Code violation letter ... guess I have a neighbor who doesn't like me
 

... this is really just a rant, but man am I ticked. At about midnight while I was at work tonight, I get an e-mail from my landlady saying she got a letter from the county saying someone had reported code violations on my property. Our county has an anonymous program where anyone can report anyone. Basically it was just a warning saying an inspector will be over on June 30 and if any violations are found, I will be fined ... it did not specify the violations reported. My landlady was pretty mad in the e-mail, saying she's disappointed I'd let the property get as bad as the letter suggests. Here's the thing: Other then the grass getting really long for a while and one pan of oil sitting on my front porch, I can't for the life of me understand why someone would report me. I mowed the grass about two weeks ago, about a week before the report was filed ... so it didn't look that bad. The oil pan, I'll admit was trashy of me ... but I was going to dispose of it tomorrow (instead I just did it now, at 3 a.m.). But really? Calling the county? Nobody knocked on my door and asked if I could clean it up. Nobody left me a polite note on the door, or even a downright nasty note on the door. Am I wrong to find that a little tasteless? I haven't had anyone say anything to me in the past year and a half about my lawn, cars, etc. and haven't had a beef with anyone. I rarely see my neighbors because I work night shifts so I'm gone all evening and asleep most of the day. Other people's yards sometime get overgrown, and some have toys, trashcans, hoses, etc. in the yards.
I'm wondering if this person has a problem with my car hobby ... I had the 240D parked out front, on the street, where others park too. But it was old and loud, and I was often leaning under the hood tinkering with stuff, which I guess in this cute little family neighborhood is somehow considered low-class. I also have tons of car parts in my garage which are visible when I open it to pull in and out. I don't see how that's a violation ... everyone else has lawn mowers, garden tools, boxes of crap, and trash filling their garages. Anyhow, I'm mad as anything now, and the worst thing is it's made me feel even worse about myself in general since I did let the grass slip and left the oil pan out. It's really frustrating when you're struggling in general and you let something slide just a bit, and there's someone right there waiting to report you to the authorities for it.
Lucky for my #^$%($ neighbor the 240D is staying with my mechanic now, and when I get it back is going to my dad's place, where the community has "lower standards."
Sorry for the rant. No where else to whine at 3:30 in the morning.

First of all that sucks!

I hate neighbors especially when you act right and let little things slide and they repay you like this.

If somebody is going to inspect your place for violations watch out! I had one of my houses "inspected" in NJ and he found things like 'slow drains' improperly attached moldings, improperly maintained lawn, etc -- all this on a house that had just been rehabbed. It all went away when I brought his attention to the $100 bill on the ground that he "must have dropped"

I don't know about your area, but it might come to paying the guy off.:eek:

If it was me, I would start making a list of the things in my neighbor's yards and start calling the county on them. You can probably tell who called the county by seeing who is there watching when the inspector shows up...

As for working on your Benz ( and it IS a Mercedes, not a Pinto so it is classy by definition) Check the local ordinances regarding working on cars. Some places actually ban this activity. If you are 'allowed' to work on your cars, then keep doing it. Run some Diesel Purge through them all and enjoy the look on your neighbors faces when you blacken the sky!:D

Do not let them in. Make them produce the report of violation citing exactly what was in violation and do not let them look into anything else. Close and lock the doors and windows. Close the curtains so they cannot see into the house. Close and lock the garage, again pulling curtains on any windows. If they are on ya about the grass, get the precipitation report for each day going back 30-60 days (not safe to mow in the rain and it makes grass grow quicker). See if you can get a copy of the report in advance. File a freedom-of-information request if your state has that law.

Sorry to hear that, Bodhi! That does suck. You wouldn't think a little communication about the matter before escalating it to reporting it would be too much to ask. Is the neighborhood primarily renters or is it a mix of owners/renters? I always mind my own business until someone decides to meddle in mine, that said I'd be stolling the neighborhood with notepad in hand jotting down violations as soon as the inspector leaves.

I'm surprised they give you a week. Ours just shows up, mails you the findings and gives you a date to correct or justify the violation.

Wow that sucks, can't say I have ever had that problem.

Now go report every single one of your neighbors, but first see who is watching when the guy shows up.

this is something i don't understand and am not familiar with. i've never seen this kind of stuff until i started reading posts here. where do you have to live to have this "neighborhood authority" that can cite "violations?" i grew up in a small town and moved on to a bigger but still small city and there have never been any sort of neighborhood watchdogs who look for aesthetic issues like these. in fact, most of my "neighbors" (at least 1/2 mile away) have many cars in their yards (and four wheelers, and kids toys, and appliances) and 1. who cares? and 2. even if someone wanted to complain, there is no one to complain to. unless you break the law (burn garbage, dump used oil in your yard, violate a noise ordinance, etc.) there is nothing anyone can say about what you do because it's YOUR property.

i would just move if i was at the mercy of my neighbors. i find most people to be gossipy and overly concerned with other people's business to ever put myself at the mercy of their bad tastes and judgement calls. bored old ladies, jealous souls, and bitter losers would most likely use this abuse a system like this to entertain themselves or get annonymous revenge for petty instances that occur in every day life. it seems to encourage non-neighborlyness and cowardice. if i have a problem, let's say with my farmer neighbors kids 4 wheeling too late at night and keeping me up (it's happened), the next day i just call or go down there and very neighborly tell him about it. who likes the authorities enough to get them involved in anything?

i don't get it. my property / your property. do as you wish.

The purpose of a Home-Owner's Association is to allow petty people to control what goes on in other peoples' property.

This is why I will never buy into a place with a HOA. I had enough trouble with my condo board when Ilived in a townhouse to ever go through that again!

I think where Bodhi lives the town encourages this behavior not any HOA.

It only brings bad feelings and thoughts of revenge (and revenue to the town in the case of increased fines)

That sucks. I hate people who don't have the guts to simply come and talk to you. They'd rather hide behind the authorities. If you perpetually kept your property in bad shape that is one thing...if you let it slide once in a while due to being busy...not a big deal. Who doesn't get caught up in work occasionally?

That said, I would NEVER live anywhere where there is a HOA or any of that crap. People get so uptight about stupid things.

Henceforth, let it be known that all properties will keep lawn grass mown such that the lawn surface is perfectly 3.25" high, and 80% Kentucky Bluegrass per volume of turf density, and if this is exceeded, the Designated Authorities and Members of the Bored will fill your breakfast bowl with Bermuda grass seed and you will have to eat it, with no sugar.

If I own my property, I'll do what I like on it. Like someone else has posted, there aren't many HOAs around here but I think they are starting to pop up. I could never live in that kind of neighbourhood.

i live in a small town of about 3-400 thats somewhat a suburb of a town of about 12-15000. and in the last year have had the sheriff show up three times because of cars in the yard.all 3 time it was about the kids car.first time he was in the big city him and 3 buddies were setting in his car.the wind came up and blew a tree over,right on top of his car.they were trapped in the car for about an hour til the city showed up and cut the tree up.anyway it smashed the roof and took out the back window.so we just got some plastic and made a back window.now i might add that he drove it every couple days so its not like it was setting.anyway the sheriff shows up and says we have a junk car in the yard.we had to go to the city hall with registration and ins to prove it was licensed. the next time he had a fuel leak on his acura right in front of the back tire so he had it up on the jack.got some hose but didn't get back to it that day.next day he fixed it and off he went.2 weeks later here comes the sheriff again saying we have a car in the yard up on jacks.funny thing there is my 36ft 5th wheel was now setting where his car was.sheriff was kinda dumbfounded,third time was about a month ago the acura was setting out by the end of the driveway.the kid got sent off and wanted us to sell it so i put it next to the driveway.this time the sheriff says we have a car parked on the grass.i finally got fed up and took it out to my buddies farm and set it out by the road.now my camper is setting in the exact same spot but they don't say anything about it setting on the grass.somebody evidently doesn't like the kid.and i think i know who the a-hole is.according to the city ordinance the city clerk showed me you can not park on the grass.by park it is defined as setting with the engine off.well half the town is guilty of that yet nobody else gets visits from the sheriff.if i could find a house we both liked i'd move in a second.

Yep, actually it's the county. My neighborhood does not even have an HOA. In my county you can call (or fill out a nice simple online form) and report anyone ... you just give the county the address in question, the violations you think you see, and your name, address and phone number ... and they will send a warning letter and then inspect that property. So any idiot with a petty problem or who simply wants to cause a nuisance for someone they don't care for can just go to the county Web site and file a complaint. County started this program about a year and a half ago to boost $$$$$ from fines.

I spent the whole night/morning making my yard perfect (not quite) and messing up the mower in the wet grass. It has rained for three weeks straight here, almost literally. I do no think there have been two straight days without rain so far this month. I think most people here pay to have their tiny lawns mowed and the mowing guys can come when there's a little window of good weather/dryness. My day is 8 hours offset from a normal day because of my job ... so my "free time" is from 2-6 a.m. Maybe I should start mowing at 4 a.m. three times a week.:D

Hopefully this won't result in any fines. I'm hoping to move out anyway ... my lease ended last month so I'm in limbo now anyway waiting for my landlady to decide what she wants to do with the house. There are some really nice people here, and it's very safe, but unfortunately I can't take the pressure to have a perfect little pretty home all the time. Plus there's not enough room for cars here.:o

I've had similar things happen on my block. In those situations, there seem to be a couple of dynamics. Either a neighbor dislikes another neighbor for a petty reason and is using the city authorities to harass them, or a neighbor thinks everything on the block should be exactly as he or she wants it, and if there is anything outside the bounds of their 'aesthetic' sense, they call the city to harass the person. Once the two guys next door with the strong aesthetic sense moved away, the harassment diminished.
Don't take it personally and be thankful that your life is fulfilling enough that you don't have to meddle in other people's affairs to make it interesting.

I live in a neighborhood with an HOA...my only peeve so far is the stupid semi-annual dues, but we don't have anal residents waiting to pounce on an unsuspecting homeowner who briefly lapsed on weekly yard maintenance or something.

Bohdi, I'm playing "devils advocate" here, as I noticed that you were able to cite possible infractions on your own, without knowing the true intent of the code violations. In this day and age, especially in a neighborhood with owners and renters who know little of one another, it's never a good idea to confront someone, lest you leave with a bullet lodged in your butt cheek!

And housing values have plummeted to the point that not only is it difficult to get your money's worth in this economy, but any negative impact in the surrounding area adds to the frustration.

While you may not see much harm in your activities (which you have every right to perform on your property), some folks see it as a potential to escalate such...you are just wrenching on your car, someone else sees this as next week, three more MBs will sit idle on your lot, while engines and trannies lay strewn across the front yard.

The lack of yard maintenance for a brief period may not have been the issue...I believe the tinkering got you the citing...the high grass might have set off the impression that more lackluster habits would follow.

And yeah, it sucks...folks are selective when it comes down to what is found abhorrent. Got dogs that won't stop barking at all hours of the day and night? No problem. Try to keep an aging vehicle in good working order in plain sight? BIG PROBLEM!

Seeking revenge and trying to "out" the source won't do you any good though...move on, keep your yard mowed, and work on your car in the garage or driveway.

That approach might work, but it is sure to raise all sorts of alarms with the inspector. Another approach would be to go to the County office and speak with the person in charge of investigating code violations. Show them that you want to rectify whatever is wrong, but you are not sure what the complaint is. My experience is that inspectors go easy on people who show that they are acting in good faith.

We have one of those neighbors.

Ours likes to shoot guns in his back yard.
In the subdivision.
He is retaliating because he got called in for that.

I just had to renew a building permit because he called in.
Had to move some cars a while back because he called.

One neighbor had to tear down his garage because of it.

The dude thinks he is a real big shot in this little town I live in.
Big fish in a small pond kind of stuff.

I hope he gets it all out of his system soon.
Gotta love childish adults....

Bodhi- Sorry this has happened to you and hope it gets resolved soon. At least you don't live in a condo where you can get busted for having a Hyena on your door as part of your Festivus decorations, this happened to me and I told the old lady who complained the Hyena was actually smiling at her...some people!

don't feel bad, there is a woman in my area that regularly rats out her neighbors because they don't get their trash cans up IMMEDIATELY after the trash truck picks up the trash (because they are WORKING trying to make a living and don't get home until after 5:00 PM). she calls the city 6 - 7 times a day to rat out her neighbor. neighbor gets home and finds her answering machine filled with messages from the city telling her to pick up her trash cans. bad trash cans, bad bad bad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2r12kp3g9Hs
:D:D:D:D




We used to have a neighbor that called out lots of things but that stopped when we started mowing her lawn and cleaning her snow in the winter:cool: Overall though we've gone so far as pulling an engine from a W124 on a bright sunny Sunday and not been bothered. Since we have almost every tool known to man the neighbors would much rather be nice to us then not be able to call us when something breaks....

I think its quite the advantage living in New England, there are counties but they are just geographical designations that don't have any authority.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_england_town

Well, I'm the private type, so if the inspector asked to see the inside of my house, I'd tell him that he could see it, on the condition the he produced a valid warrant sign ed by a justice of the peace, and a signed and sworn affidavit from the person complaining, so that when nothing is found, you can sue the pants off the one that complained.... Without that, the inspector will have to break the door down, at which point, you'll be more than glad to defend your property.....
A friend of mine did that in Canada to a national police officer... That officer hasn't come back since.... That was over some neighbor calling to complain that he had an illegal rottweiler. He didn't have a rottie, he had a fila.... Much nastier, but not banned...

^^^ Why would he want to pick a fight with the county? For one thing, they hold all the cards in this situation.

If the complaint is over unmowed grass, then maybe the inspector will show up, see the grass has been mowed, and then go away.

If such is the case, then yes, he'll see the grass mowed and leave. But, if he's demanding to see inside the house and garage, that's a different story. I'd tell him to pound sand, and no, they only hold the cards you give them.... He would have to came back with a warrant signed by a justice of the peace, along with the signed and sworn affidavit of the person accusing you. Isn't one of the fundamental rights of the US constitution to be able to face your accuser?? If it no longer is your right, then you have lost a major right that your founding fathers spilled their blood for....

So even if the garage door is closed 95% of the year they can fine you if you were to open it while they are there?

Should he answer the door armed or unarmed?

Try Plan B: Mow the lawn; clean up the house if it needs cleaning; remove potential fire hazards if any and let the inspector in. No reason to turn this into a junior version of Waco.

code violations rarely go inside, it is mostly things like grass condition, parked or junk cars, signage etc that the county has deemed detrimental to property value. I got cited for some junk trucks in my backyard because my renter at the time decided to cut up 50 or so skids for firewood, in the front yard. I had pictures sent to me of the skids in the yard in many stages of disassembly along with shots over the fence of my old trucks in the rear of the yard. Code enforcement does not grand father in existing conditions like my trucks so I was told to remove the skids and the cars in 10 days or face a $100/car/day fine. I had to take vacation to go to Oh and sell my old trucks and bronco. I could have kept them if I wanted to insure and license them. I know exactly who it was but in the end I cant blame them but I blame my renter for the skid fiasco.

I agree this sucks. It is so much easier to just knock on your neighbor's door and talk to them. If nothing else, it puts you in a much better position if you are forced to involve your city/regional government later. You can tell them that you tried to work it out on your own but the homeowner wasn't responsive.

Our city and county expressly prohibits anonymous complaints. If you want to complain about a neighbor you must fully identify yourself before the city will send a bylaw inspector. One of my neighbors did a huge backyard pool reno last summer that left the pool area inadequately protected. The 70 feet of shared property line we have is immediately adjacent to his pool, and I have a three year old that I don't want drowning in his pool. I looked into the process just so I knew what I'd have to do, but first I knocked on his door and shared my concerns and asked him to rectify them. He had the whole thing fixed properly in a matter of days.

Its amazing what you receive in return if you treat most people with a degree of respect. It is a shame your neighbor didn't offer that respect to you.

It is there to make sure that your mess doesn't affect my resale value.

What happens if I do that and it affects your property during resale time? Will you be as generous then when you have to take a beating because the neighbors' houses look like garbage although you spent big bucks to make yours look good? I chased away the buyers on my neighbor's property during his sale time and made it difficult for him to get his price. Every day that goes by is a day he was losing money. Nobody to stop me at the time because there was no HOA. Just me and him and as long as I didn't break the law, there was nothing he could do. I made the yard look bad and I know there was at least one buyer that I scared off. She didn't like it that a neighbor would work it so that it was legal but unethical and she decided to withdraw her offer or not put it in.

And having heard that from you, he would go home, stymied and sad, curl up in a ball and cry, right? I know a shop that did that and the fire inspector wrote up everything he could find and they had to close the business. Sure, I can't bang down your door without a warrant but you bet that if I want to find fault with you, I can.

Bodhi, I think this is a neighbor that doesn't like you for one reason or another and this was one case where he had some excuse to get you into trouble. My neighbor called the cops on me for having my dogs poop in his yard. When the cops came, even they admitted that they knew it was bogus from looking at the bag of picked up dog poop. It was because he didn't like me running my dogs around in MY yard unleashed. I called my lawyer to make sure that the easement between the sidewalk and road was public access. Lawyer said it was as long as I did not block his egress and ingress. I bought a bright neon pink leash and walked my dogs to the easement areas around his driveway and let the dogs pee there to kill large swaths of grass. Did that every morning at 0715 when he left the house and even showed him the leash. Must have made his day. His luck went downhill from there. Seems like all kinds of issues happened to his yard. Even his kid's sandbox was not unaffected.

May I ask what, if anything, had you done to introduce yourself when you moved in . . . perhaps becoming more "neighborly" as well?

If it is as I think, I doubt it is someone reporting it because they see it as a violation. I think they are doing it just to be mean because they don't like her. Hopefully she gets an inspector who is more like me where she can wear a short skirt, low cut dress or bikini top and just happened to be wet from hosing off the car or something. If Bodhi were doing that, I'd be there all day trying to find something wrong with her property but somehow leaving empty handed at the end of the day. Just doing my job and being through. :D :D

And so you surrender your rights to the police state....

I'd be tempted to clean up the exterior of the house, so it looks nice and just not be their. Tell them you have to work.

Kind of limits the inspector to outside.


Don't fight with the city, its a bad idea. Every once in awhile a big builder around here gets into a pissing match with them. It always costs him money.

And the overall outcome is usually........?

Is costing a company more money a good thing?

That's true, but I doubt that the county cares about what's going on inside the house or garage, unless the anonymous complaint said that he is running a business in a residential zone, or something. That uncertainty another good reason to be proactive by going to the county before the 30th and asking what this is all about. If the county is not interested in what is going on inside, one way to get them interested is to make a big show about denying them access.That absolutely is a fundamental right, but enforcing that right can be an expensive PITA.

The Fourth Amendment has always been my favorite part of the Bill of Rights:That language embodies one of the main reasons America was established - the right to be left alone.

On the other hand, we should also respect the county's role in protecting the neighbors' interests. If this dispute can be settled amicably, then everyone comes out ahead. In most cases, the best way to do that, IMHO, is to be cooperative.

Bingo. I've only been involved in a few projects, but each time we went above and beyond what the code requires. Once you establish a good reputation with the authorities, they become much more cooperative. It amazes me that so many people choose to fight city hall. Even if you win the fight, you lose time and money.

Well, I talked to my landlady this morning, and at least cleared things up with her. She called the county office and they did tell her the specific violations cited: the lawn was not cut and there was a container of oil out front "accessible to children." I can understand why that would be a concern to someone, and if I had thought of it as a hazard to kids (or cats/dogs) I wouldn't have left it out there for one second. So again, if someone had left a note on my door or just said something to me when I was out in my driveway, I would have been quick to clean it up and be mindful of kids in the future. I mean, I can understand how one might want to avoid confrontation ... you never know when your simple comment might launch a serious problem. But this is a pretty nice neighborhood, I'm in and out a lot and always make an effort to smile/wave/greet neighbors. The neighborhood kids always play in my yard and I never complain ... I'm very friendly to them and they all think I'm really cool. If one of their parents' was concerned their child would play in my oil, I can't imagine them not just politely saying, "hey, I know you're probably busy, but my little Susie gets into things, and I'm worried she's going to get into that dirty oil on your porch."
But all that said, I'm guessing whoever filed this complaint probably was not someone who even has a kid ... it seems more like someone who has a beef with me. I'm a pretty docile person, but I do come in late at night (which people associate with being unsavory) and I do have a lot of car activity going on. They have no legal recourse against my registered, running cars or what I keep inside my private garage, so they file a complaint about my grass.
Either way, all I can really do is clean it up, keep it clean and keep in mind that there's always someone silently waiting to give you a hassle. As for the inspector, I believe they are only allowed to inspect a specific checklist or outdoor violations ... they sent it in the letter. I'll just do the best I can and cross my fingers.

He loses and a project dies. Than the city does him no favors on the next.

I deal with city inspectors on a regular bases. Most are nice guys, make their job easy and they won't make your life difficult.

Well you really can't mow the lawn on your scedule and your right we've been getting pounded with rain for quite a long time.

Your probably right about the complainer not actually having kids. Whats the average age of the kids in your neighborhood? I'm quite sure their parents have taught them not to play in dirty things (oil) and to be honest, I can't think of many kids who would want to stick their hands in it accessible or not.

Yep, I like to think we have a good reputation around town and the feedback I get from people idicates that.

I tell the inspector when he comes to do anything, I don't want to give him a writers cramp.:D On my last CO inspection he didn't have to write a thing in the problem area of his report.:cool:

Sounds like you have it covered.

Didn't I guess that? Do I get a gold star? :D

Suggest she rent the house to a family of howler monkeys for a bit, then go back to regular old people. I'm sure the complaints will stop.

Or start smoking your own fish in the back yard.

If I lived on the East Coast, I'd suggest a GTG there. Just think of the clatter of a herd of 240Ds. Put them in reverse and hear the howl. They'd sound more fearice than a squadron of Stukas in a dive.
Just a thought,
Tom

Just like the little sheep that I am. B-a-a-a-a-a-a.....

Yes, I have the right to decline the inspector access to my property. I am aware of that right and choose to invite the inspector onto my property anyway. My right, my decision. You consider it an act of capitulation. I do not.

it is obvious that this individual did not have the kahunas to knock on your door and ask you face to face to correct the issues. they like to hide behind an anonymous phone call and ask the inspectors to do their dirty work for them.

- "These rats, they're EVERYWHERE"

from the movie "The Departed"

In an ideal world, I could agree with your statement. In the real world where real humans live, I will stick with my generalization.

Despite the inferences about the person who complained, didn't "the system" work as it should? There was no confrontational situation, the issues were addressed and remedied without incident. There has also been tacit agreement by the OP that there was legitimacy to the complaint.