Jim Valentine: Can the neighbors do that?

No matter where you live, you have neighbors. You might be in a condo with attached walls, or on a ranch with miles of fencing between you.

Regardless of your situation, your neighbor can have an impact on you, and vice versa.

When neighbors ignore CC&R’s, (Community, County or State regulations), codes or laws, it can have a detrimental effect on your quiet enjoyment of your property as well as your property value.

Obvious scofflaw activities are easy to see by buyers, i.e., multiple car carcasses accruing, or vegetation allowed to grow without human touch. These create a visual blight and certainly influence buyers in the neighborhood affecting the price they will pay for nearby homes.

What isn’t so readily seen are things like having more dogs than is allowed without a kennel license. How high is their radio tower antennae, and is that really allowed? All properties are subject to county or city codes. Such codes have guidelines for dogs, i.e., three maximum per household in Douglas County without a kennel license.

Property usage violations are usually enforced by a code enforcement officer. If you have a neighbor that is using his property the wrong way you can file a complaint. They are complaint-driven; the officer doesn’t necessarily drive around looking for trouble. Ideally, you would talk to the neighbor first and measure their response. Are they receptive to mitigate the matter or do they address your ancestors while they encourage you to disregard their behavior?

Sometimes asking their plans for the offensive action, i.e., “How long will you be leaving that there?” can be softer than demanding and yield a better result. You are neighbors and it isn’t easy to pick up your house and move it. Mutual respect helps solve most neighborly matters.

A good neighbor is a treasured asset and should be treated as such.

Understand, too, that often neighbors have agreements to allow certain activities by the other that won’t be acceptable to you. If you work graveyard and are a daytime sleeper having the neighbor kids come home from school and jump on their motorcycles to run up and down the street in front of your house isn’t going to work for you. Maybe a chat can have them go the other direction or wait until a certain hour when you wake up. There are many such scenarios that it is good to learn about before you close the deal in case you won’t be able to stop the behavior.

Most people exercise common decency or courtesy in their daily lives so as to not become a problem for their neighbor. As in most aspects of life, the asocial behavior referenced in this article is done by only a few people, but when it occurs it can be huge. If you have a problem with a neighbor and are selling be sure to disclose the problem and let the buyers know if it will be a problem for them. It is better than seeing them in a courtroom environment to discuss the matter.

Ben Franklin said, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” Be a good neighbor and your neighbor will likely reciprocate.

When it comes to choosing professionals to assist you with your Real Estate needs… Experience is Priceless! Jim Valentine, RE/MAX Gold Carson Valley, 775-781-3704. dpwtigers@hotmail.com