neighborhood courtesy question

**CYVADER** · 08-04-2010, 11:10 AM

okay guys-got an etiquette question for you all.

i live in a good hood-everyone keeps up on their yards, landscaping, etc, except for 1 old rental house right next door to me. they never mow, have overgrown bushes, weeds every where that are starting to creep into my yard, and generally don't care about the appearance of the place(not that they should, as it's not theirs, but if it was me i would just for pride sake).

lately, i have been mowing further and further into their yard-i'm about 20 feet in now. i'm doing this for 2 reasons-1 it makes my place look better, and 2 it is pushing the weeds back into their yard and kind of used the 20' as a barrier to protect against my own yard.

well now, i'm so far in that i am mowing around 3 of their huge lilac bushes that have 15' maple trees growing out of them. so i cut the trees out and put mulch around the bushes-easier for me to mow around, and the mulch was on sale for $2/bag at menards(i spent $20).

so here is my question-am i out of line or overstepping any boundaries(other than the obvious lot line). if you were my neighbor would you be upset with me for doing this? what would you do in a similar situation. discuss.

**3TrueFans** · 08-04-2010, 11:11 AM

I'd say if you have that big of a problem with it call the city, stop messing with other people's yards. Or maybe ask them if they mind first?

**CyinCo** · 08-04-2010, 11:12 AM

Out of line? Probably. Upset? hell no. You can come mow my lawn and put in tree rings any time :)

Seriously, there is probably a city ordinance on mowing if the grass is a certain height you could call them in on.

Not sure.

Who owns the place?

**3TrueFans** · 08-04-2010, 11:14 AM

What if your neighbor decided they don't like the kind of grass you have, it doesn't jive with their landscaping, so they come and tear about 20' of it up and re-sod?

**CyinCo** · 08-04-2010, 11:14 AM

Originally Posted by 3TrueFans

What if your neighbor decided they don't like the kind of grass you have, it doesn't jive with their landscaping, so they come and tear about 20' of it up and re-sod?

Apples and oranges in my opinion.

1 situation is preference. The other is neglect.

**JP4CY** · 08-04-2010, 11:15 AM

Have they ever talked to you about it?

**3TrueFans** · 08-04-2010, 11:16 AM

Originally Posted by CyinCo

Apples and oranges in my opinion.

1 situation is preference. The other is neglect.

If it's actually neglect then he needs to talk to the owner or the city about it. Otherwise it's just preference of how long you want your grass to be.

**iowast8fan** · 08-04-2010, 11:17 AM

wow! you are cutting 20 feeet into the yard, including around trees and bushes? And you bought mulch for their tree? That's a little rediculous. The renter is probably hoping you will start mowing the whole yard.

I think you are out of line! Use the county assessors website to find the owner of the house and contact him with a complaint.

**CyinCo** · 08-04-2010, 11:18 AM

Originally Posted by 3TrueFans

If it's actually neglect then he needs to talk to the owner or the city about it. Otherwise it's just preference of how long you want your grass to be.

Yep. I'd talk to the city. My understanding is the City will come mown if an owner won't and then bill them. The same with snow removal on sidewalks.

**ruxCYtable** · 08-04-2010, 11:19 AM

Originally Posted by ISU BET

okay guys-got an etiquette question for you all.

i live in a good hood-everyone keeps up on their yards, landscaping, etc, except for 1 old rental house right next door to me. they never mow, have overgrown bushes, weeds every where that are starting to creep into my yard, and generally don't care about the appearance of the place(not that they should, as it's not theirs, but if it was me i would just for pride sake).

lately, i have been mowing further and further into their yard-i'm about 20 feet in now. i'm doing this for 2 reasons-1 it makes my place look better, and 2 it is pushing the weeds back into their yard and kind of used the 20' as a barrier to protect against my own yard.

well now, i'm so far in that i am mowing around 3 of their huge lilac bushes that have 15' maple trees growing out of them. so i cut the trees out and put mulch around the bushes-easier for me to mow around, and the mulch was on sale for $2/bag at menards(i spent $20).

so here is my question-am i out of line or overstepping any boundaries(other than the obvious lot line). if you were my neighbor would you be upset with me for doing this? what would you do in a similar situation. discuss.

I'd say you are enabling their behavior. I'd keep mowing a couple extra rows to keep their weeds out of my yard but that would be the extent of my volunteerism.

**CYVADER** · 08-04-2010, 11:19 AM

didn't want to call the city and have them ****** off at me for that, i'd rather they be mad that i did the job pro bono i guess. they did talk to me after the mulch-they didn't seem mad, rather peculiar as to why i would do such a thing.

**ISUcy08** · 08-04-2010, 11:19 AM

I would maybe mow into their yard ten feet or so, but I would NEVER take the time to mow around bushes and put down mulch with my own money. It would be much easier to call them in each time and they would eventually get the point. But, to each their own.

**CyPride** · 08-04-2010, 11:19 AM

Originally Posted by ISU BET

okay guys-got an etiquette question for you all.

i live in a good hood-everyone keeps up on their yards, landscaping, etc, except for 1 old rental house right next door to me. they never mow, have overgrown bushes, weeds every where that are starting to creep into my yard, and generally don't care about the appearance of the place(not that they should, as it's not theirs, but if it was me i would just for pride sake).

lately, i have been mowing further and further into their yard-i'm about 20 feet in now. i'm doing this for 2 reasons-1 it makes my place look better, and 2 it is pushing the weeds back into their yard and kind of used the 20' as a barrier to protect against my own yard.

well now, i'm so far in that i am mowing around 3 of their huge lilac bushes that have 15' maple trees growing out of them. so i cut the trees out and put mulch around the bushes-easier for me to mow around, and the mulch was on sale for $2/bag at menards(i spent $20).

so here is my question-am i out of line or overstepping any boundaries(other than the obvious lot line). if you were my neighbor would you be upset with me for doing this? what would you do in a similar situation. discuss.

i'd talk to the people before I start cutting stuff out of their property. I'm with you, just that you are looking for trouble, potentially. Call the landlord, or write a letter - you can find his address on the assessor's page in your county. Let me know if you need help. If no luck, then go to the city.

**khess83** · 08-04-2010, 11:26 AM

Originally Posted by CyPride

i'd talk to the people before I start cutting stuff out of their property. I'm with you, just that you are looking for trouble, potentially. Call the landlord, or write a letter - you can find his address on the assessor's page in your county. Let me know if you need help. If no luck, then go to the city.

Agree here, say a worst case scenario happened and you cut into a cable line or soemthing else. You would be responsible and I am not sure that keeping the palce next to yours looking better is worth it.

**asmosis** · 08-04-2010, 11:27 AM

Call the city. Had the same problem in Minneapolis. I called once the grass was over 6 inches tall and about 2 weeks later a mowing crew showed up and kept it mowed about every 10 days or so till the end of the summer.