Should I give him any kind of warning before I report the problem? Even if my name isn't on the report, he'll know it's me.

When I came home one hot day some years ago to find a raccoon collapsed by the front door and called one of the local charities that rounds them up the volunteer told me it would be canine distemper contracted from an unvaccinated dog. And at that time of the year all they were doing all day was rounding up similarly afflicted raccoons.

Since then I have learned that there is a significant raccoon roundworm hazard in my State. The Department of Health has an entire web page just about this one problem, where they say that all raccoons should be considered infected and describe raccoon waste removal procedures that make it sound like the stuff is radioactive (the worm eggs last for months and can be inhaled; infection is fatal in humans as the worms migrate to the brain and tunnel into it).

Original poster feels neighbor may not have money for repairs so you guys want him reported to the city and get a $500 ticket per day? Having had both good neighbors and bad, if I had a nice, agreeable neighbor such as you have, I would do everything I could to keep him and to keep him happy. If he moves, with the house in the condition it's in, you may get someone who is not so agreeable. If the house is on a pier and beam foundation and all it needs is a patch to the underpinning, that isn't very expensive. Maybe set up a weekend warrior work party. I hope it all works out.

Here, in Colorado, bubonic plague is in the fleas. Also to be avoided. Raccoon scat is deadly. I'd not "tell" him your filing a report, sounds like a threat. You just need to do it.

I have a neighbor next to my rental that is leaving bags of trash outdoors. She has HUGE empty trash cans that are picked up weekly.....makes NO sense. I offered to come by and help her and she declined. Sooooooooooooooo......reporting her makes sense to me. And...she's not poor. She describes herself as a "messy" neighbor. :0) Code violations!

My case is different than yours....but you need to get the mess handled.

Fine, talk to the HOA first. You'll find out any 'history', and whether they've attempted to get the owner to make required repairs. If they have not made any attempts, it's time they did. If they have, and he has failed to comply, have they taken it further, reporting him to the city?

If the city has failed to act...you may be dealing with someone with 'influence'. I doubt that. It's more likely a lazy HOA; volunteer boards often lack follow-through.

Please get back to us with "the continuing story"!

Contact Code Enforcement for your town and/or county. Or both. Most towns have laws regarding upkeep on properties. Someone who can issue tickets and fines needs to be apprised of the situation. In all probability you will have to put your name on the complaint. Many people are not willing to do that, when push comes to shove. If you are, that's the route to action.

I bet you got a "deal" being the house next door to that mess. Buyers beware.

I suggest you invest in a brick wall. Very tall. Calling the authorities is not the way to get to know your neighbors and be appreciated in the neighborhood. Be sure the risk is worth it to you.

I agree with Arcy, you bought knowing how that house was. You may have the right to call and report the situation, but I think you're going to unnecessarily make enemies if you do. It will affect your quality of life.

My suggestion would be to find out more about that needed repair and see if it is something easily affordable or something you could help the neighbor fix with an afternoon of labor.

When we bought our house, we knew the house next door was a bit older and that the owner didn't value exterior appearance as much as I do. But, as a friend reminded me recently, I shouldn't be judging others just because their priorities aren't the same as mine. I shouldn't force my priorities on others. We don't plan to sell our house for at least 5 or 6 more years, so my hope is that he'll possibly sell it as he approaches retirement?

Anyway, so while I'm trying really hard not to judge things like the peeling siding, lack of gutters, etc. I can't quite get past wild animals.

He talked very nicely about the problem...but did he do anything? Nope.

Time for some tougher talk and taking action.

We are "live and let live" kind of neighbors. But, you say maybe you'll want to put your house up for sale in 5 or 6 years? That's a lot of time for the house to keep deteriorating. Maybe a nice conversation is in order. I would never report someone without talking with them first.

The wild animals aren't going anywhere. If you're seeing that many on a regular basis then they are there... to stay. Every animal can't be trapped and relocated. Closing up the holes seems like a good idea but then where do they go? Your yard? I'm not advising you that the holes don't need to be closed, but that they aren't going to go away just because access to under his house is no longer an option.

One of our neighbors, who now lives with her daughter, has the WORST house in the county. She was also a hoarder so I can only imagine what the inside of this abandoned property looks like. Now that winter has come and we can see through the jungle, we've noticed the roof has caved in. The only thing that can be done with this property is for the house to be torn down. We know the lady doesn't have the money to do that. After a hurricane, we had no choice but to call her daughter to have something done about a couple of trees that were leaning towards our garage. Someone did come and cut the tops out of those trees and they are no longer a danger to our property. Hated putting that burden on her but felt we had no choice.

If he was ordering traps online, and it's only been two weeks, maybe the traps haven't come yet. Still, trapping them probably won't solve the problem unless it's an ongoing process to deplete the area of all the wild inhabitants.

If traps have been ordered, underpinning must stay open. The animals have to be out before the underpinning is closed.

We find the best bait for live trap for raccoons is unpopped pop corn. We have way too many raccoons here and they are not living in any building, they just keep coming! Good Luck.

Sue

I wonder why you bought your house with that mess next door surely you took interest in the houses next to yours and checked them out well and questioned neighbors about the neighborhood. I'm not saying you need to put up with the mess next door, but if they have no means to repair things could get a lot worse. I'd never invest my money in a home next to a mess like that.

Sunflower, I think your comment about how he bought the place with the intention of fixing it up but never got around to it says it all. It doesn't matter if he knows who called, he obviously needs prodding to get it taken care of and maybe a warning from the municipality will do the trick. I would be asking for some intervention.

As a side note, this kind of reminds me of a story from when we moved into our house. It was a foreclosure and in need of work. It was a mess when we moved in and it took a little bit of time just to make it liveable. Well within two weeks of closing, we had a notice from the city posted to our front door that warned if we didn't mow the yard, we'd be fined. It was our first house, we hadn't even bought a mower yet! But that wasn't our neighbors problem, the grass was 18 inches high and obviously someone was anxious for us to clean it up.

It baffles me how people always blame the person upset and not the person not being a grown up. Well you bought the house knowing it was next to a mess. That does not give the neighbor the right to neglect his house to the point of it causing his neighbors problems. PERIOD! That's like a wife complaining about a lazy husband. Well you know so why did you marry him? Um hello these people are adults and need to put their panties on and act like it. Sorry but that irritates me to no end when people do that. Maybe this was the OP's dream house, maybe what she could afford, liked the neighborhood in general?? Maybe the neighbor's house wasn't that bad when she moved there. Who knows...

Anyways...if I you didn't already approach him then yes I would have said report him because then he may not have known it was you. Like the others have said maybe go over with your husband or maybe even just have your husband go talk to him and see what his situation is. He maybe having financial problems. You said his house was like this when you moved there and he's divorced. Maybe he had no choice but to stay, but doesn't make enough to fix it up? Try to be neighborly but also don't let him take advantage of your kindness and see if your neighbors know anything if you talk to them. Good luck! :)

My inclination would be to have a chat with some neighbours to learn more about the history of the situation and to get more insight about the way he operates.

If at least some of them are of a helpful nature, they might be willing to have a bee when several might help to clear out the animals and patch the foundation.

But, as some have said, if you get their sanctuary under his house blocked, it may well not result in getting the visitors gone ... they may continue to be a nuisance.

While such action in your area may well be illegal, and should be undertaken with care, sometimes a youth's small air rifle has good results in deterring unwanted sojourners. Their pellets don't go very far and it could be used carefully without causing injury to the target beast or danger to other inhabitants.

Good wishes for developing a good long-term result in your project, without ruffling too many feathers.

ole joyful

Just want to say, don't worry about the opossums. They very rarely carry rabies as their body temperature is too low . The ticks they eat are a much bigger danger.

Haha joyful, I hope my husband doesn't see that reply! He'd enjoy a pellet gun way too much.

My hope is that once the holes are blocked, there will be no place for animals to nest and they will move on to a more natural home in a tree somewhere or the park down the street. As far as food...I haven't put out a birdfeeder this winter because the puppy stands below it and eats fallen seed :-( We've made our home less appealing to animals by removing the skirting from our wooden deck last summer so nothing would make a home underneath the deck.

I don't have the patience to wait for the HOA meeting next week, so I emailed the HOA president this morning (his was the only email listed on the neighborhood website, so why not?!) and asked if he can give any advice on how to handle this. Will keep you all updated!

If this were my neighbor, I'd build a solid fence, so I couldn't see the mess. So far as the wildlife, I know it can be a problem, but, if you remove the animals, others will simply take their place. At least they live at your neighbor's house and not yours. :-) Seriously, though, I wouldn't worry about the wildlife. Just protect your pets by keeping them vaccinated, treated for fleas and other parasites, and don't let them out at night (which is when the raccoons and opossums will typically be active). Make your yard uninteresting to the wildlife. For example, make sure you aren't providing any food for them to eat at your house (e.g. feed your pets inside, not outside). If your neighbor doesn't have the money to fix the problems, a fine isn't going to help. :(

How much would it cost to put in a wood fence that's about 40-50 feet long? The fence is on his property, but I'd be willing to split the cost just to have a better view.

After some digging last night, I also found out that the city offers help to people who can't afford home repairs. https://www.opkansas.org/resident-resources/neighborhood-resources/home-improvement/financial-assistance/

If it were me, I'd just decide what fence I wanted and pay for it myself instead of trying to get him to split the cost. That way, you can do the fence you want. If you ask him to split the cost, he probably won't be able to afford it. But, he'll probably be fine with the fence you want, if you don't ask him to pay anything. Sometimes, it's better to just pay it all yourself and I think this might be one of those times. I would put the fence on the property line or on your property. I wouldn't replace a fence on his property. That makes it his fence. If you put it on your property (just the tiniest, tiniest, bit on your side of the property line) vs on the property line, it will be solely your fence. You shouldn't (wouldn't anywhere I've lived) need his permission to put a fence on your property, unless your HOA has rules about that or something.

Survey and permit first...

I heard back from the HOA president this morning. Here's what he said in response to me asking for advice on the situation and whether our neighborhood has HOA guidelines.

Hi ******,

[***** Neighborhood] does not have any specific rules about home maintenance and upkeep. We attempted to adopt something a little over 10years ago, and it was voted down by a vote of 9-108.

The only thing we have is the Overland Park city ordinances. If someone is in violation, they can be reported to the city and they will follow a process of notification and then eventual citation if it's not corrected. I think you did the right thing by approaching your neighbor first. If you feel approaching him again will not help resolve the solution, I'd recommend contacting the city to see if there is anything they can recommend.

Good luck. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

Thanks,

*****

So that's not much help. I think I'll send our neighbor an email tonight (he gave us his email and phone number) and mention that I'd recommend he repair the holes in his foundation. If I don't hear a firm "absolutely, I'll do it within the next two weeks", I'm submitting a violation to the city.

Aw. I hope it doesn't come to the city. Good luck!

I hope this is resolved soon. I still think trapping the racoon is a good idea. My neighbor had one living in his attic. He was unable to trap it but he did manage to seal the opening where it got in and out. However about a week later we notice racoon scat on our roof. My roofer was out to clean out the gutters and noticed it - he thinks the racoon was trying to find a way into our house. So he went around and made sure there were no openings.

A solid fence won't keep those creatures out - they can easily climb over.

Sunflowers, I don't know your exact circumstances or relationship with your neighbor, but you've said he responded to your first note with an apology, offered you his email and phone number. I wouldn't even be considering reporting at this point, I'd be trying to work with him. In person, not even by email, but rather face to face conversations so there is no mistaking tone or intent. I understand that the disrepair is bothering you. You could be a lot more bothered by a defensive angry or resentful neighbor if you are going to be side by side for the next several years.

ETA - I don't mean that you let things go unresolved indefinitely, but at least give it some time to be worked out in a neighborly manner. You didn't buy a house on an island, you bought within a community and sometimes community relationships take some effort and time.

The HOA is no help; why bring that up with your neighbor?

Remind him that he said (on such-and-such date) that he would get the animals removed and the foundation holes repaired. Tell him that unless you can see progress on the foundation issue and removal of the trash within a month, you will be forced to contact the city.

Keep it simple and straightforward: Get it done, or get a visit from the city.

A fence doesn't solve the problem of a derelict house next door, and it won't be cheap to build one. If you want a fence, you will probably need a city permit. Do you have a recent survey of your property? You would place the fence on your property -- usually an inch in from the property line. The city will probably require that any 'bad side' of a fence face your house and the 'finished side' face the neighbor. The HOA may also have some rules about fencing. Your neighbor's existing fence would probably have to be removed. (You don't want a situation where there's a one inch by fifty foot gap in which weeds will grow.)

I think the fence idea is off of the table for me because of the expense and the fact that it won't eliminate the problem, just hide it. We've already sunk $160 into this situation for the invisible dog fence. I will keep an eye out on our roof for raccoon scat! That would be bad.

There are several reasons why I'd prefer to communicate with him via email (aside from me being an introvert). First, I don't feel comfortable talking to him one-on-one in person because I don't feel 100% confident in my safety. If my husband or a friend were around to come with me, yes. But that brings me to the second point. I like to have things in writing because it establishes a history. After watching a friend go through an issue with her landlord, I learned that a paper trail and documented conversations can take a lot of the "he said, she said" out of it, should there be any questions down the line.

Morz8 has a good point about how living next to a disgruntled neighbor for the next few years could also be bad. This is a delicate situation.

On a separate subject, I'm very confused as to what the purpose of our HOA is if there are no neighborhood guidelines on upkeep. We pay $150 in yearly HOA fees and I know that most of that goes to trash and recycling service, but besides upkeep on a few neighborhood entrance signs, what's it there for?

As of now, the plan is to email him tonight. Something like this:

******,

Good evening. I wanted to let you know that we have seen several possums and a feral cat in and around the hole in your foundation this week. You mentioned buying traps in our past conversation. Rather than purchasing traps for the animals, I think that repairing the holes in your house's foundation would be a more permanent solution.

_______Then I need to add something about how he should have this fixed in 2-3 weeks_____

You might want to mention the health risks - to him, to you and your dog, and the damage these animals can do in his basement (or wherever they go when they enter his foundation).

Exactly what do you want done? You want the wildlife removed. You want the foundation holes patched. You want the debris removed.

After you remind him of his promise to eliminate the animals, tell him you'll wait another (whatever -- month?) before you will need to CALL THE CITY.

You can "suggest" all you like to your neighbor that he repair his foundation, but you cannot force him to.

If you email him first, then he will for certain know it was you that contacted the city.

Skip contacting him and call.

OR contact him and call the city at the same time.

No matter how you chose to address it, you'll end up having to contact the city. Might as well just get it done.

CALL THE CITY.

It's very considerate to think of your neighbor and the fact that he has different priorities than you or the other neighbors regarding the appearance of his house and that he may be financially unable to fix some of the problems.

The debris removal is a pretty easy one. If he doesn't have a truck, he could rent one and haul that away. Or perhaps the city would pick up. Maybe you could offer to help him with that? At least it would improve the situation somewhat. Perhaps you and some of the other neighbors could offer to help with some of the other repairs too. If he's overwhelmed due to life circumstances, he may welcome the offer.

It doesn't sound like he's actually living there. You said that he bought the house with the intention of fixing it up but never got around to it.

You need to think of yourself and the other neighbors. If this guy doesn't have the financial resources to fix things now, it's unlikely that will change. Once the house has started to deteriorate, it will continue, and the cost to fix it will only continue to grow.

Your home is an investment. You say you don't plan to sell for 5-6 years. What if the house just continues to deteriorate? The situation you described is bringing down property values for you and your neighbors. It's nice of you to be considerate of him, but have to think of yourself also. If/when, you are ready to sell, the conditions you described will turn away many buyers. Anyone who would be willing to buy would certainly want a reduced price with the house next door in such poor condition.

If you think it would maintain better relations, talk to him or email him with the code information from the website. Then let him know that he needs to at least start on making some changes. If he doesn't, then call the city.

I would report the house to the city. It may have to be condemned.

I am appalled at the callousness of some of the responses. This situation is fixable without destroying someone else. Once "the authorities" have been called in, this guy is screwed.

Is it a foundation or just skirting or brickwork that covers the crawl space? I am having trouble envisioning cracks in a foundation large enough for wildlife to stroll in and out of. Foundations where I live are mostly solid concrete, so a home would nearly be falling down if there were large holes in the foundation.

Here's what the hole looks like.

Haven't heard back since I sent the email last night.

In your situation, I would see if I could get my husband, and maybe some other neighbors, to offer to help with clean up. That by itself may be the motivation he needs to start working on the property. Tell him about the assistance available from the city. See if any local churches do "neighborhood work days" -- one or two near me send out fliers offering to help with cleanup, painting, small repairs etc -- and tell him about them (or them about him!). I mean, don't come out and say "your house is a dump" but something like "We noticed that you are a bit behind with the maintenance and wonder if we could give you a hand?" He likely wouldn't ask for help, but possibly would gratefully accept it.

I know how easily time slips by when parenting a teen, and holding a job. If suffering from depression or financial straits it is so easy for things to get out of hand before it is really noticed.

Acting like a friend first instead of an adversary, as we did (it seems more) in past eras, may leave you with a firm friend instead of a wary relationship. He responded to you in a friendly way, so try to continue on that path.

No, you don't have any responsibility to, and you are busy too, but it is just a nice and good thing to do. Plus, will benefit you if successful.

If not successful, then go ahead and call the city.

I'm not familiar with that type of foundation but it looks like it is just a cinder block?

It looks like the entryway to the crawl space may be missing. Wouldn't a few cinder blocks mortared in (if not an intended opening) or a proper door be a small repair? My husband could build a wooden door for that sized opening in under an hour, but he has tools and skill. Blocking it in would be even faster and easier. Does your husband have any basic handyman skills, maybe he could 'lend a hand' and just get it done.

I was truly envisioning something else entirely. That almost looks like some repair was made underneath but the blocks weren't replaced. I agree with others, the animals need to be evicted before it's sealed or they could die under there without access to food or water. Is there a feral cat rescue in your area?

I found a resource for getting the cats out.

http://www.kctv5.com/story/27887556/rescue-groups-work-to-get-a-handle-on-areas-feral-cats

Now if there were only a racoon and opossum rescue to help with those critters.

https://www.opkansas.org/resident-resources/pet-information-and-regulations/nuisance-wildlife/

• Nuisance wildlife complaints: Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, 913-422-1314, or contact a nuisance wildlife removal agency.
• Tips on handling orphaned wildlife: Operation Wildlife, 913-631-6566.

I hope that these resources are helpful. I do realize that you aren't obliged to do anything and could call the city. You may have to go that way, but I wanted to give some food for thought and other options.

I can't tell the size from the photo, but it could be either vent (required by code) or crawl space access. If the former, it's missing a screen, and the latter, a cover. It looks like there had been something there at one time, nailed at the top.

After looking at the photos, it really doesn't look like a big deal to me. These probably are access points to get under the house or vents and, yes, it would be best if there were doors or some other barrier to prevent wildlife from living there. This is a very common maintenance issue with houses, but it's not something I'd ever think was worth potentially alienating a neighbor over (not even with wildlife or cats living under there). I suspect that it's not a code violation that the city is going to make him fix--at least it wouldn't be in any of the places I've lived. It could be where you live, but I wouldn't ever report a neighbor for something like this. At most, I would offer to help a neighbor fix this; my husband is pretty handy and could build doors for something like that in no time.

I have a bad feeling that, after you sent your neighbor the email, you're going to end up with a neighbor who doesn't like you. I don't know if you thought about this before you sent the email, but he could do a whole lot to make things more unpleasant for you than having those holes and some other maintenance issues. For example, he could install flood lights that he leaves on all night and which happen to be pointed in your general direction, start parking his cars in front of your house, etc. There are plenty of perfectly legal ways a neighbor can make things unpleasant. :(

The thing is that people don't like to be told what to do with their property. There's a long tradition of people feeling like that here in the US. In some places, people are more tolerant of this than in other places. The fact that your homeowners' association voted down that attempt to have rules about property maintenance by such a large margin tells me that you probably live somewhere where people REALLY don't appreciate other people telling them what to do with their property.

People everywhere tend to get pretty upset when people threaten to call the city (or call the city) to try and force them to do stuff. I've never called the city on anyone, yet. It would have to be really bad for me to do that...much, much, worse than those holes and, even then, I'd try to work with them first. I do agree with another poster who said it isn't very compassionate, plus, I wouldn't want to live next to a neighbor who didn't like me.

I have an opening like that and it is the vent to the crawl space under an addition on my house. The screen that was there when I moved in must not have been strong enough because a couple of possums tried to move in. I got a "critter gitter" to come and catch them and then he attached a thick strong wire mesh to the cement block. It wasn't very difficult to do. You have easy access there so something like that should do it. Very little expense and no hard feelings.

Good, then it sounds like it should be an easy repair. Along with the other hole on the back of the house.

Saw another bushy tail slip into the opening when I walked outside last night. Not sure if it was a raccoon or cat.

I'll refrain from contacting the city until the end of the month (that's the timeline I requested in my email to him).

Good plan. It's now up to him to *take action* on these two very small projects or have the city start an action. His 'background' is not your business here. His failure to maintain the property IS your business...and the city's.

I think that it would be well to make a substantial effort to keep on his good side, for friendly neighbours are much more (did I say "much more"? how about "hugely more"?) desirable than some who don't like us, especially if the situation deteriorates to the point of feuding.

Have you talked to neighbours, to get more perspective on the way that this person operates and what you may expect?

As Dad used to say, "Forewarned is ... forearmed".

Also, they may have some useful suggestions as to methods to entice, rather than bulldoze, him in action.

Unless there's some good reason, I think I'd go somewhat easy on the end of month deadline ... give it some time to get to know him better, and offer suggestions, and help if you feel like it, to get the issue resolved.

If a neighbour or two, or more, could be enticed/(bulldozed?) into helping, either with the discussion, or the work, so much the better. (what kind of result would you expect were you to try to "bulldoze" a non-involved neighbour into giving advice, even, let alone helping?)

To quote Dad, again (with whom I haven't lived for 70 years, since age 18), "You'll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar".

ole joyfuelled

My last words of advice are...

I think that there is a good chance that you're going to find out that the city will do nothing to make him fix those holes. I think there is a good chance that, by proceeding as you have planned, you will not get what you want, but you will end up with a neighbor who you've antagonized (and he's not going to just forget demanding emails, threats to call the city or actual calls to the city). Getting a couple of holes plugged so wildlife or a feral cat or two cannot live under his house (a minor problem) is not worth having a neighbor who you've antagonized (could be a huge problem).

I'd worry more about cultivating a good relationship with your neighbor and much less about trying to force him to fix things on his property that you just don't like. If you cultivate a good relationship with him, you're more likely to get those holes plugged by being nice and maybe offering to help him do it. Make him upset and he may leave them open forever, just to spite you. Plus he may decide to do some other things to get back at you, like install those flood lights I mentioned earlier, etc.

I agree about helping him plug the holes (cinder blocks), but let your dh do the talking since they've chatted before. DH could ask him about doing it the following Saturday, and DH could also say he knows where a few cinder blocks are and will pick them up himself. They're not expensive.

He can ask if the neighbor's son can also help. I bet your neighbor would be thrilled to have someone help out. Some men are just missing the handy man gene, or he may not have an extra dollar to spend, which is also understandable. He may not be physically strong to do little things outside.

However, if he makes excuses and not accept the help, I'd be suspicious and cautious.

Find out his name and google it if you haven't already, just to be on the safe side.

Definitely don't turn him in. There may be a day he can help you all out too.