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Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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When my parents bought a house about 2002, the front had about a dozen inoperable cars with various parts missing on it.
It had been vacant a year, and people just started using it as a junk yard. They wrote removal into the contract, but after they were removed, before they moved in, two more showed up. I would definitely have called the police.
When my out-of-State brother passed away and his house was vacant, I invited one of the neighbors to park his truck in the driveway instead of the street so it would appear someone was living there.
Similarly, I went to check on a vacant rental property, and the tenant in the adjacent duplex was parked in the driveway. I figured what the heck, it makes the place look occupied even though there was a For Rent sign out front.
I might have felt differently if a total stranger was parking in one of the driveways, though.
Key words bolded.
For all the OP knows, the person who parked in her driveway may be testing to see just how "watched" the property is.
If I had a vacant property and a neighbor asked me if they could use the driveway, I'd tell them as long as their car wasn't leaking anything, they were welcome to use the driveway all they wanted as long as the house was vacant, and as long as they understood that I could change my mind at any time.
But if someone did it without asking me first, I'd be more than a little irritated. I'd call the police and/or have it towed, without leaving any sort of note or warning. Totally not ok to park on private residential property without permission.
Lucky you have a neighbor parked in the vacant home's driveway. It would look like someone is there. That is always a plus. If you don't want them to park there, just leave a nice note. Leaving a nasty note is moronic. What happened to "love thy neighbor"? Really is sad we can't just be nice, but it takes all kinds I guess. Glad I live in Pittsburgh were people are still pretty nice for the most part. I would hate to be in such a crappy place like many of the posters on here must live in. Sad.
just browsing this thread and what led me to click on it was me being curious about how many morons would think it would be ok to just help themselves to someone else's property without any kind of permission...sadly, it seems there are a few. I live in the country so the odds of someone using my driveway for parking would be slim to none, but if it did happen, they asked, and i wasnt going anywhere in the time they said they would be gone, sure, no problem. But do it without permission thinking you're entitled to park wherever you want? Your car is going for a ride without you in it.
If I had a vacant property and a neighbor asked me if they could use the driveway, I'd tell them as long as their car wasn't leaking anything, they were welcome to use the driveway all they wanted as long as the house was vacant, and as long as they understood that I could change my mind at any time.
But if someone did it without asking me first, I'd be more than a little irritated. I'd call the police and/or have it towed, without leaving any sort of note or warning. Totally not ok to park on private residential property without permission.
Love your post, My first thought was to use the cars as target practice, then sell them to a scrapper. But you are right. There could be a good side.
Tell the neighbors to have at it until the day before you need use the driveway. Then they must be gone.
Points with neighbors (if not neighbors, no skin off your back).
A car stashed on your lot means it is now yours. Scrap for about $400, or part out for much more (if you have the time and the car has parts anyone would actually need).
Certainly, since the house is vacant and awaiting a new tenant, some unknown car in the drive could signal that the place is occupied and might deter burglars.
Of course, the car parked in the drive could belong to the burglar.
Love thy neighbor is all well and good, but I would expect my neighbor to love me and ask before assuming that it's okay to park on my property. And "letting it go" is not a good idea because then permission is implicit.
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