getting along with neighbors

[gim]

Ok, I live in a suburb of a large city.  Houses are not stacked on each other, but I have houses on both sides and across the street.  We all have moderately sized yards.  I try to get along with all of my neighbors.  I'm not their best friend, but I try to tolerate all of them and the way they maintain their properties.  I generally just wave and then continue on my way.  But there's this one guy right across the street from me that I am losing patience with.  He blatantly violates all kind of city codes: parks cars and trailers in his yard, drives his ATV in the road, rips up and down the road on his motorcycle, etc.  Plus he parks on my side of the street instead of his own.  He literally has a 3 car garage, a triple wide driveway, his own side of the street, and STILL parks in front of my house regularly.  How do ya'll deal with neighbors like this?  I don't want a start a war with a neighbor because then every day sucks living here.

[MN Fisher]

Try talking nicely with him. Ask the other neighbors if they have issues with him.

 

I'm glad I'm out in the far-west suburbs (you and I are both Minnesotans) - guy next to me snow-blows my driveway after his own, he's also lending me his SUV while my truck is in the shop the next few days. Guy across the street lent me his truck last time mine was in the shop.

 

I've had parking issues like that before from both of them - politely asking them to 'can you park someplace else' has had an immediate effect. Be nice to your neighbors...until they totally tick you off.

[deaknh03]

If you park across the st from your house is that too far of a walk? Hes parking there for a reason, perhaps when he arrives home its the easiest. Really, dont let his parking bother you. An anonymous call to the city will take care of excess trailers or cars in his yard, and same goes for his "ripping" up and down the road.

[jbsoonerfan]

Sticky situation with neighbors. I moved in to my new place almost 5 years ago. The neighbors around me own 400 acres. Their house is about 1/2 mile from mine. I went and introduced myself and told them I would watch out for their property and make sure they knew that if they needed any help with the cattle or anything to just let me know. This was in May. I helped them put a couple cows up, and helped them fix fence a few times. They have a couple ponds so one day I asked if I could fish and they said sure. So when the fall rolled around I asked if I could bow hunt on their property. The woman gave me an adamant NO. Which was fine, I understand. Well they started driving the fence lines during deer season, I guess thinking I was going to sneak on their land. Well one day I was practicing and missed my target and my arrow went onto their land. I looked for that arrow for like 3 days and never found it. About a week later she shows up to my house with the arrow and is cussing and yelling about me hunting on their land and trespassing and what not. The arrow had to have been like 10 - 20 ft on their side. Anyway, I told her I wasn't hunting, I showed her my target, I apologized and told her I was so sorry. She kept the arrow for "evidence" told me I was no longer allowed to step foot on their property and she would be making sure the county sheriffs were aware of the situation. My driveway is about 1/4 mile long and for a few months she would drive down my driveway and turn around and leave. I haven't seen her or spoken to her in about 4 1/2 years. You just never know about some people. I would probably get the law involved about the violations first, then go from there. A good officer will not let it be known that you complained.

[A-Jay]

Legal & personal safety issues are perhaps best handled by those who are tasked with such matters.

Karma will take care of the rest. 

Life is short. 

A-Jay

[Gundog]

If all my neighbors did was park in front of my house I'd be ok with that. Selling drugs, using drugs, operating an illegal apartment building and occupying a residence with no running water are just some of the things my neighbors have been up to. That's why when I hear friends complain about their neighbor cutting the lawn over the property line I laugh. At least they have never had to come home late at night and find zombies milling around in front of their house. Heroin is a terrible drug. 

[N Florida Mike]

49 minutes ago, Gundog said:

If all my neighbors did was park in front of my house I'd be ok with that. Selling drugs, using drugs, operating an illegal apartment building and occupying a residence with no running water are just some of the things my neighbors have been up to. That's why when I hear friends complain about their neighbor cutting the lawn over the property line I laugh. At least they have never had to come home late at night and find zombies milling around in front of their house. Heroin is a terrible drug. 

Next door to me were drug dealers. I could tell you so many stories it would nearly fill up a whole thread page. It was really bad. 

The end result was we had prayed A LOT about it. And told the police several times. I am armed, but I really didnt want it to end that way if I could help it. One night we heard a muffled BOOM, and the swat team had thrown a tear gas granade in the door ( I think ) and they busted the 3 of them for selling crack. Nobody has lived there for years now ( We love it )

 

[redmeansdistortion]

You can't do anything about people parking in front of your home.  As far as I know, the other side of the curb is city property and not yours.  That's how it was put to me anyway when I had the same issue.  I just politely asked my neighbors if they could please park in front of their own homes.  No problems, they did.  On another note, one of my neighbors had their late 20 something son living with them who was a heroin dealer.  Every single night there were cars lined up out front of the house and he would make his trips to each car and they'd pull off.  To make matters worse, most of his customers looked like high school students. I always saw baggies and syringes in the street when I'd take my trash to the curb and it made me angry.  My neighborhood is pretty decent with a lot of younger families and their children.  It's pretty saddening when you see kids out playing enjoying themselves while a drug dealer conducts his illicit business.  Anyway, I got on the horn with the cops and it stopped in short order.  His traffic went from 10+ customers per night to zero in an instant.

[Bluebasser86]

If they're breaking city code you should have a code enforcement officer you can call. They're not supposed to tell who called for public safety reasons. We had some pretty bad ones at our last house. Lucky to have pretty great neighbors all around now. Just one lady that wants to be left alone, so we leave each other alone and get along just fine. All the rest are typical county neighbors, we all help each other out and it's almost more like family than neighbors. 

[Gundog]

3 hours ago, N Florida Mike said:

Next door to me were drug dealers. I could tell you so many stories it would nearly fill up a whole thread page. It was really bad. 

The end result was we had prayed A LOT about it. And told the police several times. I am armed, but I really didnt want it to end that way if I could help it. One night we heard a muffled BOOM, and the swat team had thrown a tear gas granade in the door ( I think ) and they busted the 3 of them for selling crack. Nobody has lived there for years now ( We love it )

 

What the police did with my neighbor was pretty funny. One morning I woke to the sound of a bullhorn. After clearing the cobwebs I hear them ask him politely if he wouldn't mind answering his doorbell so they could have a chat. They informed him that they knew he was selling drugs and that they had all the evidence needed because he had and I'm quoting the chief of police who said this through the bullhorn "sold it to everybody in town and discretion is not one of your superpowers". After a few short, tense minutes my neighbor gave up.

[OCdockskipper]

I would only suggest talking with the neighbor if you already have a good relationship with him.  If not, contact the proper authorities and let them handle it.  I have found that most people like the one you describe just believe that the rules dont apply to them.

 

I live in the suburbs, in a neighborhood with a HOA & we have guy like that across the street.  He rents the house and just basically ignores a lot of the rules everyone else follows.  He will go all out with holiday decorating, but then not take it down for weeks.  His garage is filled to the hilt with junk and he has an inoperable car that he keeps in his driveway.  He has a full sized truck and parks it in front of his driveway (even though there are plenty of spots across the street).  Little things, but the annoyances add up.

 

Now here is the topper.  I own an A/V business (Tv's & home theaters).  When we first met, he asked what I did & said "how cool" (he is/was an engineer).  A month later, my wife sees a Facebook post on our city page that this guy & a fellow engineer have started an A/V business.  Over the next few months, he comes over a few times, asking who I buy materials from and if he could buy Tv's from me at the same price I get from my wholesaler.  I finally decide to take this as a compliment and ask if he wants to do the labor on an installation I had but was going to be out of town when the customer wanted the job done.  Huge mistake on my part.  He didn't do what I instructed him to do, ended up costing me thousands of dollars in things I had to fix and even tried to get the customer to drop me & use him instead .  Come to find out, he & his buddy are not licensed (C7 low voltage) and not insured, so they had put me in a position of great financial exposure.

 

He even asked once to go fishing with me, I am so happy I never took him up on it ?.

[TnRiver46]

I have houses all around and my neighbors are all awesome. Some  do park in the way of me getting my boat out but they appear to be about 16-17 and don’t know better. They always move if needed, their driveway and carport are always eerily wide open haha. Several of my neighbors have been introduced to my escape artist beagle/basset that gets a scent in his nostrils, goes totally ballistic howling, and digs a subway tunnel under my wooden fence. He always ends up in someone’s yard howling like crazy with his nose down in the ground chasing moles. They always bring him back for me! 

[Way2slow]

At least you didn't say he has a huge dog that barks 24 hours a day. 

All saying anything to him about any of it is going to do is aggravate him and then things start to escalate from there.  If he's breaking city or neighborhood codes, go to the proper departments and file a complaint about those items. 

Neighbors are something you have to deal with in city living.  Trust me, he could move or you could move and the next could be even worse.

[TnRiver46]

4 minutes ago, Way2slow said:

At least you didn't say he has a huge dog that barks 24 hours a day. 

All saying anything to him about any of it is going to do is aggravate him and then things start to escalate from there.  If he's breaking city or neighborhood codes, go to the proper departments and file a complaint about those items. 

Neighbors are something you have to deal with in city living.  Trust me, he could move or you could move and the next could be even worse.

I only allow my dogs to bark from 8-5 hahah. We keep them inside most other times, besides all the birds and squirrels they bark at go to bed at dark. I’m always a little nervous when I let the dogs out after dark and if I hear the first woof, I call them all back in immediately. Night critters tend to fight back and/or stink 

[Sam]

I have neighbors across the street and to the left of my house. We have a two acre field to the right where I park my boat and trailer.

 

My next door neighbors to the left are eccentric. They keep to themselves while their house is falling apart. It is so bad that their two daughters moved to Idaho.

 

I have been calling the family "The Addams Family." I whistle the Addams Family theme song when I see them in their yard or walking to their mailbox to get their mail.

 

I also named each of their family members after the Addams Family characters. My wife doesn't think it is funny but I think it is hilarious. I especially like "It and Thing."

[Log Catcher]

We have a bunch of people in our neighborhood that ride ATVs and small motor bikes or dirt bikes on the road a lot in the summer. There have been some accidents where they got hurt but it doesn't stop them. The police have been called so many times about it they don't bother with it anymore. The parents have to be buying them new ones to ride because the ones riding them are too young to have a job. They must have spotters calling them to get off the road any time a police cruiser comes through the neighborhood. I would like to see the law changed to when they did get caught the police could confiscate there stuff and issue a fine. Once it starts getting into the parents bank account like that I guarantee it would stop.

[roadwarrior]

Hmm...

 

I live in Germantown, TN with 49,00 neighbors.  I have lived here 22 years without an issue

and without any conflicts reported by my friends. Maybe you guys should move down here,

 

[Scott F]

I had a neighbor across the street with a pickup that he drove to work everyday, and to the track on weekends. It sounded like he was running open headers the truck was so loud. He'd warm it up every morning by revving the engine for 5 minutes before leaving with a tire squealing display. At night, he'd be working on the truck, again revving the engine as often as he could. I called the police, but they said they'd have to catch him in the act. My wife wanted to go pour water in his gas tank. Eventually, his lease ran out and he moved away. Peace in the neighborhood again.  Good luck waiting for your neighbor from hell to move away.

[OCdockskipper]

20 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

Maybe you guys should move down here...

Or we could send our lousy neighbors there instead, it sounds like you can get along with anyone .

 

I would wager that a majority of bad neighbors are renters.  When you aren't invested in your neighborhood, both financially and emotionally, then not getting along with ones neighbor is probably not a priority.

[EGbassing]

21 hours ago, Gundog said:

If all my neighbors did was park in front of my house I'd be ok with that. Selling drugs, using drugs, operating an illegal apartment building and occupying a residence with no running water are just some of the things my neighbors have been up to. That's why when I hear friends complain about their neighbor cutting the lawn over the property line I laugh. At least they have never had to come home late at night and find zombies milling around in front of their house. Heroin is a terrible drug. 

You need to move buddy.

[roadwarrior]

16 minutes ago, OCdockskipper said:

Or we could send our lousy neighbors there instead, it sounds like you can get along with anyone .

 

I would wager that a majority of bad neighbors are renters.  When you aren't invested in your neighborhood, both financially and emotionally, then not getting along with ones neighbor is probably not a priority.

Some of our very best neighbors are families from California. They sold their average home in CA and

bought a McMansion here in Tennessee.

[Log Catcher]

3 hours ago, roadwarrior said:

Hmm...

 

I live in Germantown, TN with 49,00 neighbors.  I have lived here 22 years without an issue

and without any conflicts reported by my friends. Maybe you guys should move down here,

 

Forget moving down there. @N Florida Mike is the one that keeps posting all these pictures of big bass he is catching. I need to see if he has a room I can rent and go fishing with him.

[N Florida Mike]

9 hours ago, Log Catcher said:

Forget moving down there. @N Florida Mike is the one that keeps posting all these pictures of big bass he is catching. I need to see if he has a room I can rent and go fishing with him.

Wish I had a room to rent lol. We've already got a house full.

But the fishing's free anytime.

[N Florida Mike]

This is an interesting thread. My nieghborhood has it's share of drama. If it gets too boring, all I have to do is get on the " next door " nieghborhood forum app. to catch up on all the latest drama. One thread on there had over 100 posts about red foxes and how they were eating people's cats and picking off all the ducks at the duck pond. About half sided with the foxes and half with the pets/ducks.? It went on for weeks. People have too much time on their hands....You will also get posts on there titled like " Strange man walking down street " What was strange about him ? Well , to start with, he was walking down the street . What else ? It was in broad daylight, and when I looked at him, he looked at me !!! Imagine that ! And I had never seen this man before , and he was wearing all black etc.

Then the next post will say something like " I saw him too ! " Was he driving the little red car with the georgia plates" " All I saw was the man , but no car " and it goes on and on with all the busy bodies putting in their 2 cents.Free entertainment every day.

 

 

[deaknh03]

1 hour ago, N Florida Mike said:

This is an interesting thread. My nieghborhood has it's share of drama. If it gets too boring, all I have to do is get on the " next door " nieghborhood forum app. to catch up on all the latest drama. One thread on there had over 100 posts about red foxes and how they were eating people's cats and picking off all the ducks at the duck pond. About half sided with the foxes and half with the pets/ducks.? It went on for weeks. People have too much time on their hands....You will also get posts on there titled like " Strange man walking down street " What was strange about him ? Well , to start with, he was walking down the street . What else ? It was in broad daylight, and when I looked at him, he looked at me !!! Imagine that ! And I had never seen this man before , and he was wearing all black etc.

Then the next post will say something like " I saw him too ! " Was he driving the little red car with the georgia plates" " All I saw was the man , but no car " and it goes on and on with all the busy bodies putting in their 2 cents.Free entertainment every day.

 

 

That's funny, I have that app, and when theres a door to door salesman in the area it's literally pandemonium.  People saying there's someone at the door and they hide behind a chair. They post pics from their doorbell camera of the person. People are nuts.