Posted on 05/18/2008 12:13:10 PM PDT by Krankor
I live in a big city on a nice street. My neighbors are very nice people. We don't socialize or anything, but we get along very well and I'll cut their front lawn in the summer and they'll shovel my snow in the winter. No formal agreement or anything, we just do it. They have two little boys and the dad will play catch with them out in front, oh, maybe once or twice a week. Dad will be in front of his house and the two boys in front of mine. Now, I don't really care about my lawn because there are just too many dogs and other kids on the block, but I do care about the bushes in front of my house (took 15 years to grow them). Also, I have a garden apartment that I rent out and my tenant has a very nice garden down there. Anyway, when the trio are playing catch, the ball often goes into the bushes, which means one or both of the kids run down the steps to the garden apt area and sometimes into my tenant's garden to retrieve it. My concern- they're eventually going to ruin my bushes and my tenant's garden. Do you think it's acceptable to go to my neighbor and simply ask him if he could be the one who plays in front of my house instead of the two boys? In other words, he's going to be a bit more careful getting any errant balls. I should mention two things. I have two mulberry trees in my yard which I trim every year, but a good number of berries (a couple hundred) fall into their yard and they've never complained. Also, the mother planted about two dozen tulips in front of her house so she probably doesn't want the boys playing in front of her house either. Advice please.
What about getting some nylon netting and spreading it loosely over the bushes and tying it around the trunk?
That would keep any errant balls from actually entering the bushes, eliminating the need for digging around in them.
You could ask your neighbor to help you put it on, tell him that you love that they can play catch in the yard, and if he’ll help you with this netting, he won’t have to worry about the bushes getting hurt.
That will make him aware of the problem without it seeming like an attack, maybe?
I agree with you DL. I wouldn't let my kids play ball there if in doing so they tresspassed on someone else's property...even if it was only sometimes. That's what the park is for. I think your neighbor is being disrespectful to you and your tenant.
I'm not sure how I'd go about telling him, since people who are casually disrespectful on one level are often disrespectful on many others as well. Therefore, I'd say the odds of a sucessful outcome are not to too good.
If the bushes haven’t been damaged, then they are already being careful.
Let them play in peace.
I cast octal on you, and prepare to cast binary! Roll 2d20 for damage!
Fences make good neighbors.
Well my monster neighbor claims his fence is several feet into our yard and therefore doesn't want us to plant anything or do any work in "his portion", which is on our side of the fence.
Our survey shows the fence as about 6" into our yard for several feet only.
So he is constantly harrassing us and complaining. My husband told him he was going to file a restraining order is he ever called me again. He really scares me.
The neighbor is a real pain. I have had to call animal control on him because of animal neglect. I have had to call the county health dept on him for garbage (a cattle hay feed ring filled to the top of it with garbage - they are about 8ft across and about 4ft high - it was cleaned up by him after the county got on him but it took a year for them to take him to court)
The middle aged man is a real lowlife. He gets employment and then he fakes injuries to get on workman's comp. Then he sues the employer. The county sheriff's dept is always coming to my house looking for him so they can serve him a summons to court for something he has got a loan on and not made payments on.
I went to his door one night last winter because one of his little short haired dogs got out of his house in the freezing cold. He answered the door with a shotgun pointed at me. He quickly put the shotgun down when he saw it was me. That was the end of me going over and knocking on his door. I was pissed and scared at the same time after that.
So my best bet is to start legal action on him and try to get a lien put on his property. We will put in a trench if he does not repair it within 30 days after our attorney contacts him. This has been going for about 6 months and we have been nice about it but we are fed up. I guess I could make a claim with my insurance company and have them go after him.
BTW... My yard is 5 acres and his water well is right on the property line at the front corner of my land and his. It is annoying and if it goes on for another 6 months the damage will be much worse.
Um....if your Neighbor’s fence is in YOUR yard, I’d say, it’s time he MOVED his fence back onto HIS property!
Get the property surveyed. If his fence is in your yard then you have a right to remove the fence or plant what you want by it or give him the option to move his fence to his property.
Sounds like you have a pleasant relationship with them. Let them know you're concerned, I'll bet they're cool about it.
BTW—I have two monster mulberry trees myself...yum! Worth the mess.
Landmines are frequently suggested at this forum as a solution to anything.
Personally, I think that’s extreme. I just wanted to be the first one for once to put that option on the table.
The down side is the neighbor will most likely stop shoveling your snow.
I’m sorry, I meant his fence is inside of his yard. He doesn’t want us to put anything on our yard in that general area, but on our side of the fence. I told him to move his fence according to a survey. That is when he yelled at me about having to pay for a survey. Of course he doesn’t talk to my husband like that.
We put a very tall hedge up while we were constructing because he was always running over as soon as he saw us, and then making indirect disparaging remarks. “My windows cost a hundred thousand, what exactly are you having put in there?” He’s just very annoying and arrogant. My husband disliked him immediately. We always tried to be cordial. When my house ended up dwarfing his, he started complaints with the city. They indirectly told me he’s got issues.
It is really bizarre.
Sounds like a perfectly reasonably response to me. A kid running around the neighborhood shooting people or pets with a BB gun is definitely a matter for the police and courts.
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