topic Re: What would you do? in Home

What would you do?

Julie928 — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 21:11:26 GMT

I'm sure I'll get ridiculed for this but here goes. Many of you may know there have been some neighbor issues around here. Well, we've been getting along pretty well recently. Or so I thought.

My husband and I put up a 6-foot privacy fence along the one side of our property (alongside theirs). Our old fence was in pretty bad shape so we decided to help keep the peace (and diffuse some of the noise) we would make the investment.

Today I was in their drivewway trimming one of our trees (I told here I would need to access their driveway to do this and she was fine with it). I glanced over their gate and couldn't believe what I saw. The entire length on our fence was scribbled on, drawn on, written on in PINK PAINT! Yes, it's paint! I called her, she didn't answer the phone so I left a message. I went over there a couple hours later ~ no answer. (Yes, she is home). My new fence looks like an underpass in the city ~ full of grafitti. This fence cost us $4,000. Who allows their children to do something like that?

I don't know what to do. I take that back. I do know what to do. I'm leaving. If my husband wants to stay here have fun! It's too bad because we put so much of our hearts, souls and pocketbooks in this place. I just can't do it anymore.

I'm sure I'll be called a few names. I'm sure I'll be told I hate kids and to let it go. Before anyone here starts belittling me just know I have opened up our yard to the kids from time to time. They love our fairy garden and like to count the fairies in our yard. They love our pond so I let them feed our fish. I tried. I can let the noise aspect go ~ I've almost become used to it. I haven't said a word about in in months. But when it comes to our property being defaced I have to do something. Shouldn't the parents be held accountable for this? This isn't a few scribbles ~ this is over 40 feet of writing, painting, doodling ~ in paint.

Now I need to call our realtor. Thanks for letting me vent.

Re: What would you do?

queendiva — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 21:29:20 GMT

Before calling a Realtor, I would call, in this order: the police and a good attorney.

Outrageous behavior on the part of your adult neighbors.

Those kids are going to be something else in ten years..

My house listed For Sale today. I have fantastic neighbors. Nervous about what's to come in a new location

Re: What would you do?

maluk — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 21:20:44 GMT

report it o the police

Re: What would you do?

Bird mama — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 21:24:12 GMT

You've paid for a privacy fence and even though it wasn't your side that was defaced, the fence is your property and it has been defaced.

I would take pictures and then make a trip to the police department and file a complaint.

Re: What would you do?

RedTop — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 21:28:21 GMT

My advice is to stand your ground and fight these neighbors legally. Call 911 to have police come out to see the defacing and act of vandalism of your personal property. Police will advise you of options to pursue action against your neighbors.

I say DO NOT run from this problem; take legal action.

Re: What would you do?

Bird mama — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 21:31:41 GMT

@Julie928 Is it vinyl or wood fencing? I ask because in my community a privacy fence has to be nice looking on the side of the person you are blocking out. I would know, lol. This is why I chose white vinyl. There was nothing wrong with my chain link fence and to avoid any BS from the neighbor I was blocking out, I had my privacy fence installed a couple of inches inside of the chain link fence.

Re: What would you do?

January121 — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 21:35:32 GMT

I would take pictures & contact a lawyer...... file a complaint with small claims court to recover the damage to the fence .... it should be a no brainer that you WIN .... I hate parents that let their “little darlings” do whatever they want & destroy other people’s property ... there has to be a way to retaliate so they control the little ones in the future & usually the only way to do it is hit their pocketbooks & let them pay!!!

Re: What would you do?

KentuckyWoman — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 21:41:07 GMT

When you live in the city and houses are close together people need to respect the rights of their neighbors. I can't tell you what to do but I would get an estimate of how much it would cost to clean the fence. Then I would present her with the bill or send it registered mail so you will know she got it. If she doesn't respond, talk to local police or an attorney to see what action you may be able to take. We respect our neighbors and expect the same treatment from them. Good luck.

Re: What would you do?

happycat — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 21:48:42 GMT

I remember you and the previous issues you have had with these neighbors, or anyway that there have been issues with them. And God knows, I do understand to an extent.

I think the posters on here are right about you calling the police, and a lawyer, I would definitely not take this sitting down, you deserve better.

But, I think I agree with you about moving, or at least giving it serious thought. And I will tell you why. Because I think an adult had to know what those little brats were doing and didn't care. Those little brats are going to grow up to be big brats. And I personally, do not like to deal with big brats. They have bigger and more destructive toys. Obviously you are dealing with people who don't care about anyone else's property. It almost seems like the adults enjoy causing you trouble. Life is too short and you are too good for this.

I will say, I had issues here, and I threatened to shoot back. That took care of that. I don't advise that though.

Good luck.

Re: What would you do?

kaydee50 — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 21:48:51 GMT

What makes you think it will be so easy to sell your house for the price you think it's worth now that the fence you paid for has been vandalized? As previous posters mentioned I would call the police, show them them what has been done and see what they say. I would take care of this situation before putting my home on the market.

Re: What would you do?

Katcat1 — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 21:48:51 GMT

@Julie928 I would first call the police and get a report. Show the police the receipt for the new fence. You can always sue later. First sell the house. The woman sounds like a very ignorant person to let her kids ruin your fence. That is really sick. Get out of there and move into an adults only community or if you are a senior a senior community and hopefully you will have better luck with neighbors. Yes, she is the neighbor from h___.

Re: What would you do?

Mominohio — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 21:57:39 GMT

I do understand wanting out.....BUT..... you aren't going to get any money for your home with things like this going on. People looking to buy will see it.

Call the police and do everything possible within the law to get them in trouble for this and held responsible for this.

Get cameras put up and catch them in the act. They are not very expensive anymore, and have great resolution.

Stay vigilant by reporting everything you can and having proof of them doing it. When it starts costing them money, court costs, fines or even jail time, bail money or attorney fees, I bet it stops.

Then make a decision to leave.

But don't be pushed out if you can help it. It will feel so much better to go on your own accord.

Re: What would you do?

Alison Wonderland — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 22:06:31 GMT

@RedTop wrote:
My advice is to stand your ground and fight these neighbors legally. Call 911 to have police come out to see the defacing and act of vandalism of your personal property. Police will advise you of options to pursue action against your neighbors.

I say DO NOT run from this problem; take legal action.

Please do NOT call 911 for this. Call the police on their regular non-emergency phone number. It should be listed on their website. This is not a time sensitive or life threatening emergency and calling 911 for this means someone who does have a life threatening emergecy may have trouble getting help in time.

I'd also consider calling the lawyer before calling the police. Lawyers are better suited for dealing with disputes like the fence than the police and can tell you what kind of conversation to have with the police.

Re: What would you do?

Julie928 — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 22:02:07 GMT

All very good advice. I called the police, they came out and gave me a complaint form with a case number on it. I was basically told that since the kids are under the age of 12 there isn't anything that can be done about it. Seriously? I don't expect them to throw a kid in jail, but the parents should be responsible for this, right?

So....I got annoyed and called the police department back. I basically raised you-know-where and asked why no one is enforcing any of the codes/laws in this town. I was transferred to the police lieutenant and this is where I think I might be getting somewhere.

After the police officer talked to her she let her dogs out and let them bark, and bark, and bark. Then her little angel went right outside our window and started screaming. Then they went in their car and started honking the horn. The lieutenant heard all of this and promised to get us some relief. I am skeptical buy maybe, just maybe, we are getting somewhere.

Half of me wants to stand my ground and the other half wants to leave. Even as I type this, their dogs are barking outside our window. We are purchasing a recorder (per the police lieutenant's advice) and will record their barking dogs. Each time they are in violation they will be fined. We are also installing a security camera along that side of the house. And yes, we are getting an attorney.

What bothers me the most is this woman hasn't bothered to call me back or reach out in any manner regarding this. I guess she thinks I'm a jerk for getting upset and it's okay to deface another person's property. I felt we were getting along and this is just pure disrespect. We'll win in the end. It will cost some cash and not be pleasant but it'll be worth it.

ETA: I was advised to call 911 by our non-emergency operator at the police department. I agree it's a bit dramatic but that's what they told me to do.

Re: What would you do?

RedTop — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 22:10:02 GMT

@Alison Wonderland,

My BIL is a police officer for this county; and I have experience with dispatch. I don’t know how you do things where you are, but here in southern West Virginia, any response for police assistance comes thru 911 dispatch. The reason being, this is not only how they track calls, but also logging data in these calls are used for required county and state reporting.

Our county does not publish their non-emergency number.

Re: What would you do?

Mominohio — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 22:10:16 GMT

@Julie928 wrote:
All very good advice. I called the police, they came out and gave me a complaint form with a case number on it. I was basically told that since the kids are under the age of 12 there isn't anything that can be done about it. Seriously? I don't expect them to throw a kid in jail, but the parents should be responsible for this, right?

So....I got annoyed and called the police department back. I basically raised you-know-where and asked why no one is enforcing any of the codes/laws in this town. I was transferred to the police lieutenant and this is where I think I might be getting somewhere.

After the police officer talked to her she let her dogs out and let them bark, and bark, and bark. Then her little angel went right outside our window and started screaming. Then they went in their car and started honking the horn. The lieutenant heard all of this and promised to get us some relief. I am skeptical buy maybe, just maybe, we are getting somewhere.

Half of me wants to stand my ground and the other half wants to leave. Even as I type this, their dogs are barking outside our window. We are purchasing a recorder (per the police lieutenant's advice) and will record their barking dogs. Each time they are in violation they will be fined. We are also installing a security camera along that side of the house. And yes, we are getting an attorney.

What bothers me the most is this woman hasn't bothered to call me back or reach out in any manner regarding this. I guess she thinks I'm a jerk for getting upset and it's okay to deface another person's property. I felt we were getting along and this is just pure disrespect. We'll win in the end. It will cost some cash and not be pleasant but it'll be worth it.

ETA: I was advised to call 911 by our non-emergency operator at the police department. I agree it's a bit dramatic but that's what they told me to do.

All right! You go girl! This is what needs to be. Every dumb thing they do thinking they are pi$$ing you off, will get recorded, reported and taken as far as it can. And at some point they will stop, or they will be made to stop.

Don't get discouraged. And don't interact with them in any way, shape, or form. If they come looking to 'talk' you are now the one not at home, or if caught outside, just walk away. Give them nothing to use against you.

Is this family just a bad seed in your neighborhood, and are other neighbors fed up with them? Or is it kind of the way the areas is headed? If they are the only ones like this, I think you can over come this and succeed. If the areas is on the down turn (our last home was in an area that was going down hill after years there), you can at least hope to get them under control (or gone) long enough to get your house sold.

@Julie928

Re: What would you do?

Venezia — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 22:12:07 GMT

@Julie928- They sound like the horrible family from "The Middle". Okay for a sitcom, but not in real life.

Everyone here has given you good advice (especially about the cameras), so I'll just say I hope you get this resolved. No one has a right to deface your property and, if the fence is within your property line and paid for by you, it's your property.

Nevermind that the kids are young; they clearly are being allowed to be hooligans by the parents and the parents should be held responsible. They don't get a free pass on this.

Good for you in notifying the police and taking other measures.

Re: What would you do?

SuesCat — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 22:19:11 GMT

@Julie928 I'm impressed with your course of action! Good for you. I'll be one of many rooting for you going forward. Charge!!!!!

Re: What would you do?

Alison Wonderland — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 22:22:06 GMT

@RedTop wrote:
@Alison Wonderland,
My BIL is a police officer for this county; and I have experience with dispatch. I don’t know how you do things where you are, but here in southern West Virginia, any response for police assistance comes thru 911 dispatch. The reason being, this is not only how they track calls, but also logging data in these calls are used for required county and state reporting.

Our county does not publish their non-emergency number.

Both my city and county have separate non-emergecy and emergency dispatch lines.

My city has both a well-published non-emergency line (311) and a regular 7-digit phone number. They always encourage us NOT to call 911 unless there is an actual emergency. Their phone numbers are clearly posted on their website.

The county is run by the sheriff's office and they also have non-emergency dispatch line that they ask people call for anything other than an emergecy. It's available on their website and via Google search.

And 911.org is also states NOT to call 911 for a non-emergency: "Nine-one-one is only to be used ONLY in emergency situations. An emergency is any situation that requires immediate assistance from the police/sheriff, the fire department or an ambulance. If you are ever in doubt of whether a situation is an emergency you should call 9-1-1. It's better to be safe and let the 9-1-1 call taker determine if you need emergency assistance."

http://www.911.org/howwhentocall.asp

Re: What would you do?

RedTop — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 22:36:00 GMT

@Alison Wonderland,

The key difference in how you and I need to handle our emergency responses is in your first sentence.

I am very rural, and only have 911 county dispatch that covers everything related to police and fire response. Even if I lived inside our county seat boundary lines, all emergency dispatch response is thru the same call center.