Inheriting Someone Else's Neglect

Inheriting Someone Else’s Neglect

May 22, 2014

Well the birds are chirping welcoming another season, Spring is here! I say this cheerily as I recently hurt my hand and have a boxer’s fracture. I have been in a splint for over a month and am getting cabin fever as everyone I know is playing ball and I am not able to. With all this extra time and my mobility limited, I decided that the time has come for me to get the landscaping done in my backyard.

When I originally purchased this place, it was a foreclosure. I was very fortunate as it had been well maintained…for the most part and didn’t require an overhaul. Some cosmetic things needed to be done but overall a minimal amount of work. My biggest challenge when I bought this place was the lack of landscaping…or should I say non-existent landscaping. I had hired a friend of a friend to complete the front yard, build a walkway and finish down both sides of my house as well as put down pavers to outline my flowerbed in the backyard. He did an amazing job but decided to get out of the business…so I was on my own to finish the rest of the dreaded backyard.

I say dreaded because the previous owner had the home for 7 years and never put in any landscaping. I had heard some horror stories that he never finished the back fence and the bank (upon seizure) put the fence up. He also had many complaints about the out of control weeds (we’re talking 4 feet high), which apparently the City use to come and cut it…charging him $75 each time. I also heard that when he owned it, there were so many complaints about the front landscaping not being done and when the annual general meeting came along…it somehow made it’s way into the meeting minutes about how much of an eyesore it was. So needless to say I had my work cut out for me, luckily I had only half a job to do but man oh man was it a huge job. It took many man hours to get it done but I’m really happy with the results…I suspect that I may have to move some plants here and there but that’s minor compared to what I inherited. It’s nice to come home to a finished yard.

This wasn’t the only horror story I have about this place, the day after I moved everything in…I was sleeping in and I heard a ‘BANG, BANG, BANG, RING, RING’ at my front door. It startled me out of my slumber and it continued as I walked down the stairs to answer the door. I thought to myself, who the hell is banging on my front door at 8AM? As I turned the corner I saw two police officers staring into the window of my front door. I answered the door and was surprised when they asked for the previous owner by name. I told them that I didn’t know who he was but that I had bought the property and just moved in. I also told them that they aren’t the first people to ask me about him and that I had some mail for him if they find him. They told me that there was a warrant out for his arrest…I was shocked and reiterated that he doesn’t live here and I don’t know who he is. After some convincing, like I was hiding him or something, they left. I was shocked as I had never been in trouble with the law before and was surprised that they didn’t believe me when I told them I didn’t know who he was. I didn’t know what kind of trouble he was in but I tell ya…it wasn’t a good way to start the day.

When I went to check the mail for the first time, I was shocked to discover that not only was my mailbox (in the superbox) full…but there was a key in there and the additional mailbox where parcels are received was full too. I couldn’t believe that so much mail had accumulated. It took me 2 reusable bags to collect it all…who leaves like this and doesn’t have a forwarding address? This is what I meant by inheriting someone else’s problems. I had never had to do so much when I bought a house before…he really just left and never dealt with anything. I suspect it will be some time before all his mail stops coming to the house…but if that’s all I have to worry about, then I’m in a good spot. For the rest of it, I believe I have dealt with and handled all the other crap he left. It’s weird but I don’t like this character, even though I’ve never met him before. Like seriously dude, clean up your own messes. As for me, I have the house and everything else right where I want it. When the time comes for me to sell this place, I will be certain to not have the new owner inherit my neglect.