What would you do in this situation?

[1995hoo]

The back of our house faces sort of an alley, for lack of a better term–a narrow grassy area between backyards that is owned by the HOA. Across the alley from us, one of the houses has had its back door from the kitchen to the deck open for at least two days now. (The deck is not accessible from ground level without a ladder.) I can see the sliding screen door is open as well. It strikes me as more than a bit odd that it was open yesterday morning when the weather wasn't bad, but it was also open last night in the cold and wind, and it struck me as even odder that it was still open this morning in precisely the same position when it was 25° outside. The house looks dark like nobody is home, and all the blinds and drapes are closed, and when Ms1995hoo and I went around the block last night we found a package behind the front storm door and yesterday's paper on the stoop and nobody was home.

The back door being left open like that for several days now is what is making us think something's strange. My question is, do you think I should do anything like call the police non-emergency number? We have never met the people who live in that house–we had met the prior resident, but someone new moved in a year or so ago and we've never met him. Normally I wouldn't bat an eye at someone being out of town, but the back door being left open like that is strange to say the least!

[empirestate]

The back of our house faces sort of an alley, for lack of a better term–a narrow grassy area between backyards that is owned by the HOA. Across the alley from us, one of the houses has had its back door from the kitchen to the deck open for at least two days now. (The deck is not accessible from ground level without a ladder.) I can see the sliding screen door is open as well. It strikes me as more than a bit odd that it was open yesterday morning when the weather wasn't bad, but it was also open last night in the cold and wind, and it struck me as even odder that it was still open this morning in precisely the same position when it was 25° outside. The house looks dark like nobody is home, and all the blinds and drapes are closed, and when Ms1995hoo and I went around the block last night we found a package behind the front storm door and yesterday's paper on the stoop and nobody was home.

The back door being left open like that for several days now is what is making us think something's strange. My question is, do you think I should do anything like call the police non-emergency number? We have never met the people who live in that house–we had met the prior resident, but someone new moved in a year or so ago and we've never met him. Normally I wouldn't bat an eye at someone being out of town, but the back door being left open like that is strange to say the least!

Why don't you contact the HOA? They would presumably know how to get ahold of this guy. Can't hurt to call your police precinct as well; least that will happen is nothing.

[1995hoo]

Hmmm, didn't even think of calling the HOA. Thanks.

On the advice of a number of friends I called the police, so I may wait a few hours to see if I hear anything more from them (they said the officer who comes out may call me) or if I see the door closed. If not, I'll call the HOA. Working out of the home office today and my window looks out at that house, so it's easy to tell if the door is closed.

Thanks for the suggestion. Calling the HOA never crossed my mind.

[hbelkins]

Yeah, I would definitely call the police.

[1995hoo]

Three cop cars and a fire truck all showed up. I went out to talk to them and they said calling was the right thing to do, that's it's better to be safe in that situation. They put up a ladder and went inside to check it out. I didn't hear any sirens after they took the ladder away, so that's a good sign that they didn't find someone collapsed or some such. One of the policemen said they rang the doorbells to both sides of that house and the neighbors said the resident travels a lot, so most likely he went out of town and failed to secure the back door. It's been really windy the past few days, so if he didn't close it tightly I suppose it could have blown open. Police said they would close the place up and leave the homeowner a note explaining why they were there.

It's one of those things where I felt a little like I was being nosy or a busybody calling the police, but the more I thought about it the more I decided that if my house were wide-open like that I'd want someone either to try to contact me or else to call the police.

[empirestate]

Well, when he gets back in town, now you'll have a great way to get acquainted!

Much nicer than how I met one of my neighbors down the block. The first time I ever laid eyes on the man, and the first words he ever spoke to me, he was berating me loudly for my parking job (actually, I was in the middle of loading the car for a trip out of town, about to leave that very second). I tried to introduce myself, figuring if he was going to take that tone with me we should at least exchange our names, but he flatly refused. I offered to hold the space I was about to vacate until he could pull his own car around, or even to pull it around for him, but he accepted no suggestions as to how I could help him solve his problem. I see him often now–he walks around the neighborhood quite well considering how important he said it was to park just steps from his front door–and I'm pretty disappointed that I know him in no other context than that.

[agentsteel53]

Three cop cars and a fire truck all showed up.

now that I'm surprised at.  I'd have figured that a call to the non-emergency line would have resulted in one or two guys in a cruiser showing up. 

and yeah, after two days of a door being open, I'd have called the police too.

[1995hoo]

I have a feeling the fire truck came later after a cop came and checked it out. Unless they broke in, they couldn't get inside without a ladder–the guy's deck does not have the stairs to ground level (which, frankly, is a good thing in this particular situation!).

[kkt]

It's one of those things where I felt a little like I was being nosy or a busybody calling the police, but the more I thought about it the more I decided that if my house were wide-open like that I'd want someone either to try to contact me or else to call the police.

Yes, you did the occupant a favor.  If you hadn't, some burglar might have taken advantage of the open door, or rain or animals might have gotten in.

[cpzilliacus]

You absolutely did the right thing.

Most HOA's cannot do anything about an individual home (unlike a condominium association, where the property manager may have ways of getting into a house - even some townhome-style developments are recorded in the land records as condo units instead of fee-simple, and the property manager in some cases has keys). 

But HOA property managers do not generally have any access to the homes in their community.

Years ago, I discovered a murder in a unit adjoining mine (in an HOA).  As  I later found out, the murderer had done his dirty deed (he was a dope fiend and he was looking for money from the victim) and left the place unlocked.  I rather promptly notified the police, who spent about 18 hours in the house, and they did eventually identify and arrest a suspect who was convicted.

I have also discovered a few burst pipes during the winter with  nobody home.  I called the fire department, who were able to figure out a non-destructive way to let themselves in (these guys are good (Montgomery County (Md.) DFRS professional and volunteer firefighters) - they laddered the house and were able to easily get a second story window open (even though it was about 5° F outside) without breaking anything).  They then checked the interior of the house for any other problems (as if a flooded house is not enough) and got the water shut off.