Your Neighbor's Messy Yard

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Have a bad neighbor? Your neighbor's messy yard may be impacting the value of your home. Watch our latest video as David Lupberger explores bad neighbors and messy yards.

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Video Transcript for "Your Neighbor's Messy Yard"

Lupberger on Messy Yards: On any street in any neighborhood, even a casual observer can spot a house that sticks out. Some of them because they're really nice...others because they're anything but. Hi, I'm David Lubperger with ServiceMagic.com. It seems that nearly everyone has a neighbor who just doesn't seem to care what the outside of their home looks like, or they just don't have the time to maintain it. Most homeowners show a true pride of ownership. Their lawns are manicured. Their paint isn't peeling...and they wouldn't dare have trouble with trash piling up.

Eric Black/LT Landscape: In my business, curb appeal is a huge deal.

Lupberger on Neighbors' Yards: According to a ServiceMagic.com survey, the majority of us have a house we call "that house" in our neighborhoods. In fact, 63% of those responding said they live by or have lived close to a home that wasn't properly maintained by the owners. Another 21% admitted it was probably their own home that had their neighbors talking. Eric Black is a prescreened ServiceMagic landscaper - given a 5-star rating by his customers. He says after 10 years in the business, he's seen some doozies.

Eric Black/LT Landscape: I get mixed excuses all the time. "I'm too busy. I have too much going at work," to "I just don't want to do it."

Lupberger: But it's not just a matter of what the neighbors like or don't like. In many cases, it comes down to an issue of money. As any real estate agent will tell you - a house that "brings down the neighborhood" does just that. Even homes in perfect shape can have problems selling if it's close to a house that doesn't look great.

Charles Ward/The Berkshire Group Realtors: Day after day when showing properties. If it's somebody who's trying to look at a lot of properties in a short amount of time - one of the easy ways to just cross properties off the list - it doesn't matter how great the houses are, if we pull up and it doesn't have the curb appeal, we'll just keep on going.

Lupberger: And in a real estate market that's seen better days - houses don't need one more disadvantage.

Eric Black/LT Landscape: Homeowners don't want to do anything more than they have to do to sell the house, but obviously it's in their best interests.

Lupberger: Sometimes, neighbors may spot things wrong with your house that you won't see. Here's a quick check list of things neighbors scrutinize most. Neighbors say weeds and dead grass annoy them the most...followed by excessive junk around the house. Bad paint jobs and old cars parked in front of the house are next. Visible defects in the house...like broken windows or a falling down porch round out the list of most common annoyances.

There is recourse for many people who have a bad neighbor who doesn't clean up...most cities have ordinances that prevent excessive clutter. And of course, Homeowners Associations are also designed to prevent the problem. Remember, if you're in a home that could use some help - or if you just don't have the time to do the work yourself - you can find prescreened home service professionals for any task at ServiceMagic.com.