Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Michigan

I have a previous neighbor who abandonded her house and moved to a much bigger house in a ritzy neighborhood because she felt she needed to "take advantage" of the buyers market. She is now out going on cruises, vacations every month, buying new furniture, having Latisse treatments to darken her eyelashes, all kinds of frivolous spending that she is bragging about on Facebook. Meanwhile, he abandonded house is in foreclosure accross the street. Our property values have plummetted because of it, a few of the neighbors had told her they were going to put their houses up for sale this year and she ruined that chance for them. We have all been helping to take care of her lawn because it is over grown and weedy. When they left, they left all kinds of garbage outside around the house that the rest of us ended up cleaning up. The yard now has cinch bugs from not being maintained and they are now spreading to our yards, so we are forced to spend money to treat our yards. This was a "premeditated" decision on her part. She lied to everyone about how they were going to sell it or rent it but they made NO effort to do any of these things. They just left it to rot. So... my question is: do we have any recourse for the time and effort we've spent taking care of it so it doesn't look abandoned and attract vandals, and also the loss to our home values? I realize this is going on all over the country, and I also know if this was a hard-ship situation I would have understood it, but it was all a greedy, selfish act that screwed the rest of us around her.


Asked on 8/07/10, 6:22 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Timothy Klisz Klisz Law Office, PLLC

I hear your frustration, but this is not a legal issue. She let it go, it is owned by the bank, they are responsible for it. If you as neighbors volunteer your time to help keep it look nice, that ultimately benefits the whole neighborhood. Her foreclosure doesnt directly affect property values either, because that is a widespread problem. You are a better person for doing what you did. I applaud you. www.kliszlaw.com Tim Klisz

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Answered on 8/13/10, 8:07 am
Shelly Schellenberg MI & FL private practice

Hello,

You do not have legal standing to complain about her foreclosure or wasteful spending, however, you and neighbors do have standing to bring a complaint for private nuisance against the owner of the property. If the condition of her property is SO bad that it is creating a safety or health hazard, by attracting flies, rats, bugs, other rodents such as skunks, racoons, etc. or if odor, or other pollution is moving from her property to yours, then you may be able to either get the city to file a notice to clean it up, mow the grass, etc, under the local zoning ordinances. You may get the neighbors together and file a private nuisance claim through an attorney. If the court agrees with you that the property is in such a state of disrepair (open doors, abandoned refrigerators, rotten floors, broken windows) to create an "attractive nuisance" for youngsters, or attracting vandals and vagrants, then the court may issue an order to her or the bank (whoever owns the property) to fix, or secure the property. Ignoring the court's order is contempt, and a serious offense. Try appealing to the city first, if that doesn't bring relief, then see a real estate attorney to discuss your alternative.

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Answered on 8/13/10, 5:31 pm


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