Angry letter criticizing 'curb appeal' of Ocean City home sparks firestorm

An anonymous letter sent to a couple in their 70s criticizing the "curb appeal" of their Ocean City home has sparked a social media firestorm.

The handwritten note was reportedly mailed to Bill and Barbara Doughten, who have lived in their home for decades.

"I'm trying to sell million dollar homes in the neighborhood," it reads. "I drive my clients around and they see your car parked sideways on the front lawn! You have a driveway – use it!"

One of the Doughtens' granddaughters, Stephanie Powley, responded to the missive in a Facebook post that has been shared more than 750 times.

"Did you take a moment to wonder why my grandfather parks in that lot?" Powley wrote. "Did it cross your mind that he may do it to be closer to his front door? Did you even take ONE second to consider your inconsiderate, ignorant actions before you scribbled your frustration on that piece of printer paper?"

Powley called the letter "unprofessional, anonymous and contemptuous" and said whoever mailed it left no return address, "like only a true coward would."

"My grandparents have lived in Ocean City for longer than I'm sure you've been alive – and then some," Powley wrote in her retort. "They are loved and treated with respect by all of their surrounding neighbors – who all know why they park the way they park."

Real estate agent Jeff Quintin, of Berkshire-Hathaway Fox & Roach Realtors, told NBC10 he found the letter "a little disturbing."

"I think the realtor who wrote that is probably regretting that he did," Quintin said. "I think it's a very negative vibe for us."