Dealing With Nasty Neighbors
Even the most beautiful house, in the most beautiful town can become a nightmare if you live next door to the wrong kind of people. Dealing with nasty neighbors can be enough to drive even the most peaceable person to distraction. If you find yourself in this situation, or would like to do your very best to avoid it, I hope I can give you some practical advice.
Here are the five big offenders in the world of nasty neighbors…
1. The racket maker: screaming moms, fighting spouses, horn honking and tire squealing drivers, loud music fanatics and late-night partiers
2. The property line fanatic: someone who trims boundary trees and sends you the bill
3. The slob, like one who lets the grass grow, puts trash out days in advance, and leaves garbage cans unlocked
4. The careless pet owner
5. The extreme weirdo: drunks, drug dealers, and the neighbor that never says anything
If you don’t want to end up with one of the above as your new neighbor, here’s what you can do to spot them early:
1. Cruise the neighborhood at night. You’ll see the guy next door while he’s at home (rather than at work). Most people make the mistake of seeing a home during the day and looking again during the same time a few days later.
2. Talk with the local store owners. They’re always the first to tell you who the pains are, who stiffed them, and who’s involved in a lawsuit. (”I’m thinking of buying the Smith house. Do you know it? Know the street? What are the neighbors like?”)
3. Walk the neighborhood during rush hour. Not just block, but the four blocks surrounding yours. Befriend a few neighbors along the way. (”I’m thinking of buying the Smith House at 12 Maple Avenue. Do you know the neighbors? What are they like?”).
4. Look for basketball hoops, skateboard ramps, and trampolines, all tell-tale signs of the racket-maker.
5. Watch and listen for the barking and unleashed neighborhood dogs.
6. Poke around the town clerk’s office to find out which neighbors have filed for what, like permits for building a house extension over the next 12 months, a noisy new tennis court, or a new pool.
7. Take a cyberspace tour on “Fizber Street View” to check out empty lots and backyards that look like a landfill.
8. Check on-line registries for the location of any local sex offenders.
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I have lived 48 years in my nice neighborhood but for the last few years I have a neighbor whose boyfriend comes over frequently full of wrath and rantings. He stands behind the fence and raves like a lunatic. I had to call the police yesterday because now he started threatening me physically. I don’t talk to him except to say “Leave me alone!” He left before the police came of course. But I gave them his name, address, car license, etc. I know where he lives. Have informed the neighborhood associations of his actions and how his girlfriend refuses to forbid him coming over. He has a key to her house. They argue all of the time and he will end up hurting her I’m sure. They are both in their 60s! The police talked to the girlfriend but she refuses to cooperate. I begged her to have him stay away but she is nuts herself.
On the advice of the police, I put up No Trespassing signs. Any other suggestions?
Regards,
Jeanette
I suggest reporting the bad neighbor here:
http://www.rottenneighbor.com
Help others by uploading your own good or rotten neighbors to this database!