Am I Doomed? Question for Home Sellers! (Detroit, Livonia: credit, real estate)

[motown mary]

Our home has been for sale for two months with some good interest but most people who walk through have mentioned the eyesore of a house sitting next door. My Realtor suggested I ask them politely to clean up their yard (since we are on good terms with these neighbors). So I decided to do it & when i saw him, casually said, "our Realtor mentioned that a couple people have noticed your garbage cans, etc. out in the yard & I wondered if you had some time to move them in the garage..." (something to that effect.) I tried to convey that, hey, we're just doing whatever we can to push a sale, hope I didn't catch him off guard but just thought I'd mention it since it could boost the value of both our homes.
I could tell he was annoyed, but had no idea he would then call my Realtor & chew her out, saying "You're selling their house, not mine. Mind your own business! Stay off my property!!" She said he was very hostile & rude, hung up on her. She seemed pretty shaken up by it but said we could take it to the city if worse comes to worst.
Now I am worried he is going to NOT ONLY leave the garbage cans, dog poop piles, garden hose, bikes etc. on the driveway but ALSO deliberately sabotage the sale of our home by perhaps causing a scene when our Realtor comes by with potential buyers.
He is a big guy, tattoos & pretty intimidating but ordinarily very cool, nice family with kids. I don't know if I caught him on a bad day or what. But I am scared now!
What can I do? Need some major damage control because I am working on a corporate relo & want to be out ASAP to join my husband out of state!!

[Daniel_T]

One thing to do is to call Local 4. Ruth to the Rescue. I bet they could help. Also found this good sight on options you have to deal with a trashy neighbor like that. Here is the link.

Tips on Getting Your Neighbor to Clean Their Yard - Associated Content

Sorry to hear about your situation. That's a bummer. Could I ask you a quick question?? Can you tell me what the area around Livernois and Joy Road is like if you are familiar? Thanks.

Daniel

[motown mary]

That is an interesting idea. I think it may make things worse!!!

I don't know anything about the area around Livernois & Joy, is that Livonia? I know Plymouth Rd. & Farmington or Merriman are nice areas.

[Daniel_T]

Thanks. I'm sure glad I don't have to deal with neighbors like that? Your real estate agent SHOULD have some idea as to what to do to get your neighbor up and cleaning up his property. We have a segment here in town about people trashing Tucson. let me call our anchor who does that and see if she would know people you can call to try and fix this problem. I can get back to you tonight.

[Daniel_T]

Ok. I called three different stations. I called my station in Tucson. Got no help whatsoever. I also called WDIV. They didn't help. the lady told me to call 911.

I finally called WXYZ and the woman I spoke to said to call 311. That's the city of Detroit line. You can remain anonymous. There, you can report him, an inspector will come out and site him for the trash in his yard, forcing him to clean his property up. If he doesn't he faces a steep fine or jail time. I was also told that if he calls and threatens the real estate agent or you, you can call the police, which I was told is a wise thing to do.

I know you probably don't want to do that for fear of being hassled by him, but if it get's him to clean up his yard and get your house sold, you'll be outta there and won't have to deal with him anymore. Sorry I couldn't help more. Hope this does help though.

Daniel

[dmetro]

Originally Posted by motown mary

Our home has been for sale for two months with some good interest but most people who walk through have mentioned the eyesore of a house sitting next door. My Realtor suggested I ask them politely to clean up their yard (since we are on good terms with these neighbors). So I decided to do it & when i saw him, casually said, "our Realtor mentioned that a couple people have noticed your garbage cans, etc. out in the yard & I wondered if you had some time to move them in the garage..." (something to that effect.) I tried to convey that, hey, we're just doing whatever we can to push a sale, hope I didn't catch him off guard but just thought I'd mention it since it could boost the value of both our homes.
I could tell he was annoyed, but had no idea he would then call my Realtor & chew her out, saying "You're selling their house, not mine. Mind your own business! Stay off my property!!" She said he was very hostile & rude, hung up on her. She seemed pretty shaken up by it but said we could take it to the city if worse comes to worst.
Now I am worried he is going to NOT ONLY leave the garbage cans, dog poop piles, garden hose, bikes etc. on the driveway but ALSO deliberately sabotage the sale of our home by perhaps causing a scene when our Realtor comes by with potential buyers.
He is a big guy, tattoos & pretty intimidating but ordinarily very cool, nice family with kids. I don't know if I caught him on a bad day or what. But I am scared now!
What can I do? Need some major damage control because I am working on a corporate relo & want to be out ASAP to join my husband out of state!!

If you have one, report him to the homeowners association. If this isn't possible, than do as your realtor suggests and report him to the city.

[motown mary]

Daniel - thanks for all the recon. My neighbor came outside today while I was taking out my own trash. I said I was sorry if I had insulted him & he acted as if he was never mad at all. (Of course, he still hasn't picked up the yard but at least there is a nice fresh layer of snow covering most of it now.)

[Daniel_T]

Well, I am glad that he was in a better mood. I know I wouldn't ask him to clean up his stuff again. My goodness. What is the rest of the neighborhood like you live in? Is your neighbors house the only one that is trashed like that? If so, I feel you have a GOOD chance at forcing him to clean up his act. I know Detroit isn't know for having the nicest (or cleanest neighborhoods) but some are.

Daniel

[porachmonkey]

What the heck did you expect?
There is no way to ask that of a neighbor and get a good responce. You can not say it with out ticking someone off.
Out of 10 people you will tick off 9.6 of them.
Not to mention, with things going like they are you are going to have to drop the price of your home to move it.
In this market even if someone has the money or the credit to buy they have the world at their feet.
If your home is not perfect or priced right they can go to the next sub and find one that is.
Now that you have ticked off the guy next door you can bet dollars to dougnuts that the whole block knows and now when the guy sees the realtors car pull in I bet a few more cans go out front or music plays loud or something to say to the buyrer,"hey dont buy this house"
Your realtor is not the sharpest tool in the shed, she should have known better.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by motown mary

Daniel - thanks for all the recon. My neighbor came outside today while I was taking out my own trash. I said I was sorry if I had insulted him & he acted as if he was never mad at all. (Of course, he still hasn't picked up the yard but at least there is a nice fresh layer of snow covering most of it now.)

I'd go back to him again and ask him again to clean up the yard. You really have nothing to lose (unless he shoots you) You're moving, so you're not really trying to make friends here. Selling a home is like running a business, and you have a situation which is causing your business to go down the tubes.

Be polite and be professional. Explain to the the guy he is wrong, it is the Realtor's job to sell the home, the neighborhood, and the surrounding area. If HE were looking at buying a home somewhere, he most definitely would be hyper critical of what his neighbors would be like, what the surrounding area is like, and many other factors that go into buying a home. It serves him NO good to have your home sit on the market and not sell, or have to go into foreclosure because it won't sell. In fact, that's bad for the whole neighborhood. Try to get him to understand how it benefits him to help you sell your home.

If that doesn't work, then file complaints.