what will the city of Madison do to a homeowner who isn't taking care of their property? (Huntsville: bank owned, foreclosure)

[harry chickpea]

Originally Posted by Renaldo78

Does Limestone County have any kind of code enforcement?

No. There is enforcement if there is a health issue, like piles of tires harboring mosquitoes, but there is no enforcement of building codes in residential construction and no code to enforce on stuff like is being discussed. That is left to the municipalities. Athens has crazy code enforcement stronger than some HOAs and quite possibly illegal in the amount of over-reaching it does.

On my first post in the thread, yes, I did mean it is literally often easier to handle things pro-actively. When I was about 15, there was a home in our residential area that a friend and I had sometimes cut grass at for $5. The homeowner attempted to do it on his own and got behind the following summer. As the grass was going to seed, I commented to my friend that we needed to step in and we cut the grass one morning. When the homeowner accosted us I just replied that we were doing it for free, just for "old times sake." He laughed and we got a write-up in a local paper for our actions, but he kept his lawn cut after that. There was no need for accusation or any ill feelings. We just figured that he needed help for whatever reason and stepped in without having to be asked.

Mowing a suburban lawn is a couple of hours of exercise and a couple bucks for gas. You would pay more to go to a gym to get the exercise and could spend that much for gas getting there. The idea of sitting and steaming over an uncut postage stamp of grass a few houses down is ludicrous in the larger scheme of life.

Now, as far as a county getting involved in such pissant problems, it makes no sense. There are many properties here that a goat would fall over sideways trying to eat the weeds, and mowing would have to involve a death wish. People who want to live in areas with manicured lawns have plenty of options. After living with such restrictions for much of my life, I'm happier that my neighbor can have a project car in the yard and not be bothered, and the government intrusion and resultant taxes and fines are kept out. There are times I will PURPOSELY put junk visible to the road just to keep those who believe in HOAs away - think of it as vampire preventing garlic against the terminally obsessives.

[TN2HSV]

Originally Posted by Renaldo78

Does Limestone County have any kind of code enforcement?

If you are talking unincorporated Limestone Co (i.e. not in Madison, Athens or any other city), I don't think there's much in the way of code enforcement. I didn't find anything on their website. Some of the residents and/or realtors can give you more details.

[djmaxwell]

Originally Posted by needtosellmyhome

Not true. The neighborhood that I currently live in has two ladies that work in the community clubhouse that strictly enforce the covenants. In fact, they typically mail out between 30 and 50 notices per month for various infractions (yes, between thirty and fifty notices per month). If those properties are not brought into compliance within a certain amount of time the process escalates from there to liens placed on the property. I know of one case in the neighborhood recently where a new homeowner had put up curtains in one of their front windows that were not "neutral" in color (our covenants state that all window treatments are to be neutral in color). Those homeowners were forced to remove those curtains from their window or put neutral colored blinds in the window to block the color of the curtains. Lawns with weeds a foot high in this neighborhood would never fly without the HOA forcing them to do something about it and we are not permitted to have any weeds in our lawns or flower beds at all. I know of someone here that got a letter because they had some weeds growing in between their front street curbing and the street/asphalt. All of us that live here agreed to abide by the covenants when we purchased our homes.

Letters and liens aren't going to stop somebody who doesn't care.

[needtosellmyhome]

Originally Posted by TN2HSV

You can have any color drapery you like, as long as they are lined with a neutral color so that you don't see red, purple, green, etc from the street. Most nice curtains/drapes are lined anyway, so this isn't an issue.

Correct. These particular curtains/drapes were not lined with a neutral color and they were only in one window. I think the owner kept them up and just put white or off-white blinds on the window to block the color of the curtains from the street which is fine. If they have the blinds open then they most likely would have the curtains open too during the day so it didn't make a difference anymore since you couldn't see them from the street during the day if they were open.

[CoreLysium]

To answer the original question of what will Madison do?

This, pretty much:

[needtosellmyhome]

Originally Posted by CoreLysium

To answer the original question of what will Madison do?

This, pretty much:

I'm not sure where you're getting that they won't do anything?

The City of Madison employs two full time code enforcement officers and has for years: Madison, AL - Official Website - Code Enforcement

They also send out notices to builders and developers all the time to require them to keep weeds cut below 12 inches on empty residential lots in all subdivisions within the city limits of Madison. There are times when there are weeds on empty residential lots in Madison that are over 12 inches high but if there are it will probably be addressed. The code enforcement officers also work under the director of the building department: Madison, AL - Official Website

[FayettevilletoHuntsville]

There was another thread a while back about a similar situation with a house in Huntsville and the city "forcibly cut" his yard in May of this year:

Huntsville forcibly cuts Five Points yard said to be the most overgrown in city | AL.com

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - A Five Points yard that city officials have described as the most overgrown in Huntsville is getting a serious trim.

City landscape crews on Wednesday morning began enforcing a two-year old order to remove the tangle of vines, shrubs and branches that had almost completely hidden James Hessler's home at 1320 Pratt Ave.

By noon, the house with a large metal peace symbol above the front porch was fully visible to passing traffic for the first time in years. Drivers on Pratt Avenue paused to see the newly-cut yard. One man pulled over and snapped a picture with his smartphone.

Hessler filed an emergency petition through his lawyer just after midnight Wednesday asking a Madison County Circuit Court judge to block the city from cutting his yard.

The petition, signed by attorney Reta McKannon, argues that destroying plants and other vegetation "would be tantamount to taking his right to live peaceably in his own home, and to infliction of emotional distress upon him."

The Huntsville City Council declared the yard a public nuisance in July 2012. Hessler, who wanted to keep the yard in a natural state for privacy reasons and to attract wildlife, filed a civil lawsuit. He argued in court filings that the city's nuisance abatement plan would cause more damage to his property than what is allowed under state law governing tall grass and weeds.

But a Madison County Circuit Court judge and the state Court of Civil Appeals both declined to block the city from enforcing its landscaping plan. And earlier this month, the Alabama Supreme Court refused Hessler's request for a new hearing.

Huntsville Community Development Director Ken Benion said Hessler was home when the landscaping crews arrived but did not try to stop them. The city will bill Hessler for the cost of the labor and brush-cutting equipment used Wednesday, he said.

"I'm not sure how much that will be until we calculate the manpower and the equipment that had to be mobilized," Benion told AL.com.

I also looked up the grass and weed ordinance for Huntsville at the time that the other thread was active and it's an 8 inch limit for all lots within a subdivision and 12 inch limit on property adjacent to a subdivision: https://library.municode.com/index.aspx?clientId=12962 This is for the City of Huntsville!

Grass and weed nuisance means any abundance of overgrown grass weeds within the city, which is injurious to the general health, safety and welfare by providing breeding grounds and shelter for rats, mice, snakes, mosquitoes and other vermin, insects and pests; or attaining such heights and dryness so as to constitute a fire threat or hazard; bearing wingy or downy seeds, when mature, that cause the spread of weeds and, when breathed, irritation to the throat, lungs and eyes of the public; or hiding debris, such as broken glass or metal, which could inflict injury on any person going upon the property; or being unsightly, or any growth of grass or weeds, other than ornamental growth, which exceeds a height of eight inches growing upon any lot or parcel of land within any platted, subdivided, or improved residential, commercial or industrial subdivision, and any growth of grass or weeds, other than ornamental growth, which exceeds a height of 12 inches on property adjacent to a platted, subdivided, or improved residential, commercial or industrial subdivision.

[CoreLysium]

Originally Posted by needtosellmyhome

I'm not sure where you're getting that they won't do anything?

Maybe I should have done the standard Picard face-palm?

It doesn't imply inaction.

Facepalm - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A facepalm (sometimes also face-palm or face palm) is the physical gesture of placing one's hand flat across one's face or lowering one's face into one's hand or hands. The gesture is often exaggerated by giving the motion more force and making a slapping noise when the hand comes in contact with the face. The gesture is found in many cultures as a display of frustration, disappointment, embarrassment,[2] shock, surprise or sarcasm.[3]

[dijkstra]

Originally Posted by needtosellmyhome

I'm not sure where you're getting that they won't do anything?

The City of Madison employs two full time code enforcement officers and has for years: Madison, AL - Official Website - Code Enforcement

They also send out notices to builders and developers all the time to require them to keep weeds cut below 12 inches on empty residential lots in all subdivisions within the city limits of Madison. There are times when there are weeds on empty residential lots in Madison that are over 12 inches high but if there are it will probably be addressed. The code enforcement officers also work under the director of the building department: Madison, AL - Official Website

Originally Posted by FayettevilletoHuntsville

There was another thread a while back about a similar situation with a house in Huntsville and the city "forcibly cut" his yard in May of this year:

Huntsville forcibly cuts Five Points yard said to be the most overgrown in city | AL.com



I also looked up the grass and weed ordinance for Huntsville at the time that the other thread was active and it's an 8 inch limit for all lots within a subdivision and 12 inch limit on property adjacent to a subdivision: https://library.municode.com/index.aspx?clientId=12962 This is for the City of Huntsville!

The one in five points referenced by FayettevilletoHuntsville above was finally cut after months of the homeowner refusing and finally a lawsuit. So yeah, I guess they will eventually do something if you make someone angry enough but it took months not days for it to happen.

Probably one reason they don't get very aggressive most of the time is because you can ride around and find city property regularly that isn't in compliance. For example, during Panoply; the city inspection department on Fountain Circle had fescue going to seed that was knee high..........IN DOWNTOWN!!!
That is utterly unacceptable.

[Madmom2000]

Originally Posted by needtosellmyhome

Not true. The neighborhood that I currently live in has two ladies that work in the community clubhouse that strictly enforce the covenants. In fact, they typically mail out between 30 and 50 notices per month for various infractions (yes, between thirty and fifty notices per month). If those properties are not brought into compliance within a certain amount of time the process escalates from there to liens placed on the property. I know of one case in the neighborhood recently where a new homeowner had put up curtains in one of their front windows that were not "neutral" in color (our covenants state that all window treatments are to be neutral in color). Those homeowners were forced to remove those curtains from their window or put neutral colored blinds in the window to block the color of the curtains. Lawns with weeds a foot high in this neighborhood would never fly without the HOA forcing them to do something about it and we are not permitted to have any weeds in our lawns or flower beds at all. I know of someone here that got a letter because they had some weeds growing in between their front street curbing and the street/asphalt. All of us that live here agreed to abide by the covenants when we purchased our homes.

Do you mind sharing what subdivision this is? Do they allow parking on the street? If not this is where I want to live. There's so much parking on the street in our neighborhood it's become a hazard. I'm always afraid a child is going to run out in between the cars.