Fence down the lot line

wow. I thought my view was bad w/my neighbor. at least it's behind his fence.

I can't believe the solar company put this so far out in front!

are you friendly w/them? you can search how to hide panels online,

and maybe assist them w/building something

at the very least, they can paint them to match the house color

A nice tall fence down the property line or some tall hedge plants .

Is the black fence yours? If so, add on to it at 90* angle a slat privacy fence like this one with the black trim. Plant a few things to make it look custom design.

Suggestion: before you put the house on the market take off the shutters permanently, or replace them with the correct size. You want the shutter, to be the same size as the window. Go authentic, if it is in your budget, white to match the trim. The window is the most important design of the front of the house.

If a fence isn’t an option i would do landscaping and add something like yews all along the property line

Thank you all very much. That is our fence, but HOA has said fences can't extend past the front of the house into the front yard :/ . They have shown that they likely won't be receptive to painting or doing anything to cover it themselves unfortunately. I really like the ideas you have shown though.

Love the slatted wooden screen, and thanks for the advice re: the shutters. The original contractor installed these... what you are saying of course makes sense.

If using landscaping, I wasn't sure what tall hedge plants to use given the width of the red maple and how close our houses are together.

Thanks!

Did you notice that the screen was on castors? It is not permanent and you can take it with you when you move. So, it is not a fence, legally, right? Let's call it a movable trellis.

I definitely think the screen could work! I'm no designer.... if I just used one or two of these slatted wooden screens, should I put landscaping in front of them, or some outdoor chairs or a bench or ... ? thank you

Yes, you have got the idea. Here is a non permanent planter/trellis.

Put a couple of black chairs in front of it with a little table. After all, it is only seasonal. You just want to enjoy sitting in your front yard under the beautiful tree..

When you move, don't go to an HOA development. Grrrrrrrrr.

Do nothing.

On a scale of 1 to 10, this ranks considerably below living next door to a yappy miniature poodle. If you erect the Great Wall, people will wonder what sort of barbarians you are living next to.

If they are redoing landscaping anyway no harm in adding bushes. But to be honest I am not even sure landscaping is needed if moving

Landscaping, something simple just to draw your eyes away, it doesn’t need to be humongous. Since I have no idea where your home is I have no suggestion re plants/shrubs. Looks like your landscaping needs some work anyway, how about extending & wrapping a planter from the corner of your home, just enough to draw the eyes away. it is an eyesore, I’m surprised your neighbors aren’t embarrassed by it & more surprised that your HOA would allow it. I don’t live in an HOA , but our city won’t even allow us to have trash receptacles visible from the street.

Agree... we were already going to redo the landscaping in the front... it definitely does need work :/ Zone 6a here in Illinois. Thank you all again.

I do not understand the issue. If it were my house, I would not be staring at this setup on my neighbors’ house. Plus, if I were selling the house in 6 months, I would let the next owner do something- or not do something- about it.

The market here is competitive, so improving curb appeal is something we are considering. We're redoing the landscaping in the front of the house because it needs it anyway. Appreciate all of the input.

Perhaps they would be willing to paint them the same color as the siding. And, at the same time, do the garage doors.

Strange that a HOA doesn't allow to place a fence to hide the boxes and yet allows an owner to place them where they are so much in view. I guess that leaves a trio of shrubs as an option to be placed strategically on your property to hide the boxes from view.

Building on @lisedv's suggestion. Since you're planning on re-doing the front landscaping, consider a bed with a curved shape that incorporates the tree.

WOW I cannot tell you how much I hate HOAs they allowed this mess and not do not allow you to hide how does that make sense .I see trees sticking out past garages in your pics so plant some trees ar a small hedge.

Federal law does not allow HOAs to control where solar equipment gets installed ... does not include landscaping and fences!

My HOA, specially the people who were running it a few years ago, would of had an issue with our solar panels, mostly the south facing ones that our neighbor has to see every time they drive up to their house. Luckily state and federal laws allow us to maximize our solar system design, specially in a sunny climate.

It's an attractive house that could use a bit of sprucing up before it goes up for sale.

The foundation shrubs already look good, not too large, not too small. Add blooming flowers the week before it goes up for sale (in my area, real estate agents call them "escrow flowers".) Add lawn fertilizer in spring when appropriate for your area.

Check with the HOA on allowed paint colors for the trim, shutters and lamp post.

Pressure washing the sidewalks and driveway would freshen it up. The pros can use a "soft wash" for the brick to clean it off before you touch up the paint on the trim and shutters.

Ignore the neighbors' solar equipment. The new owners can decide what to do. Putting fresh landscaping in front of it would only draw more attention to it.

Where I live we have tons of solar powered homes all of which have these boxes hidden from street view so I guess that depends on the installers

A berm will accomplish two things…create a visual diversion/barrier and increase curb appeal. Suggest taking a picture of your home in relation to the electrical and head to a garden centre for suggestions and be sure to tie into your garden across the front, to create a seamless flow.

In one house I lived, I made the front lawn a flowing free-form shape with planter beds along the sidewalk, driveway and the neighbors lawn.

Then you can plant some taller bushes on the neighbors side. Lower flowers and ground cover plants and mulch in front.

The effect made the yard quite cozy looking and enclosed and defined our property from the others on the street.

Thank you all. I find the comments very helpful!

Its silly to do anything if you are moving in 6 months. enjoy your new home.

Wow, this is an interesting thread.

I'm pro-solar so I think it's a good thing that HOA's power to restrict solar equipment has been muzzled.

But I don't want people to see this thread and think that you actually need such a huge pile of equipment.

1. is the solar inverter, that actually converts DC to AC for the power grid. This is required. They absolutely can be placed inside according to the electrical code, and the couple of people I know who got solar decided to do that. However, interior installing is usually more expensive, so not all utilities will do it.

2. I recognize these as Franklin brand battery banks, which are optional in a solar installation. Again, they can be placed inside; it has to be a garage or utility space and it needs a smoke detector.

3. I'm not sure what this is, possibly a controller, but it probably can be placed inside too.

4. This is the manual shutoff for the fire department. It's the only thing that *has* to be outside.