What do you do about sloppy neighbors?

[Anonymous]

Ha 13:25 same thing after my father died and my brothers were getting my mother's house ready to sell. Someone complained about a dumpster. The woman who came from the city was actually PISSED at the complainant!

[Anonymous]

Have you considered acting out of compassion rather than annoyance?

You could bring over a coffee cake, cookies, or whatever, knock on the door and say you've noticed that their yard is a little overgrown and ask whether they need a hand.

Around the time we received my daughter's diagnosis (I won't bore with the details) this would have meant the world to me. My husband and I were "able-bodied" and went to work every day and I'm sure people wondered why we didn't do more in the neighborhood, didn't garden, why we had so many weeds, why our car was never washed, etc.

On the other hand I might have put my head in the oven if one more thing (like a health department complaint) occurred, I was that stressed out.

[Anonymous]

OP here. The brush pile has been there for so long, it is turning into compost. The plywood has been there as long. I wouldn't care about it if there weren't rusted nauls sticking out of it. My kid is not the only one that walks/plays near this stuff. It is not on their yard in front of their house but on the grass between the sidewalk and the curb. Thanks for the advice. What are the penalties for a homeowner/renter if a complaint is filed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is not on their yard in front of their house but on the grass between the sidewalk and the curb.

At least in DC the tree box is public property. I'd pick the plywood up and throw it out.

[Anonymous]

OP,

Why don't you remove the plywood yourself, put it on their front porch / at their front door with a note that says this is dangerous? I cannot believe no one's done that given where it is. As for the pile, maybe it is compost.

Call for your questions. I doubt someone from the department is reading this thread!

[Anonymous]

Neighbor like you are so horrible. I have a neighbor who called the police because of a small pile of gravel that was frozen in our alley last winter. She sent a frantic email around demanding to know who had done this. She and or another nearby neighbor called the police about a car parked on private property neatly tucked against a garage. Neither of these situations were causing any harm to anyone, one the families was struggling mightily with a chronic illness and a parent's death in the other case. This neighbor had a son with cancer before--you would think she had learned some compassion for human suffering during that process--but apparently not. She had always excluded her neighbors for social gatherings and would make snide remarks about others' kids including mine to my face--so I shouldn't be surprised--but OP, you have no idea how much animosity you are building up when you do something so petty as this. You never know how a neighbor could help you or your child and family when you need them.

Petty, small, people always get what they deserve, and your neighbors will NEVER forget what an asshole you've been.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Neighbor like you are so horrible. I have a neighbor who called the police because of a small pile of gravel that was frozen in our alley last winter. She sent a frantic email around demanding to know who had done this. She and or another nearby neighbor called the police about a car parked on private property neatly tucked against a garage. Neither of these situations were causing any harm to anyone, one the families was struggling mightily with a chronic illness and a parent's death in the other case. This neighbor had a son with cancer before--you would think she had learned some compassion for human suffering during that process--but apparently not. She had always excluded her neighbors for social gatherings and would make snide remarks about others' kids including mine to my face--so I shouldn't be surprised--but OP, you have no idea how much animosity you are building up when you do something so petty as this. You never know how a neighbor could help you or your child and family when you need them.

Petty, small, people always get what they deserve, and your neighbors will NEVER forget what an asshole you've been.

If everybody minded their business, criminals would be getting away with murder.


PP, I'd say you've got issues of your own. There's nothing wrong with OP's concerns or post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP,

Why don't you remove the plywood yourself, put it on their front porch / at their front door with a note that says this is dangerous? I cannot believe no one's done that given where it is. As for the pile, maybe it is compost.

Call for your questions. I doubt someone from the department is reading this thread!

or spend 10 seconds putting it in the trash can

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Neighbor like you are so horrible. I have a neighbor who called the police because of a small pile of gravel that was frozen in our alley last winter. She sent a frantic email around demanding to know who had done this. She and or another nearby neighbor called the police about a car parked on private property neatly tucked against a garage. Neither of these situations were causing any harm to anyone, one the families was struggling mightily with a chronic illness and a parent's death in the other case. This neighbor had a son with cancer before--you would think she had learned some compassion for human suffering during that process--but apparently not. She had always excluded her neighbors for social gatherings and would make snide remarks about others' kids including mine to my face--so I shouldn't be surprised--but OP, you have no idea how much animosity you are building up when you do something so petty as this. You never know how a neighbor could help you or your child and family when you need them.

Petty, small, people always get what they deserve, and your neighbors will NEVER forget what an asshole you've been.

If everybody minded their business, criminals would be getting away with murder.


PP, I'd say you've got issues of your own. There's nothing wrong with OP's concerns or post.

Oh right, because leaving plywood on your lawn is equivalent to axe murder. You really should write professionally on ethics.

[Anonymous]

13:59 I disagree. She's taking the extreme route when a gentler one might get results. Also, now that she's described where the exposed nails are, I think she's remiss for not handling that sooner! She's sounding passive-aggressive!

[Anonymous]

I live in MoCo. and have called Bulk Trash Pick-up for a neighbor. Granted it was because the kids were cleaning out the house on the weekends, because the elderly couple (their parents) who lived there had gone to live in a nursing home. I knew for certain it was trash and they meant for it to be picked up, but the items were too large for regular trash. I asked the lady if I could make a request for bulk trash for a neighbor. She informed me that I could and that it would count as one of their 5 bulk trash pick-ups because it is filled under each address. Maybe this neighbor just doesn't know what do to with the trash. Have you ever met them? Maybe you could strike up a conversation and then ask if they would like to have it removed.

[Anonymous]

Fairfax County has snakes and they like to hide in piles of wood and such.

Yes, we generally have the kind of snakes that eat rodents and other pests and want nothing to do with you. Garden snakes, rat snakes, etc.

We have only 1 type of venomous snake in northern VA, the copperhead, and it's very rare to see one.

(VA also has 2 other types of venomous snakes, timber rattlers, found in the mountains, and water mocassins, found further south of Richmond, like the Tidewater area.)

Anyway, even if a copperhead were living in a brush pile in your neighbor's yard, it's not going to come after you. It's going to stay in there until it can kill a mouse or some other prey, not pop out and bite you as you're walking by.

[Anonymous]

You could just schedule a bulk trash pick up online.

[Anonymous]

OP Here. Wow, I've gotten some pretty intense responses and while some of them sting, I do appreciate the perspective. My main question for Ffx County residents, can't I just request bulk trash pick up online and put in their address?

[Anonymous]

OP,
Schedule pickup for someone else? That strikes me as unacceptable. Why don't you call and speak to someone about the problem? They can advise based on your description.