Covenant Controlled versus No Covenant Communities with messy neighbors

Yesterday a family member called me who does not live in a covenant controlled community, complaining about their neighbors yard that, well lets say was not in perfect condition. They asked me if there was anything they could do, I replied yes, but got to thinking if they lived in a covenant controlled community the process may be a little easier. I asked how well they knew their neighbors and if they felt comfortable going over and asking them if they could address the issues in their yard. You never know if someone is going through something that is affecting their ability to maintain the exterior of their home. If you know your neighbor well and you are the neighborly type, you may even be able to offer some assistance in helping them address their issues. If that fails I suggested that they call the local city/county’s code violation department. They would most likely send out an officer to write up any code violations that they had. Depending on what the city ordinances were they might get some of the problems that they listed addressed but not all. If they lived in a community with a Home Owners Association, they might have better luck at getting specific items addressed or not have had these issues at all. I myself live in a community with a Home Owner’s Association and appreciate the factor that we have to get out paint colors approved and keep our lawns watered and mowed. It really keeps our neighborhood looking nice and also aids in our property values. You always will have the one or two neighbors in your neighborhood that try to bend the rules, or that don’t take care of their front yard the way that you do. In a covenant controlled community they would face fines and or letters from the Home Owners Association to correct the problem, some home owners associations will even send in a landscaping company to fix issues and then charge it back to the seller. HOA’s have a lot of downsides too, but I do feel that the value is truly there for keeping a neighborhoods home values up in a volatile market.
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