Good Fences Make Good Neighbors-Or do they?

The proverb “Good fences make good neighbors” has been around for a couple of centuries in different forms. The specific phrase comes from the Robert Frost Poem, “Mending Fences”, which interestingly questions if this is really true. But when people don’t consider their neighbor’s privacy or wishes, ill feelings can occur, even if not on purpose.

A Money Magazine article last spring, stated that 60% of Americans have a complaint about someone they live near, they even report that a bad neighbor can actually reduce your home's value by up to 5%. It suggests that you could move or you could learn to live with them. Ideas for resolving any issues range from inviting them over for coffee (or perhaps a beer) to explain your perspective in a friendly manner for minor issues, to checking into local ordinances, which they may be violating, and taking the legal route.

That leads me to another item, which was reported recently in the nearby community of Howell’s Tri-Town News.

The Howell Township Council has adopted ordinances that seek to address the issue of 700 vacant/abandoned properties in the community.  The new ordinances will allow officials to track vacant properties and to cite the responsible owner for code violations. The new policy now allows the violations to be transferred with the ownership of the property. Although I applaud the Township for trying to remedy the problem, there can be consequences for buyers.

In many cases these may be Bank or Lender owned properties such as foreclosures. Buyers considering purchasing vacant properties should be aware that they might be responsible to pay for issued violations, since they are now transferrable in Howell. These as well as other hidden costs can mount up and may not be disclosed in many cases until late in the sale process, when the township gets involved during title work or tax settlement.

Have you ever had a “neighbor” problem? How did you resolve it?
Do you have a distressed or vacant property in your neighborhood? Have you tried to do anything about it with any success?

Pat Linde-Neidermeyer, Veltri Realtors
Email: PatatVeltri@Gmail.com
Call: 732-598-8348
www.veltrirealtors.com