Failure to Paint

I'm curious, has anyone ever gotten a court summons over failure to paint? My elderly parents live in Maplewood and are currently going through difficult financial times. They were sent a warning notice about painting their admittedly slightly dilapidated house last year and couldn't afford to. They went to the town hall and spoke with the guy in charge of this sort of thing to explain their situation. Rather than trying to help them out or work something out, he instead began to basically harass them, sending them fines for all sorts of preposterous things and even claiming they hadn't paint certain fees which they had clear proof of. They've now just received a number of court summons, which interestingly enough are for a date in the past, before the they were even mailed, with all sorts of fines, most of which are bogus and can be easily proven to be so as well as one for failing to paint.

This happened to a neighbor in South Orange and he told them to worry about the condition of the Town Hall instead. They never returned but he painted his house in his own good time and when he got some extra cash to do so. Nobody wants a bad looking property but people go through stuff.

Is there a way you or another family member could approach the town and agree to some sort of plan for working on the house over an agreed-upon time period? It's a difficult situation. My experience is town officials want to be reasonable, but there is going to be some kind of expectation that someone works on improving the house at some level. And perhaps a local contractor can give you an estimate on cleaning up spots and peeling areas on the shingles/siding which are most visible.

If it helps, some parts of Mpl. are eligible for low interest loans for house maintenance. Details on the town web site.

Perhaps it would be worthwhile to sell the house in as-is condition. This would solve the violation problem and would likely help them financially too. 

Who said they wanted to sell? That's senior discrimination.

annielou said:

That's senior discrimination.

No, it's not. Selling is often the only viable option for people who can't afford to maintain their house. Paint may be only cosmetic, but eventually  the boiler fails or the roof starts leaking. Better to sell while the house is intact and habitable. It sucks, but it's not singling out seniors.

As Jack states, there are loan programs available for situations like this that could help with the painting issue.  One is income-based.  The other not.  

The income based program is administered through the town, covers home maintenance situations like the one you describe, this is a forgivable loan provided the resident remains in their home for ten years after receiving the funding.  Contact the town for more information.  Available funding is limited so you need to determine if money for this program is currently available.  

Th other loan program is administered by CCR, covers exterior improvements only (assume painting is needed for the exterior of the building), and does require that the loan be repaid.  Check their website for more information and contact info.

Contacting the town's Director of Welfare may result i  obtaining information about other sources of help.

Hope you are able to help them work this out.

sixdaysinthesun said:

I'm curious, has anyone ever gotten a court summons over failure to paint? My elderly parents live in Maplewood and are currently going through difficult financial times. They were sent a warning notice about painting their admittedly slightly dilapidated house last year and couldn't afford to. They went to the town hall and spoke with the guy in charge of this sort of thing to explain their situation. Rather than trying to help them out or work something out, he instead began to basically harass them, sending them fines for all sorts of preposterous things and even claiming they hadn't paint certain fees which they had clear proof of. They've now just received a number of court summons, which interestingly enough are for a date in the past, before the they were even mailed, with all sorts of fines, most of which are bogus and can be easily proven to be so as well as one for failing to paint.

Yes.  Under local ordinances and enforcement procedures, it is entirely possible to receive a court summons for failure to remediate a violation for failure to maintain the exterior of the house (including failure to paint).  What is highly unusual is being hit with such a fine without first receiving one or more warnings followed by a notice of violation with a period for correction of the condition being attached to each action.  My guess is that the problem existed for sometime before you became aware of the problem.  The other fines you refer to are equally likely to be legitimate under existing code and equally likely to have been issued only after warnings and notices of violation were issued first.  

The ideal time to have followed up with these notices of violation would have been at the time the initial warnings were received.  Now that the matter has been referred to the municipal court, it may be too late to try and negotiate something with the town officials prior to the court date.  What would be advisable is to contact (each of) the code enforcement inspector(s) who issued the violation(s) to get information as to the nature, history, and rationale for each of these fines, what would be needed to address the violations now, and if any agreement for addressing these violations could be presented to the court at the trial(s).

If you are able to, go with them to the court date. You all or they can meet with the prosecutor and may be able to get prosec. to ask the judge to allow time to remedy the problems. Also speak with the town's welfare official.

If the house is "slightly dilapidated" and funds to repair are not there, consider Joan's suggestion to sell and move to senior housing. Several towns have subsidized housing. Two that I know of are Summit and Bedminster. Problems like sewer lines, plumbing, roofing and furnaces do pop up -- constantly. Are they financially able to handle these? 

This one gets harder for me to bring up, but how is their mental health? You do not need to respond to this question but think about it.

More senior discrimination

annielou said:

More senior discrimination

No it's not. It's simply unrealistic for many people who are retired to have sufficient income to maintain the lifestyle they once had. Hanging onto a large family home is just nuts, quite frankly, under those circumstances- finding something that's affordable, and less of a burden, makes all sense in the world.  

Seniors who have worked hard throughout their lives should be able to stay in their own homes as long as it is safe to do so. Several posters have made helpful suggestions about seeking assistance toward upkeep. But until there are reasonably priced alternatives for senior housing I don't see why they should sell. And to ask about mental impairment takes big balls. Not all seniors fit into this real estate driven stereotype.

sixdaysinthesun said:

I'm curious, has anyone ever gotten a court summons over failure to paint? ...

Yes - I was going to get the house painted anyway, the summons was a good reminder.  Also a good reminder high property taxes and how overbearing Maplewood rules can be. 

annielou said:

Seniors who have worked hard throughout their lives should be able to stay in their own homes as long as it is safe to do so. Several posters have made helpful suggestions about seeking assistance toward upkeep. But until there are reasonably priced alternatives for senior housing I don't see why they should sell. And to ask about mental impairment takes big balls. Not all seniors fit into this real estate driven stereotype.

The OP said "admittedly dilapidated" so that would indicate that sadly, they are unable to keep their home in safe condition and the outside is causing neighbors / the town to get pissed. 

What should the OP and her parents do until this "reasonably price alternatives for senior housing" occurs? Face inevitable fines? 

My grandmother stayed in her home until she couldn't and then moved in with my mother. There's nothing wrong with facing the facts of the situation. If the home cannot be properly maintained to safety (nothing to do with decor), if the senior is having difficulty navigating the home and if the home is not properly insulated or ventilated for the seasons, sadly, it's time. 

lord_pabulum said:

sixdaysinthesun said:

I'm curious, has anyone ever gotten a court summons over failure to paint? ...

Yes - I was going to get the house painted anyway, the summons was a good reminder.  Also a good reminder high property taxes and how overbearing Maplewood rules can be. 

The rules are to protect home values. When someone gets a Summons or even a warning from the Town about something like failing to paint their house it's almost always because neighbors complained.

Unfortunatly  most neighbors are not concerned about the safety of seniors inside their homes but how the outside affects their property values. It's too bad we don't have a dedicated group of citizens and students who could offer to help with painting, landscaping, and general repair on a volunteer basis. Also why is it that the family can't chip in to help? Sometimes I think seniors are disregarded and it irks me.

@sixdaysinthesun 

This may sound pollyannaish but maybe start a kickstarter campaign and post it here and to the SOMa facebook group?  Also perhaps one of the local painting companies would give a discounted rate for some local community good will and free press?

I have been through two versions of this, and both left me a little bummed.  My  last house was in Newark.  My wife and I put a lot of effort and money into fixing it up, including painting.  Afterwards in comparison our neighbors house looked a little scraggly.  They were good folks who didn't have much so we didn't mind.  Someone else called the town and they refused to believe that it was not us.  It made things very hard for us until we moved.  When we moved here this house was a wreck.  The paint was peeling, but the roof was leaking and there was snow in the basement, so we prioritized.  It took us 4 years to get everything in the walls finished and insulated and the summer we were planning to paint someone called us in.  All of our current neighbors are great folks and appreciate what we have done with this house, but one person who is doing nothing called us in.  According to multiple neighbors, it is their hobby.  Didn't matter, ticket was dismissed when I showed the town the signed contract for the painter.  

annielou said:

Unfortunatly  most neighbors are not concerned about the safety of seniors inside their homes but how the outside affects their property values. 

Based on some of your responses here I expect that you might consider it age discrimination for a poster to propose that a group of neighbors knock on the door and offer assistance.  

annielou said:

More senior discrimination

Nobody is discriminating. This advice is not specifically directed toward seniors. It applies to any homeowner of any age who could not afford the upkeep on their home such that the home becomes dilapidated. The advice is for the benefit of the homeowner because they could likely be more financially comfortable by using the proceeds of a home sale to downsize to a place that is maintenance-free.

annielou said:

Seniors who have worked hard throughout their lives should be able to stay in their own homes as long as it is safe to do so. 

I would argue that seniors who have worked hard throughout their lives should be able to stay in their own homes as long as it is safe AND AFFORDABLE to do so. How can they stay in their home if they cannot afford it? Again, this applies to homeowners of all ages.

shoshannah said:

annielou said:

More senior discrimination

Nobody is discriminating. This advice is not specifically directed toward seniors. It applies to any homeowner of any age who could not afford the upkeep on their home such that the home becomes dilapidated. The advice is for the benefit of the homeowner because they could likely be more financially comfortable by using the proceeds of a home sale to downsize to a place that is maintenance-free.

annielou said:

Seniors who have worked hard throughout their lives should be able to stay in their own homes as long as it is safe to do so. 

I would argue that seniors who have worked hard throughout their lives should be able to stay in their own homes as long as it is safe AND AFFORDABLE to do so. How can they stay in their home if they cannot afford it? Again, this applies to homeowners of all ages.

Unfortunately, this assumes that the homeowner with the house in need of repair has sufficient equity left in the house to benefit from such a sale.  This is not always the case, especially when the household is facing financial difficulties.

joan_crystal
Unfortunately, this assumes that the homeowner with the house in need of repair has sufficient equity left in the house to benefit from such a sale.  This is not always the case, especially when the household is facing financial difficulties.

You're right. They could be in a reverse mortgage which could be their only source of income. 

Formerlyjerseyjack said:

If you are able to, go with them to the court date. You all or they can meet with the prosecutor and may be able to get prosec. to ask the judge to allow time to remedy the problems. Also speak with the town's welfare official.

If the house is "slightly dilapidated" and funds to repair are not there, consider Joan's suggestion to sell and move to senior housing. Several towns have subsidized housing. Two that I know of are Summit and Bedminster. Problems like sewer lines, plumbing, roofing and furnaces do pop up -- constantly. Are they financially able to handle these? 




This one gets harder for me to bring up, but how is their mental health? You do not need to respond to this question but think about it.

I simply asked a question about summons and you've somehow chosen to taken a Grand Canyon sized leap to conjecturing about the state of my parents' mental health. There's nothing wrong with my parents other than not being in a financial position to afford the 10-15k it's going to cost for them to have their house painted. I'm sure you're the sort of person who took the first available opportunity to ship your elderly parents off to some senior living facility where they pay out the nose to be treated badly by those who are meant to be caring for them. 

The thing is, they did try to follow up and come up with a solution when they first received notice, but when my mother went to town hall, the person she spoke to basically threatened her with all sorts of other summons and fines which were provably false and did things such as calling their home and leaving threatening messages how what the township would do to them if they didn't get it painted asap. I'm currently putting together documentation of all this and hoping to take to the township, perhaps directly to the mayor or something because the treatment they have received at the hands of the township so far is unacceptable. 

joan_crystal said:

sixdaysinthesun said:

I'm curious, has anyone ever gotten a court summons over failure to paint? My elderly parents live in Maplewood and are currently going through difficult financial times. They were sent a warning notice about painting their admittedly slightly dilapidated house last year and couldn't afford to. They went to the town hall and spoke with the guy in charge of this sort of thing to explain their situation. Rather than trying to help them out or work something out, he instead began to basically harass them, sending them fines for all sorts of preposterous things and even claiming they hadn't paint certain fees which they had clear proof of. They've now just received a number of court summons, which interestingly enough are for a date in the past, before the they were even mailed, with all sorts of fines, most of which are bogus and can be easily proven to be so as well as one for failing to paint.

Yes.  Under local ordinances and enforcement procedures, it is entirely possible to receive a court summons for failure to remediate a violation for failure to maintain the exterior of the house (including failure to paint).  What is highly unusual is being hit with such a fine without first receiving one or more warnings followed by a notice of violation with a period for correction of the condition being attached to each action.  My guess is that the problem existed for sometime before you became aware of the problem.  The other fines you refer to are equally likely to be legitimate under existing code and equally likely to have been issued only after warnings and notices of violation were issued first.  

The ideal time to have followed up with these notices of violation would have been at the time the initial warnings were received.  Now that the matter has been referred to the municipal court, it may be too late to try and negotiate something with the town officials prior to the court date.  What would be advisable is to contact (each of) the code enforcement inspector(s) who issued the violation(s) to get information as to the nature, history, and rationale for each of these fines, what would be needed to address the violations now, and if any agreement for addressing these violations could be presented to the court at the trial(s).

kibbegirl said:

annielou said:

Seniors who have worked hard throughout their lives should be able to stay in their own homes as long as it is safe to do so. Several posters have made helpful suggestions about seeking assistance toward upkeep. But until there are reasonably priced alternatives for senior housing I don't see why they should sell. And to ask about mental impairment takes big balls. Not all seniors fit into this real estate driven stereotype.

The OP said "admittedly dilapidated" so that would indicate that sadly, they are unable to keep their home in safe condition and the outside is causing neighbors / the town to get pissed. 

What should the OP and her parents do until this "reasonably price alternatives for senior housing" occurs? Face inevitable fines? 

My grandmother stayed in her home until she couldn't and then moved in with my mother. There's nothing wrong with facing the facts of the situation. If the home cannot be properly maintained to safety (nothing to do with decor), if the senior is having difficulty navigating the home and if the home is not properly insulated or ventilated for the seasons, sadly, it's time. 

By admittedly dilapidated I mean that there is a bit of chipping paint here and there, nothing more. Everything else is in tip-top condition, the lawn is mowed regularly, hedges trimmed etc. The house is in perfectly safe condition, just a bit of an eye sore at a few angles. It's simply about the decor (paint) of the home, as I said. I'm not sure how you made that leap, but although my parents are older, they are certainly not old enough to experience "difficulty navigating the home and if the home is not properly insulated or ventilated for the seasons" . 

Thanks so much for this; it's exactly the sort of information I was looking for. 

joan_crystal said:

As Jack states, there are loan programs available for situations like this that could help with the painting issue.  One is income-based.  The other not.  

The income based program is administered through the town, covers home maintenance situations like the one you describe, this is a forgivable loan provided the resident remains in their home for ten years after receiving the funding.  Contact the town for more information.  Available funding is limited so you need to determine if money for this program is currently available.  

Th other loan program is administered by CCR, covers exterior improvements only (assume painting is needed for the exterior of the building), and does require that the loan be repaid.  Check their website for more information and contact info.

Contacting the town's Director of Welfare may result i  obtaining information about other sources of help.

Hope you are able to help them work this out.

I wouldn't make the leap to assume that an untidy house exterior means that the homeowners are facing mental and decision-making issues. However, there are instances where they are related. I think folks are trying to help, and many of Formerly's suggestions seem worth considering.

Is this a case where a reverse mortgage might help?  Do your folks own the house outright?

sixdaysinthesun said:

kibbegirl said:

annielou said:

Seniors who have worked hard throughout their lives should be able to stay in their own homes as long as it is safe to do so. Several posters have made helpful suggestions about seeking assistance toward upkeep. But until there are reasonably priced alternatives for senior housing I don't see why they should sell. And to ask about mental impairment takes big balls. Not all seniors fit into this real estate driven stereotype.

The OP said "admittedly dilapidated" so that would indicate that sadly, they are unable to keep their home in safe condition and the outside is causing neighbors / the town to get pissed. 

What should the OP and her parents do until this "reasonably price alternatives for senior housing" occurs? Face inevitable fines? 

My grandmother stayed in her home until she couldn't and then moved in with my mother. There's nothing wrong with facing the facts of the situation. If the home cannot be properly maintained to safety (nothing to do with decor), if the senior is having difficulty navigating the home and if the home is not properly insulated or ventilated for the seasons, sadly, it's time. 

By admittedly dilapidated I mean that there is a bit of chipping paint here and there, nothing more. Everything else is in tip-top condition, the lawn is mowed regularly, hedges trimmed etc. The house is in perfectly safe condition, just a bit of an eye sore at a few angles. It's simply about the decor (paint) of the home, as I said. I'm not sure how you made that leap, but although my parents are older, they are certainly not old enough to experience "difficulty navigating the home and if the home is not properly insulated or ventilated for the seasons" . 

I am sorry I offended you with the question. Dementia is on my mind since my mother died last September after 9 years of declining mental ability.