Bloomingdale residents must clean house - or face the consequences.

Move the illegally parked RVs. Repair those rotting garage doors. Dust off deed restrictions and review them.

Starting Monday, the Bloomingdale Homeowners Association will pay a private contractor to crack down on bad neighbors. Community Standards, a local company, will rove the community's neighborhoods checking for violations of deed restrictions and county codes.

The inspector will focus on the 3,500 homes in neighborhoods without mandatory homeowners associations. Many are older homes in western Bloomingdale.

"The older homes are 25 years old. That's a quarter of a century," said Ted Grable, president of the homeowners association, noting that age brings maintenance needs. "It's really the aggregation of lots of little things that if not taken care of can lead to bigger problems down the road." 

Common complaints include faulty paint jobs, garage doors in disrepair and lawns that could use maintenance. Campers and commercial vehicles also are often parked illegally. 

In some cases, residents have violated county codes, in addition to deed restrictions.

"Just one or two houses can change the entire complexion of the neighborhood," said Lisa Bird, who lives in an older neighborhood of East Bloomingdale. Since she moved in 1986, Bird has observed several homes become eyesores because of lack of pressure-cleaning and painting.

"Maybe just the threat might work," she said. "Just cleaning up would be good."

Previously, the homeowners association dispatched volunteers to review complaints - a time-consuming task that required knowledge of different restrictions in 40 Bloomingdale neighborhoods. Using voluntary membership dues, the homeowners association last month hired a private contractor to ensure that all neighborhoods received equal scrutiny. The contractor will earn $6,000 annually to inspect about 3,500 homes four times each year.

"We want to work with people," Grable said. "We don't want to make good neighbors feel bad; we just want people to understand that everybody has a right to enjoy their property." When a violation is spotted, residents will receive a letter informing them about the concern. Homeowners have 30 days to make repairs before a followup inspection.

If nothing changes, the contractor will notify county officials about code violations. The homeowners association will work with residents to make repairs or address the violations in the deed restrictions.

The Bloomingdale Homeowners Association does not have the authority to sue residents over deed violations, but it may choose to subsidize the legal expenses of neighbors who sue in particularly bad cases. If homeowners win in court, the association could recoup the expenses.

Before inspections begin, the association plans to alert residents through articles in the community newsletter and neighborhood meetings.