Richton Park Herald

Why else would you want to buy a home? You want to see your investment grow. We’ve hit a glitch in these tough economic times, but there are still ways to keep your investment on the positive side and not let things slip into the money pit!

Maintain your house in a timely fashion. Don’t put off things that will only turn into big dollar maintenance nightmares in the future. Paint that exterior. Or better yet, if you’re painting every two or three years like I was, just bite the bullet and re-side your house with maintenance free aluminum or vinyl siding.  It costs, but I haven’t had to do anything with the exteriotr of my house in the last 10 years. In the long run, I’m saving money and I have a great looking house!

Let’s talk about landscaping. You’ve heard about curb appeal, right? How your house looks from the street. Anybody who knows anything about landscaping and curb appeal will tell you that dandelions are not a good thing. The have pretty little yellow flowers, but it is a weed and it will destroy your lawn if you let them go unchecked!  And what’s even more damaging is that those pretty little flowers turn to white puffy seed globes that blow apart and ride on the wind into your neighbors’ lawns,  eventually ruining them too!  Your neighbors are probably polite and say hi and good morning and all that, but what they’re really thinking is “why don’t you take care of your disgusting, weed infested lawn and stop ruining mine?”!

Also, check around your house every now and then, and pick up litter, broken glass and whatever else may be laying around your house. Yes, I know, you may not have put it there, but somebody’s got to pick it up and I doubt if somebody from two blocks over is going to do it.

Trim the suckers off of your trees. The reason they are called suckers is that they suck  the life out of the tree that they are growing on. By removing them, you make  a better looking tree and a healthier tree. How do I describe a sucker? They look like they want to become a branch, but they are not really a branch, they are just a small little sucker that, if let alone, will turn into something substantial, but not really branch like. They look out of place.

Pick up after your dog. Walking your dog and letting it poop on somebody elses property and leaving it there is just not neighborly, proper or civilized.  This is against the law in Richton Park and carries a hefty fine.

Also, keep your pets on a leash. You just can’t open the door and let your pet roam around, cat or dog, and let them do whatever they want. If you have a fenced in back yard, its ok. But to let them roam through the neighborhood again is not neighborly, proper or civilized, and is also against the law.  You must take responsibility for you pets and not let them be a burden to your neighbors.

Following these guidelines will provide all of us with better a maintained and good looking communitiy that will maximixe all of our investments in our homes.

Hi! I joined the Lakewood Home Owner Association when I moved in to my brand new neighborhood over 30 years ago. Its a great way to meet your neighbors and make a difference in your neighborhood.