Author Topic: Thinking of trimming a bush?  (Read 3137 times)

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Offline Liz 101

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Thinking of trimming a bush?
« on: December 12, 2017, 12:04:09 PM »
I bought on Lemon 1 some 13 + years ago. The builder gifted apartments to the original land owners (a brother, Salih, & 2 sisters) in lieu of payment. They have kept these apartments & rented them out, none of them actually live on the site. It's been a legal site for the past 10 years or so.

The builder had lemon trees planted in the communal garden, which have been supplemented over the years by various owners. At last year's AGM a number of owners stated that these trees hadn't been properly maintained, causing lack of daylight to ground floor properties, security issues, as it was possible, in some areas, to hide between the perimeter wall & the trees etc & needed to be properly pruned back. This was noted in the decision book.

Both myself & the site manager had spoken with the maintenance company, but nothing more than a odd trim had happened. Truthfully, all the planting had got beyond anything the gardener could cope with.

About a month ago, one of my neighbours decided to get going & prune these trees properly, ably assisted by his wife & myself. Most of the trees were given a haircut, though there was one that was badly diseased, the fruit being covered with a white fungus & the wood had become pulpy, this tree was given a number 2. Any fruit was bagged & a bag given to all the neighbours that were here at the time.

After a full day's labour, the 3 of us were relaxing with a cuppa, when Salih & his wife arrived to visit their tenants, as it was rent day. He clocked our handiwork & smiled & shrugged in our direction, but his wife went ballistic & was berating us loudly. You didn't need to speak any Turkish to understand her meaning!

The following morning, I was informed that the whole family had amassed in the park over the road. Eventually the police arrived, my friends & I had our passports taken & were asked to help police with their inquiries, the charge being damaging public property without permission, at Gunlukbasi nick, where we had to give statements. We took an official translator with us, the same one that attends all of our AGMs, so was fully conversant with all things Lemon.

It's taken a month, during which time my friends have gone back to the UK for the winter & have done a Blighty run, but we have now been notified by the prosecutor that there will be no further action. We have, however, learned a few lessons as a result:

1) A different view would have been taken if we hadn't had permission to prune the trees - thankfully, the decision book saved us

2) Even with permission, if we'd cut the diseased tree off just above ground level, it would have changed things

3) Olive trees are utterly untouchable

4) We have UK neighbours with a warped sense of humour, offering lemon drizzle cakes containing files & drone delivered cheese!!








Offline kevin3

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Re: Thinking of trimming a bush?
« Reply #1 on: December 12, 2017, 16:08:19 PM »



      I'm surprised you did'nt get done for insulting the trees.      :(

Offline KKOB

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Re: Thinking of trimming a bush?
« Reply #2 on: December 12, 2017, 16:27:01 PM »
I'm so glad you got your unruly bush trimmed.

Offline Anne

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Re: Thinking of trimming a bush?
« Reply #3 on: December 12, 2017, 19:17:49 PM »
Quite unbelievable Liz. 
Did the said owners not attend your AGM?  Assuming the didn't, surely they would have read the minutes stating that all parties agreed this was a job needing done.
Glad to hear it is now over but that couldn't have been a pleasant experience for any of you

Offline Liz 101

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Re: Thinking of trimming a bush?
« Reply #4 on: December 12, 2017, 21:56:29 PM »
These 3 owners actually didn't attend the AGM, but each has a married child living in one of their properties, who represent their respective parents. At the end of the AGM, the translator takes away the decision book, types it up including an English translation & emails it to me. I then distribute, including an extra copy for these 3 owners, which I leave with their children. Whether they are passed on & / or read, I cannot control, however, we also increased the maintenance fees at that AGM, & all of the owners paid the increased amount without any further prompting.

The experience was a bit disconcerting, although we didn't think that the police were taking things too seriously, as we were able to take ourselves to the police station, so if our story wasn't straight beforehand, it certainly would have been by the time we came to give our statements!

Offline busybee

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Re: Thinking of trimming a bush?
« Reply #5 on: December 13, 2017, 05:35:07 AM »
Liz told me about this a while ago. I sometimes think that some people have such a wonderful life, with no worries, that they get incensed by any little thing that irks them. You run your complex like a tight ship and keep accounts accurately, thank goodness!!  Have they taken your ankle bracelet off yet   ;)  ;)  ;)




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