What to do about vacant properties??
Vacant properties can easily become an eyesore and even a safety
hazard. If you must leave your home for more than a few days, please make
sure someone is picking up your mail, newspapers, trash and recycling
bins, and keeping up your yard. This will also make your home less
likely to be targeted for burglary. Likewise, if you are renting your home, you are responsible for its maintenance, including any time it is vacant between renters. Be polite to your neighbors and keep your home looking good at all times.
If you have a home near you that is vacant and is not being kept up,
there are several things you can do to help. First, contact the HOA to
let them know that the home appears vacant and specifically identify
the problems with the property. Do this by e-mailing the ACC at
acc@forest-ridge.org. The HOA will contact the homeowner to try to get
the problems corrected. This may take some time, especially if the
homeowner has changed their phone number and we can no longer find
them. We will use all our resources to track down homeowners and they
will be fined. However, we cannot force them to clean up the property
as long as they are willing to pay the fines.
Secondly,
get together with other neighbors to help clean up the property. You
can pick up trash and newspapers and even mow the lawn. But remember not to go into the backyard, clean up only the front yard. This is just
being a good neighbor. It helps everyone.
Third, if the
home is listed for sale, contact the listing agent and let them know
that the condition of the home is a problem. The more people that call
them, the more likely they will be to have someone come by to check it
out.
Finally, Both Fairfax and Loudoun County have Blight Abatement Programs to reduce the number of unattractive, dangerous vacant houses in the county. See below for instructions on filing a complaint. Remember, the more complaints received, the quicker the county will act. So get your neighbors to file complaints as well.
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