Parking dispute with neighbor ? (Time: renter, homeowners association, condo)

[moppy1]

So we moved to new house last year. Since then my new neighbor whom i share a driveway, keeps parking just perpendicular to our cars on the street , thus blocking our driveway. The street is also firelane street and their, should be no car parked there anytime. We have space for 2 car parking in front of our garage and he keeps blocking it, sometimes with his car, sometimes his friends. I politely requested him three times on various occasions, not to block our drive , but all requests were completely ignored. I cant take my car out, because most of time my car is stuck by the neighbors car behind it. His friends , girlfriend keep parking there, even they know its firelane and no one is allowed to park. Finally out of desperation, I called cops, since that was the last resort. Cops came, gave him firelane citation and told him not to block my driveway or else they will tow the car.After they left, my neighbor started shouting profanities, abuses . I remained calm and locked my door and remained inside since i never wanted to escalate things. I have talked to association people , my neighbors and everyone asks me " Are u serious, and u let it to happen with you for the last 6 months". well yes i suffered it 6 months, so many appointments with people , friends cancelled, cant do grocery sometimes and had to wait for my sisters car to do all my stuff. To cut the long story short, now i am scared if my neighbor want to get physical with me, i simply avoid fights and i never have any criminal background. I dont mind him parking on firelane only if he doesnt block my driveway. I talked to police and they said that they can talk to him again and ask his problem .What should i do now, since association ppl told me to call police if this guy abuses or threatens you again. My first experience ever having a bad neighbor, what a horrible one. I always had have nice neighbors and i always tried my best not to annoy any of my neighbor. All other people in my community are nice people. Now association has filed a complaint and told me that both of us had to appear in front of board of directors. I have taken pitures of cars blocking my driveway of different occasions. What should be appropriate action? do anyone think association people can help? Seriously a problem ,since i had to take cab sometimes for important meeting , job etc.

[chitownperson]

Your neighbor sounds like an unreasonable person, and I think you firstly have to accept that there will be no reasoning with him. I think your first mistake was to let it go on for as long as you did, and he probably feels entitled to continue messing with you because he's gotten away with it so far. It's always more difficult to reverse a problem that's gone on for a long time than it is to stop it when it first occurs. If it were me, and reasoning with him didn't work, I would call the police every time he either parked in front of my driveway, or threatened me in some way. It's the police's job to resolve disputes like this that have gone past a reasonable stage of discussion. If I bumped into him again and he started cussing and threatening me, I would be polite but assertive, and let him know that he could either discuss the issue respectfully or the police would be involved again. Sometimes people who are passive aggressive will try to bait you into getting angry, because it then gives them the justification to act out inappropriately as they can claim you were the one being unreasonable. Also, by giving the passive aggressive person 2 choices (discuss respectfully or call the police) you give them the decision to make and they have to take responsibility for whatever they choose, and can't blame it on you. I would keep my cool, but also not let any of his behavior slide. If the police are called EVERY TIME he does this, he will soon get the picture that you won't take his crap. If you allow his behavior to slide, he will continue doing it, because he knows he can.

[moppy1]

Thx chitownperson. You are right, I should have called police long ago, but i was just plain wrong and that has landed me in this dilemma. I did everything i could politely not to escalate situation out of hand, but some people take it as your weakness . The guy had scratched paint off my rear bumper while parking behind my car, i showed him and he took it as if nothing has happened. Seriously, he just doesn't care kind of person. These kind of people think rather if the calm person is either a coward or cant do anything and they are the real boss. I have never experienced this in past and i used to keep good relations with all my neighbors and everyone seemed to be happy with me. I never had this situation before and that's just taking a tool on my everyday life and activities as how to sort it out. My problem is i never had criminal background, had a bright future to live, job, and i try to keep it that way, that's why i try to avoid fights . You pointed, in the right direction, i will give him one more chance to talk and sort things out, however i am sure that would go down the drain. If he keeps this, i would call the police immediately to sort it out , since if i don't take care of this situation right now, it will be an everyday sickening that i might suffer. Meanwhile, i hope HOA does anything. I wish this guy is a renter , that would help me a lot , hope if the landlord is a reasonable person.

[cully]

Call the tow truck.

[nikitakolata]

I agree with the other poster who said to call the police any time your neighbor parks in your way or threatens you in any way. Obviously your neighbor is not reasonable or rational so at this point calling the police is all you can do, in my opinion.

As for the HOA, maybe they can fine the neighbor or impose other sanctions that will cause him to knock it off or move. I don't think you have anything to worry about from the homeowners association and I would definitely show up to anything they ask you to come to in order to tell your story. Especially if you have photo evidence of your neighbor's behavior you want them to have that too and impose sanctions on your neighbor.

Sorry this is happening to you; having a bad neighbor really stinks.

[Teckeeee]

In addition to the good points above..........

I would get security cameras installed to protect yourself and document his bad behavior. If I were still in CO and that happened, I would get a CCW, but in the land of no guns not possible.

Consider keeping a large can of wasp spray by the front door. A bouncer I know of uses it in TX and it works really well, better than mace/pepper spray. It shoots straight about 30 feet and will make them back off really fast.

[MPowering1]

I wouldn't call a towing company because you'll be expected to pay the bill. I would call the police and ask them if they'll have the vehicle towed as others have suggested. They may ask if you've contacted your neighbor to request that the car be moved. I would tell them you've asked him not to park there previously and he continues to do it and the last time you had the police come out he went into a rage you don't want to deal with. This guy sounds like an aggressive self-entitled nutjob.

[cully]

Originally Posted by MPowering1

I wouldn't call a towing company because you'll be expected to pay the bill. I would call the police and ask them if they'll have the vehicle towed as others have suggested. They may ask if you've contacted your neighbor to request that the car be moved. I would tell them you've asked him not to park there previously and he continues to do it and the last time you had the police come out he went into a rage you don't want to deal with. This guy sounds like an aggressive self-entitled nutjob.

I've never known a towing company where the person being damaged has to pay the bill. I guess check first. I'm only familiar with the all too eager tow companies that know in the end they'll either have the owner's payment or a vehicle. There are actually tow truck companies that troll for infractions such as parking in front of a driveway. They hitch up the illegally parked vehicle, no one pays then, the owner pays later.

I know a few people in various neighborhoods or businesses who didn't like that their driveway was used for parking by mistake or on purpose. Called the tow company. The homeowner or business owner did not pay. The vehicle owner paid if they wanted to get the vehicle back. Some of these owners occasionally contacted the home or business the person was visiting who was parked whether illegally or just in a private driveway not his. Sometimes, incredibly, the vehicle owner did not walk nearby to collect his vehicle before towing.

[MPowering1]

Originally Posted by cully

I've never known a towing company where the person being damaged has to pay the bill. I guess check first. I'm only familiar with the all too eager tow companies that know in the end they'll either have the owner's payment or a vehicle. There are actually tow truck companies that troll for infractions such as parking in front of a driveway. They hitch up the illegally parked vehicle, no one pays then, the owner pays later.

I know a few people in various neighborhoods or businesses who didn't like that their driveway was used for parking by mistake or on purpose. Called the tow company. The homeowner or business owner did not pay. The vehicle owner paid if they wanted to get the vehicle back. Some of these owners occasionally contacted the home or business the person was visiting who was parked whether illegally or just in a private driveway not his. Sometimes, incredibly, the vehicle owner did not walk nearby to collect his vehicle before towing.

Cully, thanks, I see where I was confused.

For the benefit of the op, you cannot call just any towing company, can you? Aren't some for vehicle assistance only, and not legally impounding cars?

[Lookout Kid]

Out of curiosity, what town is this happening in? It's fine if you don't want to answer.

Is it a condo complex? Or are you in a single-family home with a shared driveway and neighborhood HOA?