Posted by Chris on February 22, 2000 at 19:08:19:
How about a nice tall wood fence to block the view of their property. Put some greenery up next to the fence to improve the view of looking at a fence.
-Chris
Can I get away with murder? - Posted by Dan
Posted by Dan on February 22, 2000 at 17:11:48:
Just kidding,I don’t want to leave any witnesses.Here is my problem,The first house I bought is across the street from where I live.I have L/O for the last year with no problems.The house next door was for sale for over a year,I tried to buy it but there was no deal there so it sat until these people came along and paid full price with the money they got from someone they sued.Now don’t ge me wrong everybody has a right to live where they want and I’m not putting anybody down,Im no angel.But these people are SCUM! My L/O T/B moved out early because they could not deal with them and now I’m having a hard time getting anyone else in there.Here are just a few things that they have done.They have 10 cars in the front yard at all times.They used to live in a M.H.P. I think they brought the whole park with them.They have even parked in my driveway and my 80 yearold neighbors yard who is scared to death of them.I tried talking to them and being nice,this did not work, they are still doing the same things.I called code enforcement,They can’t do anything.So I called the police,they said the same thing.Now what.I had a potential T/B looking at the house and she was interested until we saw the same neighbors dumping grease in the back yard of the house she was looking at,unbelievable.Then a week later they tied up there dog to a tree in the back yard of my L/O house.Today there 9yearold kid gets the keys to there car and goes out front and starts it and puts it in reverse wiping out two other cars in there front yard and just missed my house by a couple of feet.I don’t see how I’m going to L/O this house with a zoo next store.Any ideas Thanks Dan
Re: Can I get away with murder? - Posted by Corey (ND)
Posted by Corey (ND) on February 23, 2000 at 20:17:36:
Chances are is they will blow all of their money from the lawsuit very quickly and soon need to sell the house. Which is where you come in. You need to contact them and tell them you invest in real estate in the area and would like to buy their house. May take some time before they are ready, but it is a common fact that people who come into alot of money cannot manage it properly and blow it all right away -VS- the guy who earns his money tends to appreciate their property alot more. What ever you do don’t try to “get even” in any way as they probably wouldn’t be the kind of people who would MURDER you! Best of luck!!
Why not bribe them? - Posted by Russell
Posted by Russell on February 23, 2000 at 19:08:08:
If the neighbors feel the same as you, why not get together and pool your money to bribe the “SCUM” to leave. Offer more than the house is worth. It may be cheaper than legal action and a whole lot faster.
Re: Can I get away with murder? - Posted by Chris
Posted by Chris on February 23, 2000 at 18:53:14:
Give 'em a case of Blatz or Pabst Blue Ribbon as a bribe to clean their act up. Throw in a new pair of teeth for granny. If that does not straighten their act up use the other tactics described in the other posts.
Re: Can I get away with murder? - Posted by Jim IL
Posted by Jim IL on February 23, 2000 at 17:46:02:
Dan,
Whatever municipal government has the authority over this area is who you need to contact.
Either the city, or the county.
There are probably laws or ordinances against the dumping of grease, and the cars being parked on the lawn.
Also, since these people dumped grease in a yard that was not theirs, call the police.
If nothing else, this is at least littering, or even criminal damage to property.
Also, try to put up a “No trespassing” sign on your property.
That way when they do come onto your yard or park there, the police have to take action.
In some states, you can even get a “Trespass order” which makes them arrestable if they come onto your land.
And, start a writing campaign.
Write the city, the county and the police chief.
Have all the neighbors do this, along with a petition.
The goverment will get sick of hearing from you and eventually act.
Around here the laws state that cars cannot be parked in the yard, and there is even a law about how many.
If there is no such law there, then goto city/county board meetings and speak to the board members about your problem.
Try to get them to create a law that stops this.
Bottom line, you have a long road ahead, and the only way to get down it is to start driving, and drive HARD!
Stay on top of it, and document EVERYTHING!
Every time they violate you in ANY way, call the police.
Make a paper trail.
Good luck, and let us know what happens,
Jim IL
The solution may be here… - Posted by Chris
Posted by Chris on February 23, 2000 at 03:51:42:
Nolo Press(the self help legal people have info on this problem). This link may be your solution:
http://www.nolo.com/product/re_sub78.html
-Chris
Re: Can I get away with murder? - Posted by JD
Posted by JD on February 23, 2000 at 24:11:24:
People like that often have Judgments in their past. find out where they have lived for the past 10 years. Then search the Court records in those Counties. so one and so forth…
When Does The Movie Debut? - Posted by Paul_NY
Posted by Paul_NY on February 22, 2000 at 21:59:26:
Dan,
Assuming these neighbors are bothering others besides the elderly woman, your rental property and your own property, I would take a petition around to as many neighbors as possible listing all the defects of your hell neighbors, i.e. cars on the lawn, number of animals, appearance of vehicles, etc. The idea is to establish ordinances for your neighborhood. You must attend town meetings and bring you ‘side’ with you.
With all the neighboring residents signatures on your petition that allows only 2 or 3 cars per home, you are holding a powerful statement
In some neighborhoods, where I lived, a boat or RV was not allowed in your own driveway! I had to be stored off the property when not in use!
Are you beginning to get the point? In my opinion, its very communistic, but what the heck. These ordinances can also be removed too.
Re: Can I get away with murder? - Posted by NB(ID)
Posted by NB(ID) on February 22, 2000 at 20:54:13:
Unfortunately, we’ve been through somewhat the same situation in our neighborhood–only with the neighbors 20 barking hounds. Four families in this six-family neighborhood decided we’d had enough so we went to a lawyer. The lawyer basically said in this situation, yes, you can take them to court, but after spending all the necessary money you may not win. Also, after the hound owners got the letter from the lawyer they said they would countersue. (We’re moving rather than fight and spend all that money for who knows what outcome.)
From what I was able to dig up that directly relates to your situation–there was a group of neighbors that had an elderly lady in their neighborhood who had junk all over her place. They took turns sueing her (I can’t remember the exact number, but MANY of the neighbors sued her). Unfortunately, this lady had a stash of cash and countersued each one of those so everyone was spending gobs of money and gobs of time, but she was still entrenced on her property with all her junk.
I know this isn’t what you wanted to hear and hopefully you’ll find someone that will be more helpful.
Re: Can I get away with murder? - Posted by ScottE
Posted by ScottE on February 22, 2000 at 20:47:24:
Dan,
You mentioned that these folks were seen “dumping grease”…do you mean litchen grease or used oil (as in from an oil change on a car)?
If it’s oil from a car and it was a measurable amount, I would imagine the EPA might be interested in talking to them.
Are there no city or county ordinances for parking cars on the yard? If not, talk to your councilman about getting that put on the books.
Sorry about your situation…
Good luck
Scott
Re: Can I get away with murder? - Posted by Chenel_MD
Posted by Chenel_MD on February 22, 2000 at 19:07:11:
Sorry, I don’t have any ideas, but if you come up with a solution, please let me know. I have a nice house that I am getting ready to rent out. The problem is that there is a tenant residing in the house next to it, who just doesn’t care about their property.
They were evicted in Novemeber, so the sheriff put all of their stuff in the street. They made some type of arrangement with the landlored and he allowed them to move back in. Now all of the stuff that was in the street is sitting in their backyard, literally. They have a mattress, a box spring, desks, chairs, books, toys, clothes etc. You name it and they have it out there.
I informed them that I intended to rent my property and would appreciate it, if they would clean up their yard. That was in December, nothing has been done. Calls to their landlord have been unreturned. Call to the county code department states that as long as the junk is in their back yard, they can’t do anything.
The other problem is that they have 5 kids ages 5 to 11 who run throughout the neighborhood at all times of the day and night. They have no respect for other people’s property.
Other than that issue, I live in a great neighborhood, so any info or advice that you get, I would greatly appreciate.
Re: Can I get away with murder? - Posted by Chris
Posted by Chris on February 22, 2000 at 19:04:44:
Dan-
Sounds like fun-NOT.
How about filming some of these incidents with a camcorder? I have a feeling that these are also the type of neighbors that you can hear at two in the morning. Dumping toxic materials is another mark against them. Call the police whenever something like that occurs so that you have a paper trail.
When the police are there in the future ask them what options you have with neighbors like this. There should be a limit on public disturbances in your city. If a landlord can evict tenants for this same problem there has to be a solution for homeowners who all have a problem with a fellow homeowner.
If you have an attorney that you could bounce this problem off of that would be helpful. If most your neighbors are also annoyed with what is going on and they would be willing to go to court or sign that they have also witnessed these occurrences I would think the courts would look at this.
Part of the problem is that these SCUM are homeowners and have certain rights to their property that are not easy to take away.
Sorry that I couldn’t pull some laws or case numbers for you to use.
-Good Luck, Chris
Re: Can I get away with murder? - Posted by Chenel_MD
Posted by Chenel_MD on February 22, 2000 at 19:02:43:
Sorry, I don’t have any ideas, but if you come up with a solution, please let me know. I have a nice house that I am getting ready to rent out. The problem is that there is a tenant residing in the house next to it, who just doesn’t care about their property.
They were evicted in Novemeber, so the sheriff put all of their stuff in the street. They made some type of arrangement with the landlored and he allowed them to move back in. Now all of the stuff that was in the street is sitting in their backyard, literally. They have a mattress, a box spring, desks, chairs, books, toys, clothes etc. You name it and they have it out there.
I informed them that I intended to rent my property and would appreciate it, if they would clean up their yard. That was in December, nothing has been done. Calls to their landlord have been unreturned. Call to the county code department states that as long as the junk is in their back yard, they can’t do anything.
The other problem is that they have 5 kids ages 5 to 11 who run throughout the neighborhood at all times of the day and night. They have no respect for other people’s property.
Other than that issue, I live in a great neighborhood, so any info or advice that you get, I would greatly appreciate.
Speaking of 'rules ‘n regs’ in certain communities… - Posted by SusanL.–FL
Posted by SusanL.–FL on February 23, 2000 at 11:02:45:
Hi Paul!
Six + years ago when Kenny and I were searching for a larger house, we ‘happened upon’ a nice community that we were interested in.
I went into the (sales) office and actually had cash in my purse for a down payment. The guy in the office handed me their community’s By-Laws! It was printed on legal paper and was an inch THICK!!! (Brought me up short quick!!) 
I started reading through it and a few of the ‘rules’ that come to mind now: no open containers of beer in your front yard (!) Couldn’t work on your vehicle (even inside your garage with the door closed. Naturally, no clothes lines. No golf carts allowed (and I owned one at the time).
If ‘they’ did any upgrades to the community and ‘assessed’ the cost to each homeowner, (and you DIDN’t pay your fair share), they filed lien against your property.
I said ‘cianara’!
It reminded me too much of my life in my condo community years ago. Too many rules. (The Stepford Wives! Yikes!)
I like to ‘do my own thing’ on my own property (within reason, of course).
Re: Can I get away with murder? - Posted by Judy
Posted by Judy on February 23, 2000 at 20:14:39:
Chenel,
Can you get your state’s child welfare people after them? There have to be some rules about letting young kids run around in the streets at all times of the day or night.
Also had a similar neighbor… - Posted by SusanL.–FL
Posted by SusanL.–FL on February 23, 2000 at 10:14:10:
Ahhhhhhhh, neighbor Jane. I remember her well.
Kenny and I pretty much wound up maintaining her place, as well as our own. Wuddaya gonna do?? Ya know?
She had a side porch (that she never got around to screening in). This she would use as her ‘dumping ground’.
When she wasn’t looking, I’d sneak over there (under the guise of darkness [no kiddin’]) and tidy it up for her.
Kenny kept our little patch of yard looking like a golf course. Unfortunately, Jane’s mole crickets (ugly little devils) liked our grass more than her’s.
So–we wound up having to treat our ‘common’ border of lawn (between the two properties) just to keep her mole crickets at bay!
Finally moved away from her—and guess what—the next batch of neighbors all pitched in and are continuing to ‘maintain’ Jane’s property.
Guess every neighborhood’s got’em!