The slobs next door
What do most homeowners do about a neighbor’s overgrown yard or a rusted-car eyesore in the driveway down the street?
Not much, according to a recent survey conducted by ServiceMagic.com, a website that matches homeowners with prescreened home-service professionals.
Of the 900 respondents questioned, 63% said they have had neighbors who failed to maintain their homes’ exteriors, yet 41% said they had not reported the blighters to the authorities or homeowners associations. They “just put up with” the blemishes.
Urging neighbors in person to roll on some paint or crank up the weed whacker isn’t a popular option either; 75% of respondents said they had not confronted messy neighbors face to face, and of those who did, 18% said the chat created tension and resulted in no work being done on the offending property.
The survey, taken to coincide with May’s National Home Improvement Month, reported the top irritants, with the percentage of respondents who took umbrage to the offenses: overgrown weeds, 64%; unmown and under-watered lawns, 63%; garbage needing to be hauled away, 57%; exteriors in need of paint, 42%; junk cars, 42%; repair needed for visible house defect, 39%; and cars parked on the street, 24%.
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