"Love thy neighbor" may be the golden rule, but that can be especially difficult when living in a deed restricted community or condo association.
Handling neighbor disputes is a difficult task for any community association manager. "He says, she says" is what we often hear, and many times it's hard to discern if there is an issue between neighbors that are deed restriction related or if there are simply personality disputes.When receiving a call from a resident who is complaining about an issue, the first question I ask is "have you talked to your neighbor about this?" Nine times out of ten, the answer is no, they do not want to confront the neighbor, or they don't want them to know who reported them. If they do not want to visit with their neighbor, the association must get involved, which often creates more animosity between the neighbors instead of the neighbors working directly to resolve the issues.
In the community I manage (depending upon the violation, the number of complaints, etc.), the association will act upon the issue by sending a courtesy reminder to the resident who is not in compliance. If the violation is not cured within 14 days, a second and final letter are sent which gives them yet another 14 days to cure the violation. Once the 14 days has expired, the association can charge a $50.00 fine per occurrence, which will usually get their attention.
Although it may not be easy to let your neighbor know that a problem exists, in the long run, it works in your favor, as most residents want to be a good neighbor and do the "neighborly thing." If you have had multiple conversations with the offending residents and the problem continues, then by all means, contact your community association manager to intervene.
