If you live in a house in a neighborhood that has a lot of foreclosures you will appreciate this. As I have been showing homes to clients in the Southwest Florida market I have become more embarrassed by what I am seeing. Where is the Home Owners Association management in this process? I am seeing lawns and driveways overcome by weeds and un kept landscaping. Not only is this a severe eye sore for potential buyers it becomes a natural habitat for critters like snakes and even the occasion gator.

If you are a home owner and you are paying your HOA dues you need to get involved. Just the comments my potential home buyers are making, not only on the property that I am showing but also the neighborhood in general puts a pit in my stomach. You have all of these hardworking home owners (and renters) taking care of their lawns and then you have sporadic patches of overgrown jungles with homes that have broken windows.

I was talking to a couple a few days ago and I think the wise man who happens to teach high school here in Lee County said it best. He told me that he mows his neighbor’s yard, which has been foreclosed on, just so that he does not have to look at the overgrown jungle.

I think that the HOA needs to take some ownership and even charge the bank back for lawn maintenance. Unkempt properties not only invite critters into the yards but also squatters which I know I have written about in the past. Until we are able to sell through these foreclosed and short sale properties we need to ensure our neighborhoods don’t look like Somalia. We will never be able to sell this look to a potential client. In fact, if a client is looking at a property that is overgrown with weeds the client sees dollar signs.

I know that it is unfair to the “good” folks out there that do take care of their own property and lawns. However, until ownership is taken by someone that property will continue to sit vacant and when the offer does come in, it will drag your property value down even further. Take the 20 minutes; it is an investment in your property value.