Bad Neighbors (Legal advice needed)

[Elmgrovegnome]

Have you considered building a chicken coop in that corner of the yard and stocking it with a few roosters? Would be fun to watch the reaction.

We surprisingly are permitted to have chickens, but boosters are banned.

 

[bnw]

We surprisingly are permitted to have chickens, but boosters are banned.

Your neighbor deserves a peacock but your community will hate you for it.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Your neighbor deserves a peacock but your community will hate you for it.

Oh I wish I could get one. I don't think they are rational thinkers. The guy is 70 and his wife has to be close. She is always in pain with back trouble. He didn't even remember the trees I cut down until I brought it up. What really seems to have been their focus was that little three foot extension that I put on the planting bed toward the front of their house.

It was a very small extension. His wife liked it when I did it. It covered a rotting stump, so it fixed an eyesore. And it is a very nice planting arrangement. I am a landscape architect and I took a lot of time laying it out so it would be aesthetically pleasing from his yard as well as mine.

But all they do is yell at me. I read that as a defensive posture to let them talk and don't argue and then let them alone because they don't want to be bothered anymore. Like I said they are irrational and kind of stupid I guess because their is no reasoning with them. I went along with what they told me years ago and now they are mad at me, despite it being the boundaries that they set years ago. Crazy

 

[Dieter the Brock]

We were lucky. My in laws gave us the house and land when my father in law died. Otherwise, yea, acreage in my area is about 4K per, without a well or septic. You talk about wanting 50 acres, your at 200k before you even put shovel to ground. I see some farmers in the area with several hundred acres and just wonder...how do you not sell and live it up?! Lol

That's how I got ahold of my 50 acres in 2008
The stock market and housing market took a dump and Darryl had a dream of high rolling in Vegas. So i did a handshake deal with him - he got a pitance of what the property was actually worth and I got the deal of a lifetime. Darryl had just gotten the land from his dad - took him a week to put it on the market, he wantes nothing to do with the country life

The irony is that my ranch neighbors are all now becoming like me, guys from Cali for Chicago who want to play cowboy - it's hilarious. As the old-timers are passing on their kids sell it all and move to the suburbs

 

[bnw]

Oh I wish I could get one. I don't think they are rational thinkers. The guy is 70 and his wife has to be close. She is always in pain with back trouble. He didn't even remember the trees I cut down until I brought it up. What really seems to have been their focus was that little three foot extension that I put on the planting bed toward the front of their house.

It was a very small extension. His wife liked it when I did it. It covered a rotting stump, so it fixed an eyesore. And it is a very nice planting arrangement. I am a landscape architect and I took a lot of time laying it out so it would be aesthetically pleasing from his yard as well as mine.

But all they do is yell at me. I read that as a defensive posture to let them talk and don't argue and then let them alone because they don't want to be bothered anymore. Like I said they are irrational and kind of stupid I guess because their is no reasoning with them. I went along with what they told me years ago and now they are mad at me, despite it being the boundaries that they set years ago. Crazy

Perhaps they're senile?

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Perhaps they're senile?

Could be but I used to talk to them a few times a week. The new neighbors across the street think they are great. I told him that they are safe because they don't share a border. I never really liked them but tried to be friendly. They are uneducated, and opinionated. That is a bad combo. The way they scream at their grandson is very telling. They have been doing it since he was two. It's disgusting to me. Both of his kids were drug addicts. His son used to shoot up in the neighbors spruce trees. She found needles and the cops were there. People like them love to hate. The drama fulfills them. They are miserable and need someone to blame for their misery. I was just the latest target.

 

[dieterbrock]

I don't know if it will help, but they sound like a perfect candidate for the burning bag of poop ding dong ditch....

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I don't know if it will help, but they sound like a perfect candidate for the burning bag of poop ding dong ditch....

Ha ha. I have been trying to figure something out to annoy them but that one is out. They have a wooden porch and don't answer the door very quickly. I know this. If I ever see one of them on the ground, I will act like I didn't notice.

My brother in law was pissed at a Dr. Who kicked him off his property in hunting season, so he found his car in the hospital parking lot and he had a syringe full of skunk scent. He stuck it through the rubber weather strip and sprayed it on the seats.

Right now it will be too obvious if I do something like that. I need to wait it out. He put his fence two feet from his perceived property line. It is legal to put it on the line. We may put a fence on the line so he has to mow in between them. That would annoy him.

 

[dieterbrock]

Ha ha. I have been trying to figure something out to annoy them but that one is out. They have a wooden porch and don't answer the door very quickly. I know this. If I ever see one of them on the ground, I will act like I didn't notice.

My brother in law was ticked at a Dr. Who kicked him off his property in hunting season, so he found his car in the hospital parking lot and he had a syringe full of skunk scent. He stuck it through the rubber weather strip and sprayed it on the seats.

Right now it will be too obvious if I do something like that. I need to wait it out. He put his fence two feet from his perceived property line. It is legal to put it on the line. We may put a fence on the line so he has to mow in between them. That would annoy him.

Well, you could get real juvenile and fill out a magazine subscription in his name for Playboy or Penthouse....

 

[tiger1971]

Well, you could get real juvenile and fill out a magazine subscription in his name for Playboy or Penthouse....

Surely he would appreciate a copy of Fuse or The Gay Times instead?

 

[dieterbrock]

Surely he would appreciate a copy of Fuse or The Gay Times instead?

I wouldn't know where to subscribe to those though....

 

[LesBaker]

I don't know if it will help, but they sound like a perfect candidate for the burning bag of poop ding dong ditch....

The real trick to perfect excecution of this gag is to light it then run to a back door or side door and wait until you know they have stepped on the bag. Then bacg on the door as hard as possible so they run through the house to get to the door with shit on their shoe.

Right now it will be too obvious if I do something like that. I need to wait it out. He put his fence two feet from his perceived property line. It is legal to put it on the line. We may put a fence on the line so he has to mow in between them. That would annoy him.

May? Hell this sounds like a must-do. Get that shit done Elmgrove hahahahaha it's perfect.

Well, you could get real juvenile and fill out a magazine subscription in his name for Playboy or Penthouse....

And send it to him at work if he is still working.

Surely he would appreciate a copy of Fuse or The Gay Times instead?

Many, many years ago I saw a locally published paperback book. It wasn't even really a book it was more like a pamphlet/book hybrid. It was called "101 ways to get more than even" or something like that. A coworker had it and we read through it and got a few laughs. Some highlights. (FYI legal disclaimer I don't recommend actually doing anything like this because some of these things are illegal).

Find the person's account number for a utility like gas or electric and call and get service temporarily turned off with some story like leaving the country for a month and have it set to turn off on a Friday because it's harder to get service on a weekend. It was then anyway. Obviously you would have to swipe their bill from the mail which is risky.

The gay magazine thing that tiger mentions was on the list. With the twist I mention of sending it to the workplace. The guy who had the "book" wanted to do it to someone we worked with but didn't, he was half serious too.

There was an elaborate "secret admirer" hoax that would be easier to do now with cell phones. Back then it involved Polaroids and sending them with flowers. The idea was to get the person to embarrass themselves by reciprocating. In their version it was supposed to end with the victim showing up for a blind date while the perpetrator was there waiting to laugh at the victim and embarrass him or her.

Another was surely very illegal since it also involved the mail...........send offensive stuff to others with the victims return address on the envelopes. Back then everyone was in the phone book unless you paid an extra fee not to be listed. Now you can use Google and find anyone.

There are others I am forgetting now that involved vandalism and other shit, but you get the idea.

Many years ago I had a house that was located next to a condo complex with about 80 units in it and I had some battles with a couple of the residents. Two that came to mind involved dogs shitting in my yard. One got the most brutal and humiliating response from me you could imagine. Another got karma delivered by life. I'll detail those sometime, it was an ongoing battle that I escalated to the woman who ran the condo association after a few run ins but she was of course helpless to do anything but ask residents not to walk their dogs into our yard and let them shit everywhere.

 

[LesBaker]

OK I have a minute so I will recount the two big ones and maybe include a third. The problem was ongoing for years because a lot of the condos were rented out by the owners so there were people moving out and new tenants moving in.

We had ongoing issues with dog owners letting their dogs shit in the yard. The I would jump on the mower when it was time to cut the grass and end up running it over and getting it caught in the tire tread. Well I kept the mower in the large garage so you can imagine how angry you would be if you walked into your garage and it smelled like dogshit oh about 3 or 4 times. I went back and forth with the association many times and eventually had to act on my own.

One day I was in the shower and heard the woman I was living with asking a guy essentially "what are you doing that's our lawn" to which he replied "you call this shit a lawn". There was a lot of clover that year haha. Well he wasn't someone that she had ever seen before, and by this time I had come out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around me to see what was going on. He had started walking away leaving the dogshit right on the lawn. I don't know if he saw me or not......at that moment anyway.

I ran into the bedroom and threw on a pair of jeans, then ran into the kitchen and grabbed a plastic grocery bag that we all keep to use for lunches and whatever, you know the ones I am talking about. I picked up the dogshit and walked over to the condos. And let me tell you I was in a really, really surly mood by this time.

I first went to what I though was the guys place based on where she said he had walked to. The person at that condo tole me he was actually next door. So I walk over with the dogshit and bang on the door nonstop until a woman answers. I asked "where is the guy who was just walking a dog". At that moment I glanced to my right and there we was with the window open and literally 5 feet away, just a screen between us. He was at a computer ignoring me and for sure he heard me banging on the door and asking about him. I held up the bag of shit and very loudly informed him that he forgot something. His wife by this time was stunned. He was ignoring me and had a little smirk on his face so I let out a high volume stream of threats and vile invective first at him, and then I ruined his night and maybe his life by turning to his wife and calling her EVERY name in the book while daring him to come out and stop me. And let me tell you it was so horrid that for several seconds she was in shock while the nastiest possible things you could say to a woman came flying out of my mouth. I dared him to stop me from abusing his wife a few times while he sat there and didn't move. Though the smirk was certainly gone. I hurled a few more at here then dumped the dogshit on their doorstep and walked home.

I cannot believe he didn't at least come to the door. I can tell you that I don't know anyone who would even let a strange woman they had never met endure the onslaught she did and all the while he cowered on the other side of the screen. I can only imagine the conversation they had that night. And probably many more. I've met and know a lot of people and I don't know anyone that would not have totally thrown down if they had someone talking to their wife or girl like that.

I never saw him or the dog in my yard again.

Another time I was riding on the riding mower, it was a large front lawn with several trees..........I was cruising along and suddenly BAM the mower stopped so fast the rear wheels left the ground. I moved the mower to see pieces of the blade and then saw a metal spike with a long lead that you would attach a dogs collar to. There was NO doubt this was well over the property line. Like 20 or so feet and the person who put it there did it so the dog didn't have enough lead to crap on the condo's property. I was furious and went to the lady that I knew from the association and explained to her what had happened. She said "I think so and so takes their dog out in the morning when he gets the paper". It was a guy I had problems with in the past because he was letting his dog shit in the yard.

I went to his condo and rang the doorbell. It was an upstairs unit so he couldn't see that it was me until he was essentially all the way down the stairs. He stopped and looked right at me and went back up the stairs. We made eye contact so I know he knew I was there. I sent the repair bill to him with a note to let him know if he trespassed on my property to allow his dog to shit on it I was going to call the police. I never got paid for the damage of course, and it wasn't a cheap repair.

One day a few weeks later on a nice afternoon I was working from home and decided to go to a place close by and enjoy lunch. Lo and behold there he is with his dog well into my yard close to the front of the property. I came to a stop and rolled my window down and said "get the fucking do off of my property or I will run both of you over". He said something back I don't recall what, so I backed up a little ways, turned onto the lawn and drove straight at them while his eyes bugged out of his head. He scampered away freaking out LOL. Of course I wouldn't have run over the dog, it wasn't his fault. He yelled at me of course, I was a nut case and a crazy person and something else I didn't catch. I went and enjoyed lunch.

I never saw him or the dog in my yard again.

I had choice words a couple of other times with tentants of the condos but it must have gotten around that there was an insane person in the house next door so the problem pretty much went away.

One other time that just came to mind is I actually told an "older" woman (I was in my early 30's and she was probably my age now LOL) that if I caught her letting her dog shit in my yard ever again I was going to rub her face in the fresh pile of shit.

I was nice for several years and nothing worked. But after a couple of episodes of craziness it stopped. It had gotten so bad that when I cut the yard I would inspect the tires to avoid getting dogshit on the driveway and in the garage. So I don't feel the least bit bad about what I did and the truth is I actually enjoyed myself during the first one I told you about.

So I've had my share of bad neighbors LOL.

Don't even ask me about the gigantic lady that lived above me who decided to get in shape by putting a treadmill in her living room to get in a run while watching TV..........at the exact same time I was trying to watch TV.

This could turn into a fun thread.........hahaha

 

[RamFan503]

OK - first off - DON'T LISTEN TO LES!

What @bnw is saying about markers is IMO what you should look for and probably should have at minimum before cutting down the trees. If you have paved streets and sidewalks, there should also be what appears to be a nail head or a plastic hub (about 3/4 to 1" round, usually yellow), or a mark on the street side of the curb for those sides. Being that you have a corner lot, if you can find them, you should be able to easily figure out the back corner if you have your lot description. If you don't, your county assessor most likely does.

If you can't find any of that, what bnw said about a piece of rebar is true but it can even be a wood stake pounded into the ground if it was done on the cheap.

If you are a landscape architect, ask some of your colleagues or maybe your local trade organization. I'm sure they have some recommendations on surveyors that won't cost you an arm and a leg. Someone might do it as a professional courtesy hoping to get future work from you. That's how I had mine done when I was a landscape supervisor.

I think there is little chance of getting anything back from what you spent on tree removal unless they were a hazard and you have something from him saying he'd like them gone as well. If you have been using the land for more than 7 years, you could possibly have an adverse possession case - especially if no one objected to you cutting down the trees and you can show you paid for it and that there is still evidence of where the trees once stood.

Bottom line though is that now you are in protection mode. Like it or not, you really do need to establish your property line. If his fence is on your property and you do nothing to prove it, he can use adverse possession on YOU and it generally (from my understanding) takes less time if you have allowed him to build a fence on it. If it proves that his fence is on his property, you will need to protect your other line or face losing it when you or your neighbor sells his house.

I hate to be my dad but any time you do anything near a property line that can be considered permanent, you need to have a survey or already know the exact location of your property lines.

Before you get a survey however, you should explore all the other options to see if you can find existing markers. They should be there in some form. Call the city and see if someone can tell you what kind of markers they accepted or are commonly used in your area. Sometimes, your home's paperwork will even say things like "from the property hub at the NW corner....".

Good luck.

 

[LesBaker]

If you can't find any of that, what bnw said about a piece of rebar is true but it can even be a wood stake pounded into the ground if it was done on the cheap.

I almost stopped reading after the opening line

It's usually rebar you are right and they are almost always right on the money and I think it's a really long piece to prevent shifting rather than a few inches which could move more easily. When I bought my first house (the one I wrote about with the dog problems) part of the paperwork had a diagram of sorts that showed the exact property lines, which mattered because they were a bit angled from the street, not straight lines. And by the way it turned out the condo complex I was having trouble with had a few of their parking lot light on my property. They had lighting on the edge of the entire lot and a few were 2-3 feet over the line.

Before you get a survey however, you should explore all the other options to see if you can find existing markers. They should be there in some form. Call the city and see if someone can tell you what kind of markers they accepted or are commonly used in your area. Sometimes, your home's paperwork will even say things like "from the property hub at the NW corner....".

Isn't it standard for the paperwork to have the diagram I mentioned? I've bought two houses and they both had them. Maybe it's something required in my home state, or even by individual counties and not nationwide.

 

[fearsomefour]

Surely he would appreciate a copy of Fuse or The Gay Times instead?

Just for the articles....

 

[bnw]

I learned that Les sure knows how to sweet talk the ladies.

 

[bnw]

Don't even ask me about the gigantic lady that lived above me who decided to get in shape by putting a treadmill in her living room to get in a run while watching TV..........at the exact same time I was trying to watch TV.

I'm asking!:yay:

 

[LesBaker]

Just for the articles....

Do they have articles?

I learned that Les sure knows how to sweet talk the ladies.

LOL you would have been proud of my freestyle skills..........but like I said I was really angry.

I would have charged at Bruce Lee with a frying pan or anything else I could find if he was talking to my lady like that. I cannot imagine the icicles that formed in their bedroom for who knows how long. I bet he didn't get close to that for a long, long time. This was him when he wanted some playtime I bet. :sadwalk:

 

[RamFan503]

It's usually rebar you are right and they are almost always right on the money and I think it's a really long piece to prevent shifting rather than a few inches which could move more easily.

Yep. If it's rebar, it is generally at least a few feet long.

Isn't it standard for the paperwork to have the diagram I mentioned? I've bought two houses and they both had them. Maybe it's something required in my home state, or even by individual counties and not nationwide.

Not sure if or where it would be required. I'd guess not. I had one for my first house but not for my last two. Regardless, it should be something you could get from the city/county. I know they are required for the permits for initial construction - though they weren't here - at least in 1928 when our current house was built. So if the house is real old or the city records are as useless as ours, there might not be one at all. My guess is though that it is available.