Q & A Table of Contents
They’re Messing Up Our Community And We Get No Support
From: Mike, Monroeville, Ohio
Question: I live on a rural county road near an intersection. There are several other homes in the area that make it look like a small community. Of course, there is one neighbor who makes things uncomfortable for others in our small community. They have a rather large home that sets only about thirty feet from the road, yet everything they own that would normally be stored in a barn or backyard is setting out in front of their home. This includes non-running vehicles, 55 gallon drums, engine motors, tires, lawn and garden equipment, and they even placed a commercial sized dumpster in their front yard near the road.
I am thinking of selling my home, but me and my other neighbors fully realize that unless this neighbor cleans it up, all of our homes are not sellable, and we are all losing value on our properties.
We have contacted the Township Trustees, Zoning people, etc...and even had a petition of 20 names, with no action. This has been going on for more than five years. Now, it has become a matter of property value and dollars over emotions and feelings. Should we hire an attorney and sue the township and the county for not enforcing their own regulations? Also, we have learned that this neighbor is doing this on purpose just to anger all of the other neighbors.
Response: Before resorting to litigation, you should interview more than one attorney (a responsible lawyer will give you one hour’s free consultation because you are interviewing him/her for a job) to find out what they think you have to gain or lose by initiating a lawsuit. If the advice you receive gives you reason for optimism about the outcome, and if the fee is within your comfort level, that may be a good fallback position for you and your ‘good’ neighbors.
Part of the question is what you can gain by litigation. Will the ‘bad’ neighbors clean up their premises? Will the legal authorities monitor the ‘bad’ neighbors’ behavior to make sure no further junk appears in their front yard?
Litigation is not a pleasant process — even if you win, you run the risk of increasing your ‘bad’ neighbor’s inappropriate use of his/her property and/or other unfriendly actions. You and your ‘good’ neighbors may want to have some conversations to try to figure out what motivates the ‘bad’ neighbor. It is risky to assume they derive all of their benefits simply from angering the rest of the community. There may be some underlying causes that can be uncovered through a careful review of their history in the neighborhood and their relationships with the ‘good’ neighbors both as a group and on an individual basis. There may be something that happened in the past that motivates their unpleasantness. And if such issues exist, it may be possible to resolve things without resorting to litigation.
Also try to find out whether there is a mirror image to the financial elements currently driving your thinking. Are your ‘bad’ neighbors trying to get more property inexpensively? What do they have to gain if they try to sell their house in its current condition? Would it be possible for some anonymous person (representing the ‘good’ neighbors) to buy the messy property and clean up that mess?
You need to think creatively, putting yourself in your ‘good’ and ‘bad’ neighbors’ shoes. There may be an elegant solution to the problem without resorting to warfare/litigation. But if not, if you have done good homework ahead of time, at least you will have more realistic expectations about what is likely to result from a frontal attack.
Good luck,
Steve
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