Oklahoma and you would never see the colors you see here and that is unfortunate. SF has lovely architecture and looks alive - not like something the Stepford wives designed. Now if there is garbage in the yard or the yard is not kept up that is a different matter. But if you do not like a color - that is your problem.
I mean, sometimes my neighbors annoy me. Like when I buy a new piano. I see 2 days afterwards they get the same brand but bigger to show off to the ENTIRE NEIGHBORHOOD. Plus there house is light light blue, I would think its pretty if it were dark red, but they not breaking any rules! So when they say you have to sue them for putting there own money into there property you people are damn NUTS!
I have been dealing with the kind of neighbors that complain about everything for several years. They complained I had a RV in the driveway so I painted it with spray paint. Now we look like we live in the gheto. I am about to paint the house pink also. Mind your own business unless it is a health hazard or illegal. An RV, Boat, Trailer, car for sale, snow plow, a u-haul truck, etc. (I can go on and on - 10 years worth), are not violations, hazardous or illegal. I have neighbors that are suit wearing, corn cob stuck up there ass, assholes. I pay my taxes and pay my own mortgage. I will put in my driveway what I damn well please. (Since I threatened to paint the house pink, no-one has complained again) Also, I can paint the house rainbow colors if I want to and it is not a violation, I already checked.
I think when you buy into a community with CC&R's you are agreeing to keep your home to a standard spelled out in those CC&R's. We are all in it together. We all gain in property values,but most of all in desirability, and enjoyment of our community. There are plenty of places where you can live like "Sanford & Son". After living with the scorn of your neighbors for awhile, you may have to move, & that is when you are going to wish for top dollar. You may have cost yourself tens of thousands at this point . bummer for you .
How can you claim to have good taste when you don't even know proper grammer? Youths of this country are the future. Call us lazy, but you will be dead before us and our way will stand until the next generation pushes us out of the way. If I want Barbie pink, I will paint my house Barbie pink. Shove It!
what the heck...i'll be dammed if my neighbors are gonna tell me what color I can or cannot paint My house the I bought with MY money! Heck, I painted my screen door Montego Bay ....which is the mostly beautiful blue part of the ocean! oh, and my house is brown and yellow...did it for the heck of it...lol this article is ridiculous.."offering to paint" start a neighborhood war with that comment.
if sombody blocks a stream so cattle cant drink, thats wrong. but in a free society you should be able to paint youre house or NOT any dm time you want.. , dont like the idea of liberty and justice for ALL, MOVE TO RUSSIA, GET OUT!!!!!!
I can not believe how self righteous some home owners behave. I pay the mortgage on my house, not you or my neighbors, so I think that I should pick out the colors that I think are appropriate for the paint job. If I want a yard that is 100% concrete, then so be it. I should be able to work on my vehicle on my own property, if I feel like it, without having to get permission from anyone. I am lucky that I have wonderful neighbors that don't try to force their opinion on everyone around them. Unfortunately there are way too many people in this country that think they need to fix/control everyone else. I am too busy working so I can pay my bills, and running my kids to their sporting events and dance classes, and yes, taking care of my house and yard to give a crap what my neighbors do with their homes. It is not my place to tell those around me what they can or can't do with something they bought with their money. What's next, telling me how many sheets of toilet paper I am allowed to use when I use MY bathroom? Give me a break. I will let these Nazi idiots pick the color of my house when they start paying my mortgage for me, until then they need to get some medication, get a grip, and get a life!
JMM you're the most pathetic man I have ever heard of, you sued a man for decorating his OWN front yard, YEAH!!! JMM
JMM is the most patetic person I ever heard of, you sued a neighbor for trying to decorate HIS front yard, not yours. I'm amazed of your manhood, you are a fucking sissy. YEAH!!JMM
A comment like "mind your own business" is a common phrase used by someone who is too lazy to do what it takes to keep a decent home and considers a truck on cinder blocks "yard art". Yes, it may be your property, but that does not give you the right to lower someone else's property value simply because you don't have the sense to maintain your biggest financial investment or the decency to display a little civic pride. Furthermore, if you are so narcissistic to believe that this is your world and everyone else is just living in it, perhaps you shouldn't even have neighbors. But as long as you do, you should at least on a basic level show some consideration for them and show some pride in your home and your neighborhood. If maintenance is not your thing, then you should rent an apartment.
Maybe if it bothers you talk to the homeowner and make sure they are ok. We had a home on the street in disrepair and found out the homeowner had become sick. We got together as friends and neighbors and help clean the property. The problem today is we forget about the times when neighbors would help each other.
I used to live in a really nice neighborhood. We watched as the neighborhood was built. We watched the roads go in, lots be graded off and finally houses being built with ours being the third one completed in the area. We dealt with all the construction traffic, dirt, debris etc as the community grew as we knew it wouldn't be forever. There was an HOA established and I attended the first several meetings. I followed the rules and restrictions concerning what was allowed and what wasn't. Had some really great neighbors and a couple that were less than sociable...
One in particular decided that rather than approach me when I decided to put a patio cover on the back of my house, she would wait until a year after the fact and then call code enforcement on me. The patio cover was permitted, passed inspections and built to match the house and in no way infringed on her little slice of heaven. Bottom line...if you have a problem with your neighbors, don't hide behind the fence and complain and call somebody else to come fix it. Talk to them. I still own the house in the development, the patio cover still stands, but have since planted fast growing trees strategically in the back to block "Mrs Cravitz" from being able to see into my backyard. I dislike HOA's, but understand their purpose. Thankfully in my new house the HOA expired some 20 years ago and yet everybody here takes care of their place and it is peaceful and quite....Just the way I like it.
I had an elderly neighbor who had a very large hedge along our property line. When it became too unruly I offered to trim it up a bit. She gratefully accepted. Her son came to visit and sneered at me. I trimmed her hedge for several years. It literally cost me hundreds of dollars, 15ft tall, 9ft wide and 40ft long. After she sold her house my new neighbors removed the hedge and now I have a clear view from my front entry, living room and dining room of their five garbage cans.
To Joey D in Rural NJ. Amen brother, that's what we Indians have been saying all along!!!!
if you know of any property in Oakland County that is considered blight contact carol.hopkins@oakpress.com
Junk etc.-no
Color-not really anyone's business. When we repainted our blah white house to a light shade of blue some of our conservative New Englander Yankee natives(I'm a native too, but had lived elsewhere for a while) were not happy. Now we have a different color, but it was OUR choice. I remember seeing a This Old House episode where the Hysterical-excuse me-Historical society was upset that it was being painted a mustard yellow. They thought it should stay white, but turns out that research showed that mustard yellow was the original color in the 1700's. Also read that when new many victorian homes especially in the west were painted bright colors. I also read an article recently that Mount Vernon is getting repainted inside with some very bright colors. Many people are upset, but again it turns out that old GW had those colors in his time.
You could also try just minding your own business
There are many comments here that complain of tall grass, weeds, fallen limbs, fence needing repair, etc. It's is a true shame ,that even when the neighbors know that it is a elderly lady (or man), living there alone...that they wouldn't offer a hand. I am in that position (widowed) and it is impossible to do these tasks myself. I even tried hiring help and they did more damage than help, never finished and even stole some of my belongings. The neighbors will complain, but never offer resolution. It is so depressing to see the demise of my once beautiful yard, and realizing it will only continue to get worse.
I have some neighbors who dont like Christians. I simply put up a large sign in red that says "Jesus saves alcoholics/winers/and complainers". Nothing pisses off satan and his followers more than mentioning Jesus (in anything) ;)
Why hasn't anybody written about how they love the fact that their neighbor has let his property get rundown and full of junk, or that they helped the next door neighbor paint his home dayglow orange?
How about living across from a house that hasn't seen a lawnmower in years, tree branches fall with the wind and stay on the ground for years too. A front screen porch with the screens blown out and left hanging there. The windows near the porch have water and milk gallon jugs stacked to the ceiling in a pile. 2 now shredded American flags that were hung the day after the attacks on NY city. This healthy, but lazy man has a beard to his chest and dirty clothes at all times! UGH!!
JMM that is not YOUR yard. Hope your wife gets a sex life. You are a sissy.;
There are city ordinances that often deal with trash, lawn height, junk in the yard. Some of these laws have to do with public safety and maintaining property values. These are laws that ALL homeowners have to abide by. Don't like the laws? Change them. If you don't want to be restricted to color schemes, etc... don't live in a development with an HOA. I have had good neighbors and bad neighbors in both a neighborhood without an HOA and with an HOA. In the neighborhood without, we had people move in next door who were operating an automotive repair shop and leaving used car parts out in the yard. This was ILLEGAL as the neighborhood was zoned residential, not commercial. It was also dangerous for my children as they would test drive their vehicles at 50mph on the residential street that was posted as 30mph. They also used to have parties where they would dump their empty or partially empty bottles of alcohol over the fence into our yard and the neighbors yard on the other side of them. This created a hazard for my young children, not only becuase of the alcohol but the broken glass as well. These laws are not there to curb someones creativity. I really don't care what color you paint your house, or how many trees or shurbs you do or do not have in your yard, but I do expect the cities' laws to be followed. If I wanted to live in a commercial area, I would live there. If you like uniformity, choose an neighborhood with an HOA, if not, choose one without. Bottom line is that when one persons trash becomes another persons problem, there is something wrong.
Wow! People are strange as the song goes.
I live in a rural gated community, I get annoyed with some of the rules, and it is frustrating to have neighbors that do not care for their homes at all. However, here we are fortunate in some respects: it's rare here for more than a few homes in the community to "be the same"; there is a great deal of diversity.
Also, it seems there are few individuals that want to tell everyone else how to live or what to do with their homes. Yes, extremely junked up yards are addressed by the "rules" and if the homeowner won't clean it up the community does it for them and sends them a bill for the work. As I understand it, if they do not pay the bill then the community places a lien on their property. Guess that fair...
What I'm saying is this: you can and should welcome creativity, individuality and personal taste. The neighborhood becomes a much more interesting and inviting place to live.
Interference should only be for health and safety and the environmental impact reasons.
Unfortunately, living in the country puts you at the mercy of ones' neighbors. We have lived here 21 years and invested much time and money fixing a victorian farm house. We have 2 trailers that were put in next door over the past few years, but they are well kept up though older. The few houses around us are of varying ages, but also kept up by their owners. About a year ago, the man who owns the lot next to us let his daughter put a trailer on the property. To say the least, the property values crashed. To say the lot has become a dump is being generous. One old trailer blew over and is now on its side behind the damaged "new" one they put in. They have a fallen down shed, trash everywhere, and cobbled together pig styes and sheds right along the fence to our property. When the wind blows, all the neighbors end up with trash in their yards. Several have said they would like to move, but our houses now can't be sold for what we have in them, let alone what they are worth.
They dug a huge hole yesterday and are pushing in parts of the downed trailer as they tear apart. They will most likely have a great fire when they finish, burning vinyl siding, insulation,etc. - all illegal to burn. They will most likely do it at night on a weekend when they figure no one will be around to catch them. Is there any wonder why her dad didn't put them in the empty lot near his house?
Just looking at the vast range of opinions here, and the emotions stirred, I now remember why I left the Property Management field.
In the 80's I was head of landscape and maint. for a large Reston style HOA. I was also the developer's rep. on the Architecural Review Board. We recieved death threats over things like house colors, additions and even landscape design.
I believe a great problem is Real Estate folks don't properly explain what a true Deed Restricted Community is. They just want a sale. Result is often someone who just doesn't want that restrictive environment, finds themselves in exactly that.
As long as they're upfront about it, I don't mind if uptight people want to live in sterile developments away from me. A friend of mine lives in a development that requires each house to have 12 bushes in the front yard, among other things. I overheard a guy at work talking with satisfaction about how he got a tractor-trailer driver out of his neighborhood. I know there are a-holes in the world; I just don't want to get blindsided by them after I've bought a house.
When I move and look at prospective neighborhoods, I make sure that there are cars parked on the street and basketball hoops in the driveways, fences in back yards (a sign of dog ownership), and a comfortable, lived-in look.
I don’t see any comments on the insidiousness of marketers. One can’t escape the constant barrage of advertisements on TV, radio, the internet, mailings, telemarketing, etc. It’s everywhere and getting worse with almost more ad time on TV than programs. When are people going to say “enough already”? Can’t any level of government step in to curb this insanity? Any company that offers to pay mortgages to someone who turns their home into a giant billboard needs to be boycotted!
My wife and I pay almost $300 a month for HOA to employ a couple illegal aliens who maintain a ridiculously small pool with a clubhouse. The HOA also goes to maintain the outside of the townhomes which include painting every ten years or so. I know others pay more for the same HOA, and trust me they are making some serious bank because there are hundreds who are forced to belong to it. If given the choice I would paint my own home and get a gym membership. I would save almost $3600 a year. Also, what business is it of yours what I have in my own front yard on my own property that I pay taxes on. If I want a truck on blocks, that is my business, not yours. I could care less about your property value, just as you should care less what I do with my land. Stop whining and get a life.
Wow. Blown away by the attitudes of people in these posts! Homeowner's should be able to exercise their own tastes, but if they live in a community and want to live in harmony with their neighbors, why behave in a totally disrespectful way flouting the basic efforts everyone else is making to live in a civilized way? If you want to live like a slob, then isolate yourself or move next to like-minded people. One's home is most people's largest financial asset and something they have worked very hard to own and take care of. Not caring if one's laziness is bringing down other's property values is entirely selfish and is openly aggressive. If you are a slob, go live in a run down community where others share your values. Otherwise weather the contempt of your neighbors and be ashamed that you are the outcast in the community.
R
i live in the country and have a very nice clean home and yard , i have nasty renters next to me that im always calling code on the landlord dont care as long as he gets rent money ,they clean it up just enough to get by ,they dont mow or wedeat, i have a partial privacy fence but i have to look at this pig pen daily what do i do i dont have time to babysit these pigs i work 50 hours a week and take excellent care of my property
I chose to live in a community that have a homeowners association because I don't have the time or energy to live in a home that sits on five acres or more. I strongly believe that when you live in a community where the houses are close in proximity and your neighbors are from different backgrounds, you gotta have rules, which by the way are established by the people in the community. Everyone gets a vote. While the community is beige in the front, my neighbors are very creative in their backyards. I love it.
everyone has there own tastes. if you need someone to control you join a HOA along with other socialist.
We have to worry about the neighbors because when they leave tons of trash i their yard rats show up!
Here's what really gets me.I live in a rural area in NJ.The yuppies come into the area,they wan to live in the country.So,build their $400.000 homes,drive up the tax rate,then,some of this idiots don't like the farm or blue collar way of life,they complain to the township,get on the planning boards{not they any of them grew up here,the ordinances get changed to suit their way of life and complicate the locals that have grown up in the area.And guess what,a lot of this big shot houses are either on the market,empty,or developments half built.But,now we have a "community development person" Not that many of them had any furniture anyway.Bunch of yuppie pricks!Go back where you came from!
I like it, why do people have to worry about their neighbor's?
worry about their own business..
A neighbors home is a neighbors home. If my property value diminishes because they could care less about other people then so be it. If other folks are offended because this person has no pride in themselves then that is their problem. If their actions cause health risks to others because they wont clean up their property then I say that we should just kill 'em and throw their bodies in the green pool out back!
How about neon green? I think I would like the glow in the dark paint job...
One of the comments at the end says it all, No-one cares anymore and the younger generation is too lazy or have no work ethnic to keep you HOME looking nice. I was on the HOA and it became a nightmare to deal with people that buy a home and then don't take care of it. We have HOME that the neighbor come by and ask how we did this or that, but never do anything about it. They would rather drink or smoke weed and throw junk out in the yard. Their kids are just as bad. When you live in a HOA, you need to take care of YOUR PROPERTY OR MOVE TO THE COUNTRY WHERE YOU CAN LIVE WITH THE ANIMALS.....
I say everyone can enjoy their own home the way they want it. I will do mine they way I like. Each to his own likes.
"Mind your business" - Well, that's hard to do when this person is basically trying to run a junk yard, collecting junk cars, washers, etc... piling it the back yard, never mowing the yard, never taking care of the once nice house.... "Mind your own business" is not applicable here.
The BEST advice is the last entry. If you're dead set on making your neighbors bend to your ideas/standards, move to where you can actively participate in your OWN "Neighborhood Nazi Association"; BTW, the likes of which are having their remedies curtailed by Texas law due to abuse. I'd love my neighbors to paint their house pink, and welcome diversity of decor, if only to help keep the tight-assed folks who can't mind their own business away from MY property.
Or you could shut the fuck up and not care about other people's houses... Not like you have enough money to buy the whole damn neighborhood, pricks.
Morning Frank, when it starts affecting my property values, then it IS my business.
BW, look at all the pretty colors in nature and the rainbow. God loves to wow us with bright colors.
I personally would rather have the bright colors than the boring drab colors. It makes it feel more tropical, like you're down at the beach. Since we have more people coming to America from places where they do use bright colors, you better get used to it. Bright colors evoke happiness, drab colors evoke depression. Maybe if people had more colors in their lives, they wouldn't complain so much.
Here's an 8th tip: Mind your own damn business and stop worrying about what others are doing.
I am a blue collar worker who needs his home to hold it's value for my retirement. The president of our HOA has the worst home on the street! He painted it BLACK 3 years ago. UGH! His yard is full of weeds! The guy has no grasp of curb appeal. What does he do for work ?.......he sells houses! We are dying the death of a thousand cuts. I worked my ass off to pay this house off, now I have homes on my street that look like crack houses. And i do know my neighbors & I do talk to them. They are young, strong , healthy, and LAZY.
If you want to preserve the view, BUY the view. Otherwise, it's not your property. If you don't like what others are doing around you, either be friendly so they might come around to your point of view, or move. HOAs are just a privatized version of the nanny state.
This all is sad to me, what happened to the good ole USA, Free County? Also with all the starving people we have in our country, all the killings, all the terrible acts of behavior we have, people have no Respect or Morals anymore, Why not Complain about that and do something about that instead of worrying what a neighbor does? Seriously people, they are far worse things in our world than what a neighbor does, how Petty can you all be. Lets do something and complain about what we can do to help the state of our country. Just saying!!!!
I can beat this! I also live next door to a yard Nazi. Among other things, he actually put up stakes along the shoulder of the road next to my driveway (I live on a very busy street with a 50 mph limit) because I avoided getting hit leaving my driveway and left a tire track next to macadam, in the dirt. He said it was affecting the sale of his house, which as been on the market for a year. Did I say his house is a good 200 feet from mine and out of view because of a tree line??? Unbelievable.
I think when it comes to color who cares, but my sister's neighbors do not have waste management so they burn all their trash once every so often that gives off this horrific stench so meanwhile their trash bags sit outside now drawing rats and they have an above ground pool that is dark blackish green that draws mosquitoes to breed and their trash is blowing all over neighborhood. The sad thing is their home was really pretty before they moved in and now it's an eye sore. If you are a homeowner take pride in what you have and keep it clean and safe for children. It doesn't have to be perfect, but don't live like well I can't even say pigs because they live in a cleaner environment.
I think it's hilarious when people claim not to care about a story, then post a reply. Anyway, I think the folks who are being snide in their responses here are the ones who have never had neighbors bring down the property values in their own neighborhoods. That, or they are the ones doing it themselves. Some people just live for drama, even at someone else's expense.
We live in the county just outside the city limits and in an addition, expensive and neatly kept. Our problem is every time we do something to our yard our neighbor copies us. We had our yard professionily landscaped and he then uses our ideas, plus he isn't friendly to any neighbors but has a really nice wife.
DO WHATEVER YOU LIKE....JUST NOT IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD.
Suck it up! You bought a house where there are other persons and YOU are not in charge. No more than they are in charge of your property. You should have paid more and moved to a neighborhood with covenants. Then your neighbors would be pussys just like you.
I sue a neighbor that poured an entire front yard with comcrete accept for a couple strips for some plants to go. About 94 percent concrete. I told the county of Sacto. and they inspected the job and had my neighbor tear out a certain percentage to meet code.
Yeah!!! JMM
How to deal with it, oh I don't know, maybe, "ignore" it
Tall grass or junk in the yard is one thing,as it can attract vermin.I still would not call the city on them,it is their property.I could care less how they decorate their abode,again,not my property and I keep my nose out of others business.As another poster put it,this article was written by and meant for all the yard Nazi's out there.People really need to start minding their own and not worry about others.
You have control over what you paid for, period. I never ceased to be amazed at people who purchase ONE lot in a neighborhood and think they have a say over what belongs to everyone else. Even more perplexing are those who try to force their idea of perfection on everyone around them by involving the authorities. That drives up expense to the taxpayers. Try to figure out WHY the things that annoy you are there by talking to your neighbors. Don't insult them by offering to paint or to purchase paint! Physical energy is required to make change, and perhaps they don't have enough. Offer your time. Priceless.
Wow! Only in the USA would you read a topic like this....or at least 1955-2013 USA.
tall grass & messy front yard Yes it needs to be fixed or cleaned but paint in their house? really? who the heck cares if they paint their house like a rainbow? black or all white! One of the reason I live in gated community, just keep the front yard nice, clean and mowed all the time. The front yard is for every one to see (I impress them) the back yard is mine alone!
This article is dedicated to all the fascists in the world; who should move to a controlled beige community.
It baffles me that people would go so far as to sue their neighbor or make such a big deal over a gaudy color on their house. Yes, having a junk yard for decoration out front is hazardous and needs to be dealt with, but who the hell cares if someone else's house is bright orange? I wouldn't care less. It's not my problem.