Here in Indiana, it is FINALLY warming up! The trees are full of leaves, the flowers are blooming, the grass is green and GROWING.
Lately, I find myself dealing mainly in distressed sales. Foreclosures and Short Sales make up a majority of my listing. In both cases, the lawns have a habit of going unmowed. Well, this week I have had a barrage of phone calls concerning my listings. Unfortunately they are not the productive money making phone calls I like to receive. No, these are the phone calls where you just want to YELL obscenities in the phone at the party on the other end.
Twice this week I have had people call me about properties that bare my name to complain that the lawns have gone unattended. One property is in a Short Sale I am dealing with. It is in a upper end neighborhood where everyone keeps their yards looking nice. Well the owner had sold the home on contract and the tenants defaulted and now the owner is in default with the bank. They are in the foreclosure process. The owner no longer lives in town and has no money to have the property maintained. So, the lawn is 8" tall and the "President of the Association" has decided to make it his mission to call me and harass me about the lawn. His first call I missed so he left me a detailed message about how the lawn was 6" tall and that the city would be citing the property soon if it was not cut.
This really struck my wrong, so when his next call came and I picked up I let him have it. He starts in again that he is the "President of the Association" and that the lawn needs to be cut and would like to know what I am going to do about it.
I interrupt him to let him know that: "Just because my name and number are the easiest name and number for you to get ahold of, does NOT make the the correct person to call to complain about the lawn!" I go on about how the property is in foreclosure and that the owner does not have the money to keep the property up and that we have an offer on it and hopefully soon there will be someone there to take care of the home. But in the meantime, the OWNER is the correct person for him to call with his complaints.
Just a few days later, I receive an email with a new listing from a bank I work with. So I go over to the home, which is also in a upper end neighborhood, and scope out the situation. The home is vacant and the lawn is seriously overgrown. The grass is 10" tall and there are thistles in the landscape taller than most of the landscape.
I go through the home and post signs on the entrance doors stating that the home is a foreclosure and I am in charge of marketing and selling the home. And that if there is an emergency with the home to please contact me.
As I am touring the home, I hear someone calling out "Hello." As I turn around, there is a neighbor in the home. He introduces himself and we discuss the situation regarding the home. As expected he ask me about the lawn and I inform him that the bank will start to maintain the property now that they have possession and that the grass should be cut within the next few days. He thanks me for my time and leaves.
As I pull out of the driveway, I see 2 nosy neighbors walk across the street to read the sign I posted on the front door. That evening, I receive another phone call from another neighbor. This one is an older man with to much time on his hands. He tells me who he is and that he is a neighboring home to the foreclosure I am working on. As expected, he ask me "WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO MOW THAT LAWN? IF IT IS NOT DONE SOON, I AM GOING TO HAVE TO CALL THE CITY!" I go into my speil about how the bank will take care of it in a few days and that they will then mow it every other week.
Well, I guess that was not good enough for him and he decided to start to complain to me how unacceptable it is that they (the bank) let the home get this way and not mow the lawn on a regular basis.
At this time, I have just had it with neighbors calling me about lawns. I cut him off and bluntly tell him that "The bank has just taken over possession of the home and that it was the previous owners responsibility to maintain the home. If he has a problem with that he needs to take it up with them." Needless to say, that pretty much ended our conversation. I reassured him that the lawn would be cut as I hung up.
Now I know I have not handled these neighbors the best way possible, but at some point you just get fed up. I know they look at these homes and wonder what is going on. They are annoyed that they take such good care of their homes and this home looks SO BAD. BUT just because my name and number is easy to access doesn't make me the correct person to complain to.
So, I would love to hear how you handle these lovely neighbors. The good. The bad. And the ugly stories are welcome.