Q.   We currently have our home on the market. We live on a wonderful cul- de-sac where each of our neighbors takes excellent care of their home and property — except our next door neighbors, who are on the corner lot. This is the first home and yard everyone sees when they pull into the cul-de-sac. How do I get them to mow the yard without being offensive, which may possibly cause them to never mow their yard again?? The yard has not been mowed in at least two weeks and is nothing but a weed-patch at this point. Your insights would be greatly appreciated.

A.   This is a real problem when your home is on the market. I showed a home on Friday to buyers from another state. They LOVED the home and the location, but the back yards on both sides of the house needed attention, and they were turned off completely. The front yards all looked good, so that was not the problem. They didn’t want to look at high grass & weeds when they were relaxing on the patio or playing with their children outside.

What do you do? If I really wanted to sell my house, I would go next door and offer to provide a mowing service for the neighbor’s yard. You never know what may be going on with that family–there may be illness or financial hardship that is keeping them from their regular maintenance. Do the “neighborly” thing and help yourself at the same time!   It’s a small price to pay when you want to sell your house.

Gayle Causey, Realtor
Keller Williams Realty
Monroe, LA
http://GayleCausey.com
318-614-5615