Which letter should we use?

[Said1]

You gotta have one outwardly weird person on the block.

[KitchenKitten99]

For those who think he can use a yard sale or say it is attracting wildlife, this stuff would never sell and it is all broken or unused misc junk items. He's gota broken (appears to be) lawn chair that has been there for about 6 months. Then there are what appear to be pieces of a gutter, but I am not 100% sure. There's not only the cart in the tree, but some kind of fencing or metal mesh of some kind and nylon rope. There's an old gas grill just sitting there, etc. Here are photos of the junk, which it literally is.

[Mr. P]

Oooooo stop being a nosy neighbor.

Now go call the city folks like I said before and deal with it. Or STFU!

[Pale Rider]

This plan involves timetables and I won't support it.

..... holy shit Hag... that was good man.

[nevadamedic]

Our neighbor behind us has piles of junk behind his garage in his backyard, that joins up to my backyard. There is a 4' chainlink fence between the yards, and some nice lilac bushes as well. But the bushes don't completely screen the area that this junk is in. So, we are basically forced to see it when we want to be in the backyard. When we have guests over, they ask why he has a small metal shopping cart hanging from a tree. We can't answer that one, because we don't know ourselves. Both Tim and I have just had it. My grandparents owned our house and they said they hated seeing the junk there too, but never really said anything, and they lived here for 25 years. Even our other neighbors who can see the junk, want to say something, but don't know how. So, I have drafted two letters, but I can't decide which to use.

Here is the 1st:
Dear _____:

There have been several of us neighbors who have had discussions about the junk pile behind your garage. It is an eyesore and unsightly, and lowers our enjoyment of our own yards and is embarrassing to have guests over, because they see it. We have agreed to ask you to please clean it up and dispose of it properly. If you need a large dumpster, you can obtain one for a decent cost through VEIT, at 422-3867, and they allow most all types of trash.

We are asking that this be done by 1 August, which gives you a little over 2 months. Plenty of time.

Yours truly,

Your neighbors.

the 2nd one:
Dear _____,

Tim and I are politely wondering when you will be disposing of the trash that is stored behind your garage and in the tree? This has been sitting there for some time now, and is becoming a real eyesore. When we have guests over, and entertain in our backyard, regardless of the bushes, you can still see all the junk and it is very unsightly. This year, we are planning on having anywhere from 30-40 people at our home for our son’s birthday party and our monthly gathering of friends from around the metro area, after the party. Some of these people will have never been to our home before and we want to give them the best impression of our home and our neighborhood, and ultimately our neighbors. The date of the party will be 11 August. We are asking you nicely to clean up the junk and the stuff in the tree by 10 August, or we will be forced to take further actions, which we really do not want to do for the sake of peace. If you need a large dumpster, you can obtain one for a decent cost through VEIT, at 422-3867, and they allow most all types of trash. We have used them ourselves and have been satisfied with their service and cost.

Yours truly,

Lea and Tim

My father said to use the second one. He has been a Rel Estate Broker for over 40 years. He also said to put in there that it lowers the property value of the surrounding houses. Th first one is to nice and wont get you anywhere. The second one will work as a wake up call. If you send it and it doesn't work, send me a private message and my dad will tell you what you can do next.

[Said1]

How much do they want for the luuuve seat? That's really not all that bad.

One lady who used to live a few blocks from me decorated her front garden with maniquin heads.

[stephanie]

How much do they want for the luuuve seat? That's really not all that bad.

One lady who used to live a few blocks from me decorated her front garden with maniquin heads.

[nevadamedic]

How much do they want for the luuuve seat? That's really not all that bad.

One lady who used to live a few blocks from me decorated her front garden with maniquin heads.

[Yurt]

For those who think he can use a yard sale or say it is attracting wildlife, this stuff would never sell and it is all broken or unused misc junk items. He's gota broken (appears to be) lawn chair that has been there for about 6 months. Then there are what appear to be pieces of a gutter, but I am not 100% sure. There's not only the cart in the tree, but some kind of fencing or metal mesh of some kind and nylon rope. There's an old gas grill just sitting there, etc. Here are photos of the junk, which it literally is.

1st dibs on the cart....

I think the talk first is the best way to go. Are they actually capable of cleaning, any physical limitations? I know you may not want to, but you may start off by asking if he/she needs help with sprucing up the backyard. Of course if he/she says yes... But, it may be a way to mend "fences" and get to know your neighbor.

If they say no, then the letter, then the city because there are codes about this.

Keep me posted

Edit:

letter with the neighbors behind it, on behalf of the neighborhood...

[nevadamedic]

1st dibs on the cart....

I think the talk first is the best way to go. Are they actually capable of cleaning, any physical limitations? I know you may not want to, but you may start off by asking if he/she needs help with sprucing up the backyard. Of course if he/she says yes... But, it may be a way to mend "fences" and get to know your neighbor.

If they say no, then the letter, then the city because there are codes about this.

Keep me posted

Edit:

letter with the neighbors behind it, on behalf of the neighborhood...

You actually always have good ideas

[KitchenKitten99]

1st dibs on the cart....

I think the talk first is the best way to go. Are they actually capable of cleaning, any physical limitations? I know you may not want to, but you may start off by asking if he/she needs help with sprucing up the backyard. Of course if he/she says yes... But, it may be a way to mend "fences" and get to know your neighbor.

If they say no, then the letter, then the city because there are codes about this.

Keep me posted

Edit:

letter with the neighbors behind it, on behalf of the neighborhood...

i know neither of them are incapable physically of cleaning. He drives a school bus and works at Subway (mind you, he's in his 60's) and I don't know if his wife works or not. I know she's got an issue with migranes, but that doesn't stop her from going snowmobiling in the winter. They are in the same snowmobile club that my grandparents were a part of (my grandpa was president for 4 years in a row).

We don't want to offer help, because we have our own yard to deal with at the moment. My plants that I ordered are coming in any day, and I have to get them all planted within 3 days of their delivery. We still haven't gotten our pond operational since we changed the design and the set up and I can't put in any kind of lanscaping until we get that finished. We have to also get the old shed torn down and the newer one moved to it's place.

Our yard and pond/garden area isn't a mess either, we just have a ton to do ourselves, and this party in August is also kind of like the 'grand opening' of the pond for lack of a better term. We want to be able to show off the whole thing and be completely finished by then, which we will be if we keep on schedule with getting things done, like we have been so far. My being sick the last 3 days hasn't helped anything, and I will still need to take it easy for the next 2-3 days while the meds do their job.

Plus he has 3 kids and they all have their own kids who are in the 9-15 age range. He doesn't need help from us to do anything.

[Mr. P]

Works great!

<img src="http://image.debatepolicy.com/is.php?i=418&img=Wood_Fence_3.jp.jpg" border="0">

[KitchenKitten99]

Works great!

<img src="http://image.debatepolicy.com/is.php?i=418&img=Wood_Fence_3.jp.jpg" border="0">

Does work, but are you going to pay for it? We sure as hell don't have the money. One of my daycare kids are leaving as of June 8th, and with him goes $100/week. The way our property is shaped (we live in a cul-de-sac), we would spend about $900 just on the back property line. Our backyard property line is the length of two of our neighbors' properties, and about 10 feet of a third. Just the back property line is about 88 feet. Plus part of it would be in the garden area, and I want that area open and 'airy' (that part is behind the nice neighbors yard which is a nice yard), and it would look odd only going 3/4 the length of the property line.

Axel's yard takes up most of the main area of our back yard along the fence, and the lady next to him takes up the rest, which continues into the area we have our garden in, which is behind the garage, and is separated by the temp lattice fence which will be replaced by a nice white, polyvinyl lattice fence.

When I feel good enough to go outside, I'll get pics of how odd our yard is shaped.

[Abbey Marie]

We don't have any unsightly neigbors, but regardless, we started the long-term plan of planting evergreens to hide any view of our back neighbors. I love my privacy, and I like the illusion that there are only woods behind our home. Every Mother's Day I ask my husband to buy a tree as my gift.

Since these people have been this way for a long time, and will not likely change, you might want to start-a-planting. I know it won't help for your party, but for the future, it is IMO the prettiest way to hide what you don't want to see.

And, I get to say I am Green!

[remie]

Looks to me like it needs a gallon of gas and a match.