Yesterday afternoon, Karen K. & I went to visit with Mrs. Perea, a neighbor. Mrs. Perea is a sweet lady who had 82 years of life under her belt. She's a lovely woman and she does not like the donkeys. One reason for her dislike is she is not in the best of health and the donkeys prevent her from getting a proper amount of rest. Another reason is that she wants to sell her home, but she's concerned (legitimately) that having a small herd of donkeys so close to her home will affect the property's value. The donkey paddock in the valley is about 300' from her house and 45' from her fence line.
Mrs. Perea has good cause to be concerned and she isn't alone in her concerns about the effect that the establishment of a donkey rescue will have on property values. It is a well known fact that animal noise and bad neighbors can and will reduce property values up to 20%! So, if your home is appraised for sale at $100,000, you will only get about $80,000 for it. That is a considerable chunk of change to lose! Face it, for most of us, our homes are the biggest investment we have. We have dumped many hundreds of thousands of dollars into our homes: purchase, taxes, insurance, improvements, and repairs, only to have our investment evaporate due to bad neighbors and noisy animals.
According to an article, Seven Neighborhood Threats to YourHome's Value, by Brian O'Connell, published in MSN Real Estate, bad neighbors
can seriously affect the value of one's property. Real estate professionals say that a bad
neighbor is any home or business that turns people off.
"A bad neighbor is one that has no consideration for the rest of the community," says Mindy Pordes, co-founder of Pordes Residential Sales & Marketing in Aventura, FL. "For example, someone who doesn't take care of the outside appearance of the home, such as the gardening, painting of the outside of the home, roof, garbage, and general upkeep. In addition, a bad neighbor may have constant visitors taking up parking spaces, perhaps on the street, loud house parties, dogs that bark all night or stray cats lingering around."
Another article, Nine Things That Will Trash Your Home's Value,
published in Business Insider on May 15, 2013 states
"A nearby property's overgrown yard, peeling paint, and clutter can easily knock 5% to 10% off the sale price of your home, said Joe Magdziarz, the president of the Appraisal Institute and a real-estate appraiser with 40 years of experience. A true disaster – a junky home in deplorable condition and a yard packed with debris – could cost you even more."
Our neighbors, Mr. Cross & Ms. Lotter, fit the
description of "bad neighbors".
They have accumulated piles of trash and junk on their property, making
their yard 'unkempt'. The trash and junk
are eyesores, as are the run in sheds in the donkey yards as they are in need
of repair. They have not been taking
care of their home and there is missing siding, odd materials used to patch the
house, old tires around the base, and, in general, it is an eyesore and in
desperate need of repair.
The same Business Insider article goes on to state,
"Noisy neighbors (or their pets) are enough to drag home values down by 5 – 10%. There's a reason prospective home buyers are advised to make multiple visits to homes and at all times of the day: Noise can be a property value killer."The noise; the lack of upkeep; the piles of trash & junk; all of them result in decreasing the property values of the other homes around them. The homes directly affected as they share property lines with these people and their noisy animals are:
1046 County Line Road (Zillow estimate - $189,000)Other homes in close vicinity, especially those adjacent to where they hide donkeys at 12 Log Cabin Lane and 1058 County Line Road are:
1052 County Line Road (Zillow estimate - $296,000)
1038 County Line Road (Zillow estimate - $253,500)
17 Whispering Elms (Zillow estimate - $187,600)
2 Log Cabin Lane (Zillow estimate - $168,200)
8 Log Cabin Lane (Zillow estimate - $167,500)
12 Log Cabin Lane (Zillow estimate - $172,200)
14 Log Cabin Lane (Zillow estimate - $200,700)It's rumored that they have several other places where they are hiding donkeys in a never-ending shell game. I know I've personally seen a couple of donkeys down on Quiet Valley Loop, which is where one of their supporters lives. Of course, there were only 2 donkeys at the Quiet Valley Loop location, not a herd of 13 or more. Makes a difference with regard to noise.
5 Whispering Elms (Zillow estimate - $178,600)
1056 County Line Road (Zillow estimate - $162,100)
1058 County Line Road (Zillow estimate - $290,900)
1081 County Line Road (Zillow estimate - $276,300)
Some examples of noisy donkeys in the news include:
Reese Witherspoon, neighbors complaining about noise levels
Neighbors in Brussels complain about Lola.
Joseph, the Brierley donkey heard 2 miles away
Donkey stories on Horse & Hound
Other donkeys have made the news for other reasons:
Abandoned donkeys
Donkeys Maul & Kill Pensioner
By the way, BernCo Animal Services was called last night about the noise, just to notate how long they brayed.
29 comments:
Geeze! you have way too much time on your mind! Maybe you should consider moving back to Maryland. I feel sorry for people like you.
You need to move back to Maryland! You certainly are not a New Mexican! You city people come out here to New Mexico to "retire". Then you move out into the "country". THEN you guys put up freaking street lights, pave the dirt roads and try to turn it right back into the city you moved away from. You live in the COUNTRY! Get used to the animals and the noise! I prefer hearing livestock than sirens wail in the middle of the night. I like my dirt roads and I like my vehicle dirty! So, like i said before, get your ass back to where you came from!
You are a citiot! Why don't you move somewhere else, like the noisy city and listen to horns honking or near a park so you can complain about the geese. Oh, what if someone gets a rooster! Maybe you should call the airport and complain about the noisy planes flying around.You are a hateful, trouble maker and are setting yourself up for a lawsuit! Grow up!
So lower home values aren't effected by the economy? Some people realize that when they buy a home in the country animals are part of the scenery. Where we live I am constantly awoken by the noise of neighbors using chain saws and mowers early in the morning. Loud booming radios from cars driving by at 1a.m.. The local high school is several miles from my home and I can hear the bands playing and the lights when they have home games. That is part of living around others. I would love to live closer to the stable up the road from my house so I could watch the horses when they are out. I know that the houses there sell very fast and haven't gone down in value. I would think that having donkeys in the area would be beneficial for compost, warnings about dogs or strangers in the area and would add some much needed amusement. A rescue could provide a place for neighborhood teens to volunteer, an opportunity to teach children about responsible pet ownership and compassion. You probably won't post this since I don't support your position. But as someone who loves animals, I would rather put up with braying than screaming kids, who turn into teenagers who drive recklessly with radios blaring and vandalism.
Amen
Get a life! Do something with your life. volunteer do something! besides being a welfare monger
There are two kinds of people who move to the country. Those that want to be away from the cities and the noise and desire peace. And those that move there thinking that is the place where they can do whatever they want to do whenever they want to do it. The latter are people who enjoy being obnoxious and believe they are entitled to force others to live with their obnoxiousness. I would guess that the above anonymous people are members of the latter category. There is always someone who has to ruin it for the whole neighborhood. And basically what it comes down to is consideration for other people. If you weren't raised with that attribute, you wouldn't know what it is.
If you wish to move to the country and need/want/require quiet at all times, then you should move to an all adult, gated community. This would give you that, for the most part. 'The country' is where farm animals live and it tends to be noisy. I grew up on a farm, the neighbors were all farmers and noise is just part of that life? The animals communicate with the voices they were given. As for these donkeys, where would you have them go? They certainly could not live in the city! I could not find another donkey rescue in NM so it seems that these neighbors are providing a valuable service, as well.
Omg! Get over it and bitch about something that really matters.
Anonymous said...
You need to move back to Maryland! You certainly are not a New Mexican!
Sorry but maybe you Anonymous need to move from NM and go somewhere else, you are not New Mexican either so ... go away.
It's an unwritten rule of life in the Country that you don't let your animals annoy the neighbors. And if they do annoy the neighbors you fix the problem. Works like a charm in the,city, too.
Please rethink what the word compassion means.
Sometimes Donkeys are what sells a property. When I lived in the suburbs (half acre parcels) I had two donkeys. The neighbors loved them. In fact, the newest neighbor said the reason they decided to buy their home was BECAUSE of the donkeys!! I understand your concern, but I wouldn't blame it on the donkeys. Anyone can have unkempt yard. I sold my home and took my donkeys with me. The couple that moved into my home throw loud parties, have kids crying all day and night, the dog barks non stop, the people are rude and scream at my former neighbors....I imagine my neighbors saying "Wish those donkeys were here." LOL Anyhow, not downplaying your concerns, but seems that your reason for being unhappy is your fear that property values will decrease. I don't think you have to worry about that.
This is such a sorry testament to our values today, isn't it? Here you sit in jjudgment of two people who are doing work blessed by saints (St Francis of AssiSi). These two beautiful intelligent people droppd everything in their lives the day they found burros abused and tortured with broken ears, rope burned necks, broken legs, too young jennies pregnant in the kill pens of Chavez and brought them home. They haven't turned back. They bring these wonderful spirited little burros out of the hell they find them in and nurture them, repair them. Care for them when they foal, geld the jacks (because they are adamantly against breeding) and find them homes.
These are wonderful gifted people and have the support of people all over the world. Yes it takes a while to care for them but why not do the right thing and help? I've met them, I'd be proud to call them a neighbor.
I have been a realtor and owner of 3 Re/Max offices as well as a builder and Donkeys or horses have NEVER made the property value go down. this is ridiculous. Most people welcome animals in their neighborhood. It sounds like these people just do NOT like animals in general. Donkeys are precious animals. I live in a 2 million home and i welcome the donkeys that my neighbor has.
How fortunate for you to hear the symphony of the donkey!! I love it! It's like a serenade as you listen to them communicate to each other. Such incredible animals!! Maybe you could learn more about these soulful creatures and volunteer at the rescue and use your time in a wise and helpful manner! You will never regret it!
We encroach on animal habitat and then complain when others care for the very animals we displace?! Stay classy!
I have lived in the country during the first 18 years of my life and now back again. Always lived in the Southwestern high deserts. I lived in the city where the crime is high the noise is obnoxious and the people irritated most of the time. Out here in the SW New Mexico area we have lots of northerners and easterners moving out here. They tell us how we are suppose to live, recite our history and dress weird thinking they are now cowboys. They plant grass around their houses and use our ground water to water them; and worse of all they complain about the coyotes and enjoy going out and shooting them. I came back to the country to live out of city people's stupidity. And found them out here too. Coyotes eat the rats and mice and now I seldom hear those beautiful evening cries. Donkeys are great guard animals and they take care of their homes. In the rural areas, livestock does not take from the value of a home. Go home or learn our ways and shut up.
By the way, they are not "hiding" donkeys. They are openly moving them around to appease you. Why don't you get involved and volunteer to help them. You have a beautiful talent why not donate some of your work to help them raise money. Then maybe they could afford to fix up the place better. There are those of us trying hard to fix what evil people have done to equines. That takes lots of money and tons of heartbreak and love. Maybe you could use some of that.
It is not that these people do not like animals. Far from it. And they have said that repeatedly. It is the fact that they cannot get enough uninterrupted sleep because of the braying in the middle of the night. None of you above have any clue what happens when a human does not get enough uninterrupted sleep. I would say google it, but it is obvious that many of the above comments come from people who don't care about anything but themselves. And don't live within braying distance of a large number of donkeys that bray in the middle of the night. Perhaps the saintly neighbors should put the donkeys inside a structure at night so they don't wake everyone else in the neighborhood.
Short of closing the rescue, is there anything that they could do to make the situation more acceptable to you? Compromise is always a better solution.
I'm so surprised you posted the property value of your neighbor's homes, I doubt that was much appreciated. It is not secret information but to post like that seems inconsiderate at the least.
I think you should list your home and move away. Because not sleeping at night truly is a very big problem for anyone, I know because I have gone through that. For your health's sake, relocate. Certainly don't wait until something changes because I don't think this is a battle you can win. With it feeling like a battle, being the problem. All this anger is not good for you in any way, or for your family. This has taken over your life.
Good point Lee. We have been here for 20 years and we are not moving any time soon.
could you put up a board fence, privacy fence with bushes or trees. That would counteract the noise and view.
And either is wildlife
You've been there 20 years and never been bothered by noisy animals in all that time....in the country???
If you dislike animal noise why did you take a chance and move into a neighborhood that is zoned unlimited livestock? Did it not occur to you that this meant that horses, cows, sheeps, pigs, chickens etc could move in? With your distaste for animal noise I would think that you would have found property in an area that ensured this would not occur. I understand this is the only area in Bernalillo County that is thus zoned which left you with every other area to home search in. Sort of seems this is like moving next to an airport and complaining about the airplane noise. This is a choice YOU made. I live in a similar area but find the 50 horses that live across from me, the 5 next door and the donkeys and guinea hens, peacocks and chickens with roosters to be a part of the charm.
I don't have any of the accounts listed to sign in and I don't like the anonymous option so my name is Morgan Griffith.
"Sorry but maybe you Anonymous need to move from NM and go somewhere else, you are not New Mexican either so ... go away."
I have never lived anywhere else but New Mexico. I was born and raised here. My blood is purely New Mexican.
Unlike you, I am not a transplant from another state, wanting to change everything about our Land of Enchantment just to fit into your mold of how you think it should be.
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