Does it bother you when...

...your neighbors do not SEEM to make an effort to maintain the outside (particularly landscaping) of their home?

BEFORE panties end up in a bunch and this ends up in unnecessary drama, lets assume best case scenario. Nobody is ill, either everyone is able bodied and if not, they can hire landscapers to do the work for them.

When we moved in, we had a lot on our plate. I was (and still am) PG - though not much longer now. I was chasing after a toddler and working summer school which wiped me out physically. Not to mention that I have nothing that resembles a green thumb even though I grew up with a full sized greenhouse in my back yard. That being said, we hired a landscaper to do the minimum for the time being until we are more settled. As it stands right now, our home is "passable" though not to my specifics. What SHOULD be done is a lot of VERY labor intensive uplifting and replanting that our landscaper will do when the heat drops and his workers aren't stuck in the blistering sun all day - which is fine. I sure as hell did not want to pull up bushes in 100 degree heat - its not humane.

Once we hired the landscaper, our next door neighbor expressed his gratitude to us and told us that the previous owner was a bit too lax on things in this regard. His implication was that it made his property look like crap when those next to him did not do their part as well.

Most of our neighbors take pride in their properties and do at least the minimum to maintain what other can see. But there are a few homes in which the properties look ratty and disheveled. I am not talking about the house structure, rather overgrown lawns, weeds, bushes that haven't been trimmed in ages.

I dunno, I just think that when you live in a close community, its part of the deal to maintain your part of that community.

Again, I am not looking to start drama, just curious to see what others think.

Re: Does it bother you when...

Yup, it does.. thank god I have neighbors (both in LI and TX) that like to rat other neighbors out and will report them to the town or beautification committee lol

Re: Does it bother you when...

It does, but I totally understand when keeping the maintenance outside of your home is simply not a priority. We have a very nice neighbor. She is a divorce mother of two. Her eldest son will mow every week, but they don't own a edger and they don't have in ground sprinklers. The lawn looks like crap next to ours, but my thinking is this women is working 40+ hours a day and is barely paying mortgage and putting food on the table. She has her sons do the bear minimum and the rest is simply not a priority.

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Absolutely bugs me. Esp when they are able bodied and just lazy.

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Yes it does, our one neighbor has two capable sons that live with her(she is elderly) and the lawn is like a jungle

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I'm in the middle on this one. At the start of the summer, DH and I took great pride in our yard work and maintaining the yard, etc.

However, we went on vacation and the weeds took control of the entire yard, and then the lawn mower crapped out, so we want to, but we can't at the moment and the pesticide we have tried for the crab grass issue won't work until we have less than 80 degree weather.

So, yes, we're one of those people who have crap lawns now! I hate it, but we can't do anything about it until the fall.

Re: Does it bother you when...

Re: Does it bother you when...

Nope.

If it bothered me THAT much - I would either do it myself or hire a landscaper to do it.

I don't care what others do with their property. If I'm on a block with 20 houses and 1 is messy - doesn't bother me.

However - I wouldn't even look at houses that were across the street or next door to the crappy houses. A couple houses down - NBD. Next to - dealbreaker.

My next door neighbor now has a boat on his property - drives my FIL bonkers, doesn't bother me.

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Re: Does it bother you when...

Living in a condo community, your neighbors most def want to see you do upkeep on the landscaping... All my neighbors complimented me on my work out there and actually said i was making them look bad ... a week or 2 after that, these same neighbors who said they cant be bothered anymore, started sprucing up their landscaping as well... while no neighbors around me have terrible looking landscapes, there are some that could be worked on a bit more... but who am i say to what they should/shouldnt do... and by no means would i say "hire a landscaper" .. not everyone has additional $$ to contribute to that

ETA: Yes, we actually pay money towards our "maintenance" but they suck assss so its like you have to do your own planting/wedding/sprucing up for it to look good... i hate when they come around... im like paranoid they are going to fcuk up my plants

Message edited 8/27/2010 4:01:14 PM.

Re: Does it bother you when...

YES! Because it makes our block look like crap. There was two houses at the end of the block who do not cut their lawn on a regular basis. One house I never see anyone...someone may be sick or incapacitated in some way. The house doesn't even look safe. No gutters and it is falling apart.

The other house is right next to that one. I have seen the people who live their they seem to be quite well. Their lawn was the worst. Grass was atleast two feet high. I called the town last year. They would not do anything about it.

Re: Does it bother you when...

Yes! When I moved in DH's house his yard looked like crap! He doesnt like any type of homeowner up keep so our yard is simple. So we planted seed and now its just grass but we do have a lot of weeds coming in and we usually pay the neighbor kid to pull them.

We don't have much of a front yard, what we do have is all river rock and a japanese maple. Totally low maintenance.

My neightbor right now has a boat in his driveway and it irritates me, I dont need to look at that when I come home. My other neighbor has about 40 flower pots on her front lawn and they are all dead!

I cant say anything bc Im sure b$ I entered the pic, they were saying that about DH.

Message edited 8/27/2010 5:38:09 PM.

Re: Does it bother you when...

yes it bothers me...

thankfully we live in a community where the HOA dues pay for landscaping...people still put out some hideous lawn ornaments and decor, at least in my opinion LMAO , but the landscaping is always impeccable and it keeps our neighborhood looking great..

in FL i wouldn't go somewhere that doesn't have community landscaping for the exact reason you posted...most subdivisions have landscaping - where my mom lives is different and you can have a gorgeous home next to a dump and all it takes is one house to make the block look bad

i think for the good of the neighborhood and to keep the value of your own property (not just your neighbors) everyone should keep their property neat and clean...to me it's just as much a part of your house as the inside...

Re: Does it bother you when...

Yes it would really bother me if my neighbors did not take pride in maintaining their property....I think it just so rude..Please no flames ...I mean if they have arms and legs then keep your property well manicured!

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Up until July I was doing all the yard work and yes it is hard to keep up. I have a big yard and DH does not help for any yardwork. Between a child that does nap anymore and keeping up with the rest, I just could not find the time. My house was always the worst one in the street. But I realized that I could not keep up and I owned to my neighbors. But it was $$ to hire landscapers.

Since we started out our diet, we realized we could cut some take out foods and it would pay for the landscaper.

My planting beds are not always super neat but at least my grass is cut and edged every Friday so it's super neat for my neighbors and weekend parties.

I felt such a relief that I don't freak out when I cannot do it and it does look "presentable" for our neighborhood.

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no doesn't really bother me, I guess I don't pay too much attention. that being said, we are buying a home now w/ beautiful landscaping. the owners spent a lot of money on it. DH says he will maintain it bc we can't afford landscapers. I think w/ in 2 weeks everything will be dead then all of our neighbors will be complaining about us too

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If I could see it from my house and had to look at it, then yes, it would bother me. But if its not directly in my line of sight, then I dont really care. We're lucky since most of the people on our block make at least a minimal effort to maintain their property.

Its really strange, the people directly across from us are literally out there every day working on their yard, sometimes from sunup to sundown, and it still looks like cr@p. Its really is truly awful, totally overgrown, and I have no idea what they are doing out there. But at elast they are making an effort, so it doesnt really bother me.

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Yes!!!

When all the homes have well kept lawns/flower beds etc it makes the area look inviting and a place you woukd want to live. When there are homes that are not maintained it makes the neighborhood look cheap and scary

My neighbors have this huge mix of overgrown hedges and bushes at their corner, it looks terrible. There lawn is also completly covered in crab grass. He also mows and leaves the clippings on the lawn which im convinced blows to my house and is the reason why im constantly pulling out crab grass along the side closest to him

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What's funny is that it bothers ME that our stuff isn't the way I want it to be right now. Much of the reason why is because we moved in after planting season. My parents were in a much different financial position than DH and I are now comparatively speaking. Mom never used the word "budget". She would buy her plants/bushes/gardening flats at Martin Viette without batting an eye where as I am wondering what Target and Walmart has that can pass for just as nice. So for right now, we are evaluating our finances to plan for when things need to be done.

There has to be a balance too as we have some plumbing and electrical issues that have to be ironed out because if my bathroom leaks into my basement and we have a massive flood, I can tell you right now, the lawn and bushes will simply have to wait

One step at a time. I just don't want to be THAT HOUSE in the neighborhood that people pass by and say "Yeesh, you'd think they'd mow the law or something."

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To be honest with you, unless the shrubs are so overgrown that you can't figure out where the front door is, I really don't notice. Our shrubs need a trim. We just moved in a month ago, haven't purchased a hedge trimmer yet and we had a million other things to get done (new electric, new roof, new oil tank)

I have this one neighbor who pays landscapers to do everything (mow, trim, plant flowers) yet his windows are practically falling out and paint peeling all over the house. This bugs me more than hedges that need trimming. Stop paying people to do things you can do yourself and paint your house already!!

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Simply put, yes.

Re: Does it bother you when...

i agree that everyone has a minimum obligation to mow the lawn or have it done regularly. my real pet peeve is when there is garbage or toys or whatever just hanging around on the front lawn, but i don't have that issue on my street. we did look for it when we bought tho, and there were houses we wouldn't even consider if we saw that. what's in the back is none of my business.

as far as flower beds, sometimes people just don't have the time, and that gets expensive with a landscaping service. at the end of the day, everyone has a right to prioritize the way they choose, and you never really know what's going on with a family.

we, for example, just moved into our new house in march/april. when i look at the weekend and decide what we're going to do with the time, it usually involves more unpacking projects and home improvements or care and maintenance of our 5 month-old, high-energy puppy who won't have this summer weather for much longer. our front beds are a little messy looking right now, but my neighbors feelings about that are kinda low on my list. not that i don't care, but i just have bigger fish to fry. i think a lot of people, especially families with young kids, feel that way.

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I am in the middle on this one. I think as long as people mow and do basic maintenance it is ok.

We have been in our house for 3 years and DH does the mowing, edging, leaf removal and etc... But we haven't done a ton of improvements/planting because it is going to be a big project and we want to do it right. I don't think it looks horrible but It is not the way we want it. But hen we do start it will involve taking down trees, widing the driving, adding a retaining wall and doing some planting and landscaping.

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Re: Does it bother you when...

yes - most do the basics and that is all it matters. Those who put the extra effort always gets compliments.