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I had a bad neighbor at my old place. The guy had it in for us from day one. Never was friendly and seemed annoyed by our presence, like we weren't good enough to live next to him. My wife's a pediatric nurse and I have a moderately successful career in IT. It's not like we moved from the 'hood into his fancy-schmancy neighborhood. Our first "interaction" was when I took the liberty of trimming some bushes in MY yard which were massively overgrown. Apparently, he liked the privacy provided by overgrown vegetation instead of getting a privacy fence to replace his ancient rusty chain-link. The rear fifteen feet of his yard is a jungle, just wild stuff growing haphazardly. Nothing got trimmed in the ten years I lived there. He sent his wife over to knock on our front door and let us know how unhappy her husband was that I was trimming the bushes. I just blew it off and let it go, figuring he'd get over it - after all, the bushes were on my property six feet inside the property line. It's not like I was doing anything wrong.
It just went downhill from there. He had loud parties that went late into the night, they'd shoot off (illegal) fireworks, etc. During the first party they had after I moved in, someone threw beer bottles at my dog, who was only a puppy at the time. I am pretty sure it was the neighbor and not one of his guests because my dog hated the guy from that point forward and would bark angrily whenever she saw him. It was different than her normal bark.
I'd say a few years before we moved, we were outside on the patio just relaxing. The guy was having a loud argument with his wife in his driveway, only like 15 feet away. In addition to the just horrendous stream of profanity and otherwise degrading language, I am pretty sure he hit her twice. So, my daughter starts talking LOUDLY about the local domestic violence hotline and the battered women's shelter. There was just silence, then their door slammed about 5 seconds later.
After that, whenever he was outside when my wife or daughter would come and go, he'd stand in his driveway and stare them down (probably because he wasn't sure which one of them made the domestic violence comments). Needless to say, this made my wife and daughter very uncomfortable, to say the least. One day, my car was in the shop so I assume he didn't know I was home. I watched this staring routine from inside the house, so I went out my back door and surprised him as he was doing it and asked him if he had a problem. He just looked at me and got into his house as fast as he could.
He started behaving myself once my cousin who is a state trooper and some of his friends who were local cops started stopping by for coffee on a semi-regular basis whenever they were in the neighborhood.
You can never tell. I moved to a nice neighborhood one time and all the surrounding houses looked well kept with normal looking people working in their yards or standing around talking.
About one month after we moved in the people out in back moved out. The new people who moved in were from Hell. Big loud drunken guy with a drunken wife, outside yelling all day long. (I was only working part time so I know they were even out there yelling during the week).
The oldest boy used to run away and try to get neighbors to take him in. Something must have been going on in that house or he wouldn't have done that. The two little girls would swear at us. Then a baby was born and the brute would hold her up in the air, shaking her while he loudly swore at her.
I used to call the police and off they'd go in the police car but then they'd be back again.
The guy also took a chain saw and cut down the woods that separated the houses so we had a clear view of them and instead of beautiful trees we had a mess of tree stumps. The back yards sloped downward and he used that area where the two yards met as a dump. It contained old car parts and a couch and many other things. I called the health department and they came and said, "Yep, it's illegal but with that guy, if you mess with him, he could burn your house down or shoot you."
The oldest boy finally ended up on drugs and used to break into people's houses. He used to sleep on the town green and the cops used to just check on him to make sure he was okay. They knew how bad his home situation was. The little girls got to school age and used to lie in fetal positions under their desks. Something was wrong.
We finally moved after ten years but those people still live there. In all of the ten years we were never able to use our back yard because of those people yelling.
I'm am somewhat surprised this thread still has life in it although my experiences with neighbors tells me there are many more horror stories that are probably going untold.
It's unfortunate that each American family doesn't have at least five acres upon which to raise their family. Maybe that should be the next human right to be ascribed to the U.S. Constitution?
[quote=Hopes;21258601]Beautiful garden! Thanks for posting!
I can't stress enough how landscaping can make a big difference. You don't need to be out in the middle of nowhere to have privacy. One of the nicest affluent city neighborhoods in my area is filled with houses that have very private small lots. It's amazing how they can be so close to the neighbors but you can't see the neighbors when walking outside.[/quote]
Very true - even on large treeles, shrubless up to 10 acre lots in the country. If ya can see, 'em, pretty good chance they'll annoy ya sooner or later - especially rural types who, as someone mentioned, seem to live way out in the sticks for a good reason. Oh...and talk about cliquey rural people - yikes.
Oh, and please remove that bird bath. They bring cats. [quote from my brother's neighbor]
My last house we did. Across the street I went and helped him dig out from snow a few times since his snow thrower was not strong enough to get it up and over the wall along his driveway or clear out the end. Then one afternoon he came over while I was laying mulch and told me to basically watch where I was blowing my clippings into the street because they were getting on his curb. He said he even took pictures of it.
Mind you I was always cautious about where I blew them and if the wind picked up and took them elsewhere then that was a different issue. Either way my lawn was pretty impeccable and his was crappy, full of weeds, and his curb was gross to begin with. Well I made it a point to not help him anymore and he had many a time where he could not finish his driveway clearing and ended up having to call a guy to do it with a truck. I basically made an effort to be a **** and do my drive, walk, and part of my other neighbors and go back inside while he was still out there.
Sorry, but I love my neighbors now in my new home.
I am probably the bad neighbor. We neglect our yard some (we mow, but there is some weeds growing in between the cracks on the sidewalk), had a couch out in front for a month til we tore it apart and took it to the dump, wife had a issue with her meds that made her lose it and cops came out a couple years back. Maintenance needs more focus.
But we're quiet (except that one time). We don't do anything to their property, don't park in front of their property. Wave at them when we see them. But all that being said.....we're the bad boys of the block. Its an amazing neighborhood, with nice people.
I've talked to one neighbor though, who basically said "Oh dont worry about it you're replacing that complete B**** who lived there before, you could use your front lawn as a altar for blood sacrifices and we'd be happy". So apparently we are an improvement.....
Since you volunteered that you are "bad neighbors" I just have to ask, WHY?
If you are intelligent enough to understand that leaving a couch out in front of your home FOR A MONTH is tacky, why did you do it? You say the neighborhood is "amazing" and full of "nice people", so why would you want to be THAT guy in such an otherwise nice place?
Before you buy a house, it is normal "due diligence" to meet your neighbors. Actually knock on doors and talk to people. You will be surprised what you can learn. Ask questions . . . ask about the neighborhood, customs, and other neighbors . . .
Only at one place... my last rental at a HOA sub-divisioned SFH.
Our parcel of land = about 1/3 of the acre... even on the end unit = bigger land than the others, actually a bigger house too, still can easily see both sides of my neighbour.
The other neighbour on the other end unit is a great single professional person (a close friend).
While the other... super nosey couple who sits on the board and are the common know nazis for our area.
They are the ones that we are constantly on the toes with... but still have to put up smelling their trash on the deck (same level as ours & closest to us)& they cook with curry & into fish etc... can you imagine hot summers & them not taking out their trash????
Yet they are the ones to go around tagging others expired licenses & dragging the police out to give trouble to another neighbour's car that was in an accident but have not been fixed.
We lived in this sub for 5 years plus... from slightly before the housing bubble till beginning of 2011... been there when it was mostly a white collar afforded neighbourhood (doctors, nurses, lawyers... even a political candidate), still properly maintained place till by 2009... the lawyers, doctor, nurse & political candidate has already moved out (close friend is a lawyer that still stayed, the rest are people I know from living there)... and the place... (lawn not mowed, all the cement steps are crumbling in the hood... alot of them are on the brink of caving in "hallowed out from within", quite a few places subleased out; even one of the original home owner from Haiti rents her place out to a friend... etc.) is not like it used to be.
So... living there and my LL knows we were looking to buy... has even offered us to buy at a low, low price since the value has lost 1/3 of what it was at the peak... is an opportunity living there we know not to take. So in that case, it did do us a favor by terminating our lease at the right time to buy & for us to not buy "into" junk.
My close friend is still living there... and her end unit is just like ours... have lost about 1/3 = $100Kplus of its value. But unlike us, she cannot just up and leave because hers is not a rental.
And everytime, I get together with her, my heart bleeds for her from all the stories she complained to me because not only did her (our) HOA did nothing to the crumbling step situation, they wanted to push all the responsibility to the homeowners (my contractor contacts have helped her patched hers but there are many others.... ) yet the original lack of quality work (cement / concrete poured without proper footers) that burden is still pushed unto the people who got blindsided by that promise of a "community upkeep" hence the retaining of its value. Still... her hardearned paycheck goes to HOA, quarterly... what do they really really do for the community besides primping up the small common area / the clubhouse.... no one knows except there is always that "increase" someone have to pay for.
She did try selling her place... but the offers were not too great, hence she is stuck there even though she talked about moving quite often. She also asked my LL about renting out (what I have suggested) & what to charge etc.. which she may end up doing (but HOA do not want a 2 family in a SFH) should she move. But of course... there is no guarantee that should she move, her rentors won't bring someone in besides the people listed... it is still an expensive neighbourhood after all.
Talking about teenagers tresspassing between the 2 end units (from the other thread)... we had them too... worse when they do that all through the night.
The HOA community meeting (the last one I went to) was about finding condoms on the common park area in front of the end unit. There were sightings of many stranger cars (drug dealings???) loitering into the night that they want addressed. A skating gang of teens were causing a stir to people who are driving home (b/c no resident driver wants the liability when one of the teens are stuck in an accident).
The one after I left & my close friend told me... there was an arrest of an FBI wanted robber bringing sub-lease situation (2-3 related / non-related family) into attention. He was a sub leased tenant from another rentor whose LL (the home owner had left) is not in state. Another issue was there are increasing renting going on & some are to section 8... and we are "supposed" to be a certain valued (higher end) neighbourhood that the value even paying the HOA will never keep.
Only know one thing... with HOA, all homes value made equal... = if your neighbour's leased out beat up home sold for $150K less... why should that buyer pay more for "your" home??? Apples to apples... most buyer will only think what is "good" money wise for them... I know, I was a buyer.
The best neighbors are the ones you can't even see...
And Nooooo HOA.
Beautiful picture. We had a "view" like this of our neighbors. Then they decided to take down many trees on their side, including ones that hid their porch and deck. Don't know why. So we just rearranged plantings and let our side fill in more.
Then suddenly the neighbors on the other side, friends, decided to take down their trees. Barren look on that side of our driveway but they did't notice because they never went on that side of the house. But with the lack of trees, it was a little sunnier so we planted some of the speading tall grasses and any volunteer trees over there.
Years ago we lived next door to people who were nice themselves but didn't realize that from the
time their car pulled out of their driveway for work in the morning until they came home their dog
barked nonstop, all day long. It wasn't that way when we first moved in, and we told them, but the
dog was quiet once they returned. Fortunately we moved soon after it started, I guess we would have
had to tape the barking (to prove how long it went on) if we had stayed there.
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and instead of beautiful trees we had a mess of tree stumps. The back yards sloped downward and he used that area where the two yards met as a dump. It contained old car parts and a couch and many other things. I called the health department and they came and said, "Yep, it's illegal but with that guy, if you mess with him, he could burn your house down or shoot you." 
is tacky, why did you do it? You say the neighborhood is "amazing" and full of "nice people", so why would you want to be THAT guy in such an otherwise nice place?
