Living in close proximity to neighbors can be both a blessing and a challenge. While most neighbors coexist harmoniously, there are instances when boundaries are crossed, and tensions escalate. In this collection of stories, we explore the experiences of homeowners who found themselves facing a neighbor who took things too far.
From invasive actions to disruptive behavior and unreasonable demands, these accounts shed light on the moments when neighborly relations turned sour. Join us as we navigate the complexities of neighborhood dynamics and delve into the tales that remind us of the importance of mutual respect, communication, and finding peaceful resolutions in the face of challenging situations.
Get ready to commiserate, reflect, and perhaps gain insights into how we can foster a more harmonious neighborhood environment for all.
All content has been edited for clarity.
Surely That’s Destruction Of Property
“I was staying at a motel with my family while our house was being fumigated. I returned to the property to check on my houseplants, which I had left under a tree in the front yard. I noticed that, where there had been three big trees showing over my roof from the backyard, there was one.
I went around the house to see why, and there was lumber and sawdust all over the ground where two of my 130’-tall blue gum eucalypti had been! They had been a habitat for several raptors, including red-tailed hawks, screech owls, and a golden eagle. Now they were firewood.
When I complained about the trees to my neighbor, she said that branches had blown onto her roof and damaged it. I replied that, when she had been out of the area with cedar logs stacked in her yard, a brush fire had swept up the canyon and caught the logs on fire. Embers from the logs had flown up and caught her shake roof on fire. I had assisted a firefighter in climbing onto her roof with a fire axe and a garden hose to save her house. The damage was from that, not from my trees.
She said that an arborist had advised her that improper trimming of my trees had resulted in the growth of suckers where true branches had previously grown. As they had no firm connection to the bole, they could come off in a stiff breeze and inflict grave damage to her house. For that reason, she asked him to cut down the branches that overhung her property. What remained of the thicket then overhung my house.
When I asked her why she hadn’t simply told me and let me deal with the situation, she said that I wasn’t home and she didn’t know when I would be back. I told her that I was staying at a motel in town for a couple of days while my house was being fumigated and that I would be back home the next day. She apologized but my trees were history by then.”
She Shouldn’t Have Been The Angry One
“I was living in an upper-class mobile home park near the beach (I use the terms upper class based on the price not the appearance). Next to us was a family of 4, the son was 15 and severely mentally disabled. We had lived next door for several years and the mom stayed at home taking care of the son but he was getting bigger and harder to control. My roommate and I were working in the office together and when we came into the living room, the son was in the middle of our living room. He was taller than us and furious, yelling and making violent gestures, making us hesitant to approach him. My roommate called his mom and she came right over.
We weren’t judgmental about his behavior, it was a symptom of his condition. But the mom came over screaming that we were trying to seduce her son and she was going to call the police and press charges for statutory r*pe. We were finally able to convince her that he just came in and she started yelling all over again asking why we didn’t keep our door locked. No matter what we said she held us responsible. It was a very unpleasant experience.
Sadly, I know that fear was the real thing that fueled her anger, that she couldn’t control him anymore, but it was completely unreasonable for her to direct it at us, not just anger but threats.
Within a month the family moved to Arizona so the son could attend a special school as a live-in student. I’m sorry for the extreme challenges that she faced but threatening the neighbors is no way to address them.”
Yeah That’s Just Stupidity
“My current neighbors have dug a fire pit less than 12 feet from my house. They insist on burning old Christmas trees, huge cardboard boxes, yard waste, and trash in it. The guy insists on pouring gasoline on the flames to make them go even higher. The heat from their fires can be felt in my laundry room.
Last summer, he was pouring gasoline on an already burning fire when the gas can caught fire and had a flame shooting out the spout. The idiot drops the can on the ground, spilling gasoline all over the place and now the grass is on fire. This moron was trying to put it out with his garden hose, then he finally started stomping it out.
After witnessing this event and having been a firefighter, I went over and tried my best to educate them on the proper way to have a campfire. I even gave them fatwood sticks to start the fire with. They just looked at me like I had no idea what I was talking about.
Now, every time they light it, I call the fire department and the police because the firepit is not up to code and these people are completely stupid about how and what they burn. I just do not want them to burn my house down and I think that’s a pretty reasonable request. I think they both should visit a burn ward as well as watch some of the firefighter training tapes that deal with burn victims.”
