When your neighbors annoy you

[ocnblu]

I went to bed at like 9 last night. I have the windows open in the house. Around 10:25 I am awakened by a freaking basketball being dribbled and smacked against a backboard... next-door neighbors are standing outside with a bunch of friends talking, and two young girls (about 8 and 10) are playing with this basketball in the dark (one of them repeatedly remarks that she can't see the ball!). WTF. This went on for at least a half hour. And the adults are oblivious to the problem.

I live on a cul-de-sac, and none of the rest of us here ever makes noise, let alone at inappropriate hours of the night.

I really wish I could use a Jedi mind trick to get them to move out of here... they've been this way since they moved in like 5 years ago. But he's spent a lot of money on improving his house... so I don't think they're going anywhere anytime soon.

What would you do? If I put an A/C unit in, I can shut the window which will filter out some of the noise, but it would also drive my electric bill up, and I haven't needed the A/C otherwise (so far I am holding out).

I hate feeling like a prisoner in my own home, and my neighborhood is decent, except for (my luck) the house next door.

Edited June 11, 2011 by ocnblu

[Croc]

What's your local noise ordinance? If they're being loud and violating it, call the cops.

Edited June 11, 2011 by Croc

[balthazar]

Have you talked to the homeowners yet ?

[ocnblu]

I need to check for any noise ordinance, good idear. And no, I have not recently spoken to them about their ongoing noise problem.

[daves87rs]

A/C

[ocnblu]

I've had the A/C on in the Fiesta for about 10 minutes total since I've had the car. I almost always ride with the windows down. I guess I'm old-skool when it comes to A/C.

[daves87rs]

I've had the A/C on in the Fiesta for about 10 minutes total since I've had the car. I almost always ride with the windows down. I guess I'm old-skool when it comes to A/C.

I might still be able to count on fingers and toes how many times I've used the A/C in my Cavalier in 7.5 years! I'm a windows guy myself. Usually if I turn it on in this car it is to still see if it works!

Makes me sad that you can no longer order a sunroof on a lower model anymore. You have to buy the top/near the top trim levels now.

I figure they could charge a few bucks more, and make them available on all models. I'm sure they would sell. I still see plenty of J body coupes, base ones and all, with sunroofs....

[Cory Wolfe]

I never use A/C unless its raining or my friends bitch about the heat.

[ZL-1]

Annoy your neighbors back by playing some Black Metal (may I suggest the band Morbid Angel?) bands very loud

[ocnblu]

Dude is Puerto Rican. I have no speakers to match his.

[Croc]

Then you should play

on full blast.

[FAPTurbo]

I'd talk first. Being a landlord, I've had to 'settle' quite a few noise complaints between tenants over the years. It's always best to play a friendly neighbour angle first.

Calling the cops can turn a potentially amicable situation into a hostile one.

[ZL-1]

Then you should play

on full blast.

[Croc]

Then you should play

on full blast.

Clearly a joke.

I'd talk first. Being a landlord, I've had to 'settle' quite a few noise complaints between tenants over the years. It's always best to play a friendly neighbour angle first.

Calling the cops can turn a potentially amicable situation into a hostile one.

I agree. I guess I incorrectly assumed he already had spoken to them about it.

[ocnblu]

In the past, I have spoken to them when spent firecrackers (still could be on fire) rained on my roof, deck and yard that they set off in the street in front of my house (they have a pretty big tree curbside in front of theirs). I've spoken to them when their kid and a small posse used my yard as a play area and a pass-thru to the cornfield behind us. I've been about as noisy as a freakin' mouse the 8 years I've lived here. I cannot say the same for the 6 years they've been.

I don't want to be seen as the cause of any kind of escalation. I just want quiet in my own home.

EDIT: Man oh man, if I had giant speakers, Rita Moreno would be blasting at ELEVEN.

Edited June 12, 2011 by ocnblu

[ZL-1]

Clearly a joke.

I know; but it WAS scary

[ocnblu]

No joke, papi.

[FAPTurbo]

Both the previous situations are little more 'serious.' I'd assume your neighbours are quite reasonable then, as you didn't mention that they got upset when you talked to them on the two prior occasions.

Also, perhaps try earplugs. I use them, and they help you sleep so much better.

[crunksoulbrotha!!`]

Next time, start shootin!! That'll learn 'em!!!

[the_yellow_dart]

My neighbour annoys me because her roof is falling apart, and I have to clean the shingles off my deck every time it rains. I've told her about it, and she's not doing anything. Not sure what else can really be done until she has a major leak.

[Croc]

My neighbour annoys me because her roof is falling apart, and I have to clean the shingles off my deck every time it rains. I've told her about it, and she's not doing anything. Not sure what else can really be done until she has a major leak.

Hire someone to clean up the mess and invoice her.

[ZL-1]

I have odd neighbors upstairs; their kid is extremely noisy sometimes and they have this stupid cocker spaniel that likes to sharpen its claws on the kitchen floor...

[the_yellow_dart]

My neighbour annoys me because her roof is falling apart, and I have to clean the shingles off my deck every time it rains. I've told her about it, and she's not doing anything. Not sure what else can really be done until she has a major leak.

Hire someone to clean up the mess and invoice her.

It's not the mess itself that bothers me - that takes a minute or two to clean up, a couple times a year - it's the fact that her house is falling apart and she doesn't care. Pride in your house does a lot for a neighbourhood.

[Robert Hall]

My neighbors on the left don't keep their cats in their house or in their yard..they are all over the place, very annoying as they agitate my dogs. The neighbor on the right has an annoying habit of mowing his lawn before 7am on Saturdays.

Another neighbor has a clunker '76-77 Cutlass w/ a bad muffler that they pull in their drive at 2am sometimes on the weekend...can hear them from 3 houses down.

My neighbors diagonally across the street (my house is in a corner of a U-shaped street) don't do a good job of maintaining their lawn (always looks like crap and has weeds and dirt), and their teenage kids are blasting Justin Bieber or something from their Kia Soul in the evenings occasionally.

As far as A/C, this time of the year it runs pretty much all the time..I like to keep the house at about 75F in the summer.

Edited June 13, 2011 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[Intrepidation]

One neighbor, which is a shop, is awesome. Really nice guy.

The neighbors on the opposite side are quiet. They work on their yard and keep it looking nice.

The neighbors behind us irritate the hell out of me though. Fires at least once a week, they'll play music loud during the afternoon sometimes, and they get drunk off their asses at least once a week.

Now, they are usually all done by 11pm so it doesn't bother me, especially since when I'm inside I don't really hear them. But when we first moved here they dumped all of their beer cans in our yard one night. A prompt call to the cops got their asses picking them up and apologizing for a week.

Still, better than the neighbors, or the whole city, where I used to live.

[Croc]

My neighbour annoys me because her roof is falling apart, and I have to clean the shingles off my deck every time it rains. I've told her about it, and she's not doing anything. Not sure what else can really be done until she has a major leak.

Hire someone to clean up the mess and invoice her.

It's not the mess itself that bothers me - that takes a minute or two to clean up, a couple times a year - it's the fact that her house is falling apart and she doesn't care. Pride in your house does a lot for a neighbourhood.

Oh. Well, in that case I don't have any sympathy for you. Your neighbors' house maintenance is their business, not yours. Maybe they're poor or something, who knows. But your complaint is akin to insisting they need to paint their house a different color because you think their shade of red will lower your property value.

It won't, really--not until the point where you can call your equivalent of the Dept. of Public Health & Safety.

[Robert Hall]

My neighbour annoys me because her roof is falling apart, and I have to clean the shingles off my deck every time it rains. I've told her about it, and she's not doing anything. Not sure what else can really be done until she has a major leak.

Hire someone to clean up the mess and invoice her.

It's not the mess itself that bothers me - that takes a minute or two to clean up, a couple times a year - it's the fact that her house is falling apart and she doesn't care. Pride in your house does a lot for a neighbourhood.

Oh. Well, in that case I don't have any sympathy for you. Your neighbors' house maintenance is their business, not yours. Maybe they're poor or something, who knows. But your complaint is akin to insisting they need to paint their house a different color because you think their shade of red will lower your property value.

It won't, really--not until the point where you can call your equivalent of the Dept. of Public Health & Safety.

Au contraire..it sounds like they are creating a blight in the neighborhood (which reduces property values) and should be cited by the neighborhood community association (if it is a covenant controlled community). There are people like that in my neighborhood..

Edited June 13, 2011 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[balthazar]

On the flip side, lower property values open the door for lower property taxes!

If you're not moving regularly, you could save yourself a ton of money over a few decades of lower taxes... unless your town has it structured like mine; with a $100K window you must fall outside to appeal your taxes.

Not to mention; one's man's blight is another man's preference.

[Croc]

My neighbour annoys me because her roof is falling apart, and I have to clean the shingles off my deck every time it rains. I've told her about it, and she's not doing anything. Not sure what else can really be done until she has a major leak.

Hire someone to clean up the mess and invoice her.

It's not the mess itself that bothers me - that takes a minute or two to clean up, a couple times a year - it's the fact that her house is falling apart and she doesn't care. Pride in your house does a lot for a neighbourhood.

Oh. Well, in that case I don't have any sympathy for you. Your neighbors' house maintenance is their business, not yours. Maybe they're poor or something, who knows. But your complaint is akin to insisting they need to paint their house a different color because you think their shade of red will lower your property value.

It won't, really--not until the point where you can call your equivalent of the Dept. of Public Health & Safety.

Au contraire..it sounds like they are creating a blight in the neighborhood (which reduces property values) and should be cited by the neighborhood community association (if it is a covenant controlled community). There are people like that in my neighborhood..

No...if it qualified as "blight" then it would be at a point of deterioration where a claim would be actionable under code enforcement. I mean it isn't even in that bad of shape if the only mess occurs "a couple times a year" and is so little that it "takes a minute or two to clean."

You know what I'd bet? Assuming the neighbor isn't a little old lady on a fixed income, I'd guess that they're well aware the roof is on its way out and are waiting for a big enough storm to come so instead of paying to fix the roof, they can file an insurance claim and have it taken care of for them. That's my guess, and frankly I don't necessarily have a problem with that.

[the_yellow_dart]

She already has a hole in the roof large enough for a grown cat to get inside. I'm not sure how she hasn't had water issues.

[the_yellow_dart]

Cubicle - I've never heard of any association like that, so I really doubt we have one here.

[Croc]

She already has a hole in the roof large enough for a grown cat to get inside. I'm not sure how she hasn't had water issues.

Oh, then that certainly is actionable. If animals are crawling inside, she's harboring vermin. Also, if you document the roof material on your deck, you might be able to work it as a hazard to you--things are routinely falling off on her property and pose a danger to someone on yours.

Having a large hole in a roof is a lot different-sounding than just saying you have to spend two minutes a couple times a year after a storm and are more worried about the perceived impacts on your property value. Two minutes a couple times a year sounds like minor debris after an unusually strong seasonal storm...when I lived in the Midwest, we'd regularly spend 30-60 minutes cleaning up branches, leaves and/or chipped roofing materials (slate roof) nearly a dozen times in some years, so to me, a few minutes 2-3 times a year seems pretty minor. Has this been going on for a while? It would take a long time or a couple of very brutal storms to rip that kind of hole in a roof like that, and like you, I'm surprised your neighbor isn't apparently having severe water intrusion issues.

Speaking of water...with moisture comes mold. Depending on the situation, you could also have cause for action if you think your neighbor's lack of repairs is causing air quality problems for you due to toxic mold spores.

Basically...at least in the US, you can't do much/anything if your neighbor is offending your aesthetics or simply not being as meticulous as you would be (unless, of course, the aesthetics are in violation of neighborhood covenants, codes and/or restrictions). But you would have actionable cause if whatever your neighbor is doing is leading to health/safety/welfare issues for you/the neighborhood. Harboring wild animals (including birds--if they produce excessive droppings on your property, that's a health issue), mold, or maintaining an unsafe condition (debris regularly falling on your property) are all legitimate claims you should be able to make to the appropriate local authority. Hope this helps.

[the_yellow_dart]

She already has a hole in the roof large enough for a grown cat to get inside. I'm not sure how she hasn't had water issues.

Oh, then that certainly is actionable. If animals are crawling inside, she's harboring vermin. Also, if you document the roof material on your deck, you might be able to work it as a hazard to you--things are routinely falling off on her property and pose a danger to someone on yours.

Having a large hole in a roof is a lot different-sounding than just saying you have to spend two minutes a couple times a year after a storm and are more worried about the perceived impacts on your property value. Two minutes a couple times a year sounds like minor debris after an unusually strong seasonal storm...when I lived in the Midwest, we'd regularly spend 30-60 minutes cleaning up branches, leaves and/or chipped roofing materials (slate roof) nearly a dozen times in some years, so to me, a few minutes 2-3 times a year seems pretty minor. Has this been going on for a while? It would take a long time or a couple of very brutal storms to rip that kind of hole in a roof like that, and like you, I'm surprised your neighbor isn't apparently having severe water intrusion issues.

Speaking of water...with moisture comes mold. Depending on the situation, you could also have cause for action if you think your neighbor's lack of repairs is causing air quality problems for you due to toxic mold spores.

Basically...at least in the US, you can't do much/anything if your neighbor is offending your aesthetics or simply not being as meticulous as you would be (unless, of course, the aesthetics are in violation of neighborhood covenants, codes and/or restrictions). But you would have actionable cause if whatever your neighbor is doing is leading to health/safety/welfare issues for you/the neighborhood. Harboring wild animals (including birds--if they produce excessive droppings on your property, that's a health issue), mold, or maintaining an unsafe condition (debris regularly falling on your property) are all legitimate claims you should be able to make to the appropriate local authority. Hope this helps.

The shingles that are coming off are mostly coming off whole, so that's why it's easy to clean up (asphalt shingles). The pile that I collected this spring was about a foot thick and probably contained 30-40 shingles.

[caddycruiser]

Having lived in southern beachy Delaware for so long, it was the best with a constant mix of older, retired neighbors or weekenders. Parents lived next to a wooded lot on one side and a house on the other that is only ever opened a weekend here and there when the guy comes down. Then a big house was built on the wooded lot, but they've been the best neighbors there could be, don't mind the parent's 3 dogs barking at them through the fence, and everyone knows each other's dogs names, hello greetings everyday. Mom locks herself out of the car...can go next door and use the phone, etc. Easy, quiet, the best.

Philly has been great so far too, thanks to choosing a great building. Really only one crazy neighbor, the first one I met and who was quite helpful to start. From Barbados, in law school...but in her 30's...doesn't work to the best of anyone's knowledge, etc. We think she just sues people. Started a ruckus about mold in the building (built in 2008) and specifically her apartment, and has told/made up crazy stories about other neighbors, what she's done to past neighbor's cars she didn't like, etc. Everyone just knows her deal and leaves it be...until she drives you crazy about whatever the mold alert is (nothing in my realm, so I don't want to get involved), alas. Barbados, of course.

Next door neighbor can get the wall booming on Friday/Saturday nights with his entertainment system watching movies, but he's cool.

Talk to them again...and if that doesn't work, then try the next avenue. Civil is always good first, even if it gets old when it's the 8th time.

Edited June 14, 2011 by caddycruiser

[ocnblu]

Yesterday afternoon when I came home from work he was out in his driveway, working on somebody's Civic. He came over, shook my hand, and apologized for the noise he and his friends made the night before, saying it was his wife's brothers who showed up drunk. He said he "didn't want to disrespect", and he told them "not to come to his house anymore". I told him I appreciated it.

This morning at 3:30 I was awakened to splashing, yelling and laughing. He had a pool party going on. People were being thrown in the pool. I could see them with their bottles, standing in the pool, carrying on. I turned the light on, shut my windows and called the police at 4:19. As I was talking to the officer on the phone asking his advice, two cars left from the party, so I assumed it was breaking up. I decided not to have an officer come out and hung up.

It's still going on right now. They're not in the pool, but they're having loud, drunken discussions on their back deck.

[Camino LS6]

This whole thread comfirms for me the desireability of not having neighbors at all.

Distance, and good fences.

Ideally, I'd like to be where I can't see the neighbors' houses from my own. Lacking that, a few hundred feet make everything so much better.

Edited June 25, 2011 by Camino LS6

[A Horse With No Name]

I've got trees in my front yard that block my view to my neighbors house.

My neighbors caddy corner across the street, who used to be really cool people, have really started to become utter white trash. the 16 year old daughter is too lazy to walk down the hall to the bath room, so she hangs her bare ass out the bedroom window and does her business.

The mother now looks like a meth addict....

The father, who I have always gotten along with, has started screaming obscenities at people.

The rest of my neighbors are pretty cool....

I pretty much try to get along with everyone and ignore stupidity...until it gets out of hand.

And scrap happens everywhere, from neighborhoods of crap shacks to million dollar homes.

Might as well put in A/c and get used to living that way...

[Camino LS6]

Proximity breeds contempt.

[ocnblu]

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Oh, what am I saying?

Silent out there right now, ahhhhhhhhhhhh..... and there's a cool, low humididity breeze coming in the windows.

Edited June 26, 2011 by ocnblu

[§carlet §wordfish]

the 16 year old daughter is too lazy to walk down the hall to the bath room, so she hangs her bare ass out the bedroom window and does her business.

What.

[ocnblu]

Oh man, it was so great... SLEEP. And it was cool with low humididity.

[Camino LS6]

Nice break from the heat for sure.

[ocnblu]

Mowed the yard today. Found a USED CONDOM in my yard somebody threw over his fence. NASTY.

[SAmadei]

Mowed the yard today. Found a USED CONDOM in my yard somebody threw over his fence. NASTY.

Get it checked for DNA and send him a bill for clean up.

[A Horse With No Name]

the 16 year old daughter is too lazy to walk down the hall to the bath room, so she hangs her bare ass out the bedroom window and does her business.

What.

...yes, it is true...she's a decent kid, attractive, good grades, respectful. The police won't cite her for indecent exposure because she is a minor.

'

Now if she was an adult....?

Mowed the yard today. Found a USED CONDOM in my yard somebody threw over his fence. NASTY.

Trashy white people IMHO tend to be even trashier than trashy his panics or blacks....but trash knows no race boundaries.