Neighbors
I posted earlier in the week about the great time i had hosting a block party on National Night Out, getting all the neighbors on the street together for a cook out on one of the hottest nights of the year.
This post is about those other neighbors who can't seem to figure out how to go about being good neighbors.
We met with Rick Soles, the property manager of 1705 Avondale Drive about a month ago, to discuss the ongoing problems his tenants have caused at that house. These problems have included domestic violence (we've called 911 several times in the middle of the night after hearing shouted threats of "I'm gonna kill you bitch!", breaking glass, etc.) loud music, cars being worked on under bright lights after midnight, 24/7 barking dogs tied to the carport posts without food, water, or shelter.
In the past, complaints directly to the owner of the property, according to the public tax records a Mr. David Johnson of Durham County, have not only not led to improvements, but resulted in Mr. Johnson appearing at my house, uninvited, and announcing that he has no intention of doing anything to improve the situation and declaring that we need to stop harassing him.
So i mentioned earlier that Rick Soles told us that he was tired of leasing to people who were trashing his property, and he was willing to work with us. Specifically, he said that his leases on that property always include a no-pets clause, and that he would appreciate hearing from us if tenants moved in with dogs. He also talked about not allowing cars to be parked in the back yard. And we discussed cleaning up the small, triangular piece of woods which lies between our respective fences. After researching the survey and tax records, i concluded that the woods actually belong to Mr. Johnson. I asked Rick Soles if he wanted to clean up the trash there, or if he would give me permission to enter the property and clean it up. He preferred the latter, which was fine with me.
Well, imagine my surprise when the new tenants moved in a week and a half ago with dogs, and a backyard full of cars in various states of being sold.
I spoke with the new tenants, and between their English and my Spanish we were able to communicate effectively. They said they were quite clear in their lease application about both the cars and the dogs, and that Rick Soles signed off on both aspects of the lease.
I don't know about you, but i can cut people a lot of slack for their misdeeds. We're all human, and none of us perfect, but one thing we can all control is the degree of honesty with which we approach those around us. And being lied to is one thing i simply can't abide. So that's why i'm posting some specific details about the property, the owner and the manager here. Got any more horror stories about this property manager and/or owner? Share them in the comments, or drop me a line at dependableerection AT gmail DOT com.
And by the way, here's some pictures of the trash i cleaned up from Mr. Johnson's property.
Anybody from the city of Durham who wants to weigh in on the propriety of dumping used motor oil containers in the watershed? I'd love to hear from you as well.
This post is about those other neighbors who can't seem to figure out how to go about being good neighbors.
We met with Rick Soles, the property manager of 1705 Avondale Drive about a month ago, to discuss the ongoing problems his tenants have caused at that house. These problems have included domestic violence (we've called 911 several times in the middle of the night after hearing shouted threats of "I'm gonna kill you bitch!", breaking glass, etc.) loud music, cars being worked on under bright lights after midnight, 24/7 barking dogs tied to the carport posts without food, water, or shelter.
In the past, complaints directly to the owner of the property, according to the public tax records a Mr. David Johnson of Durham County, have not only not led to improvements, but resulted in Mr. Johnson appearing at my house, uninvited, and announcing that he has no intention of doing anything to improve the situation and declaring that we need to stop harassing him.
So i mentioned earlier that Rick Soles told us that he was tired of leasing to people who were trashing his property, and he was willing to work with us. Specifically, he said that his leases on that property always include a no-pets clause, and that he would appreciate hearing from us if tenants moved in with dogs. He also talked about not allowing cars to be parked in the back yard. And we discussed cleaning up the small, triangular piece of woods which lies between our respective fences. After researching the survey and tax records, i concluded that the woods actually belong to Mr. Johnson. I asked Rick Soles if he wanted to clean up the trash there, or if he would give me permission to enter the property and clean it up. He preferred the latter, which was fine with me.
Well, imagine my surprise when the new tenants moved in a week and a half ago with dogs, and a backyard full of cars in various states of being sold.
I spoke with the new tenants, and between their English and my Spanish we were able to communicate effectively. They said they were quite clear in their lease application about both the cars and the dogs, and that Rick Soles signed off on both aspects of the lease.
I don't know about you, but i can cut people a lot of slack for their misdeeds. We're all human, and none of us perfect, but one thing we can all control is the degree of honesty with which we approach those around us. And being lied to is one thing i simply can't abide. So that's why i'm posting some specific details about the property, the owner and the manager here. Got any more horror stories about this property manager and/or owner? Share them in the comments, or drop me a line at dependableerection AT gmail DOT com.
And by the way, here's some pictures of the trash i cleaned up from Mr. Johnson's property.
Anybody from the city of Durham who wants to weigh in on the propriety of dumping used motor oil containers in the watershed? I'd love to hear from you as well.
Labels: bad neighbors, Durham
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3 Comments:
I read an earlier post where you claimed all laws concerning neighbors must be rigorously enforced. Maybe these guys are illegals and you can get INS to bust them.
By
Anonymous, at 7:12 AM
I think it is so cute the way you hang on my every word.
If we were to go out for a drink sometime, would you bat your eyelashes at me? Because i really like that.
By
Barry, at 8:18 PM
Rick Soles is a slum lord. Although i'm sure he'd argue otherwise, at the end of the day what he is doing is promoting environments that lead to unsafe neighborhoods just so he can rent a house or room and profit. Its an age old story. The city should take a role and fine the property management company for infractions, perhaps that might make him think twice about who he puts in his properties. When the neighbors of his slum shacks that house drug pushers, the addicted to welfare and food stamp jobless, and other seedy characters end up getting hurt physically or economically by that kind of business activity it ends up being a lose lose situation for everyone involved,,,,,except Rick Soles,, who laughs all the way to the bank each month.
By
Anonymous, at 7:32 PM
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