Dispute with nighbors over parking, am I being a bitch

In My Humble Opinion
1

Ibought a house a year ago.

I have a paring pad behind the house that is about 3 cars wide, and one of my requirements for a house was off street parking.

My house was vacant for about a year before I bought it and I think people got a bit used to parking there. I’ve asked some to move, told some to move, called the police on some and the police told me get them towed.

Doesn’t cost me anything to have them towed, costs them a minimum of $185 to get their car back.

Most of the time they are off to the side but several times I have been blocked in (I have wide gates and can pull up into my yard) or they have parked blocking my gates so I can’t open or close them.

Another issue is that the latch on my gates is broken and the gates will sometimes swing in the wind, hard enough to dent a car.

Another issue is that my neighbor doesn’t have a fence and sometimes people will park behind my house and cut through his yard to get out to the street.

Anyway, I went out one day. I was blocked in, and I had had enough anyway and I called the tow truck who came out just as the person was out getting into the car. We had words and his excuse for parking there was that he was visiting his mother and there was no place to park out front and he had to park blocking me in because somebody else with on the other space.

Uh excuse me!

Next car got towed.
My tired got flattened.

Then another car, owner came out as tow truck pulled up and the car owner and I got into it.
She informed me that that is HER property and the landlord told her she can park there.

OH! really!

I got in touch with the landlord and asked him why he was telling his tenants they could park on my property. He said he told them they could park one car out back because there is enough room for one car if they park close to his garage.

No there isn’t.

Even parked up against his garage they are still coming over the property line.

So he came over and talked with me ad I agreed that he could paint a line for a parking spot for his tenants, that they have to park up against his garage - at which point they are coming onto my property by about 2 feet. He also told me to let him know if they abused the privilege and he would tell them they can’t park back there at all.

That was several weeks ago. He never came out and painted a line, nobody has been parking there - so I thought maybe he changed his mind or whatever.

In the meantime I found out my tires weren’t flattened as the police said, they were slashed. My insurance covered all but $20, but I still lost use of my truck and had to take time to go to the adjuster. I haven’t done it but the police advised me to take out a peace order against the tenants next door (two apartments). I tried to call the landlord to let him know, he told me if I have any problems to let him know. However, I am beyond pissed about my tires and as far as I am concerned the agreement to let them park partially on my property is off.

I couldn’t get a hold of him and since nobody was parking out there I let it go.

Today I wake up and the neighbor is parked out there. Not in the area I said I would allow, they are not up against the garage and they are parked on an angle. They are not blocking me in, but they are about 4-5 feet over the line.

Part of me feels like I am being a petty bitch, but another part of me is fuming mad. Quite frankly I do NOT want them on my property at all. I feel like I was being nice and was willing to work with them, but that was before I knew my tires were slashed.

I have a call into the landlord to talk to him.

I don’t know how to handle this.
I want to be a good neighbor - but I am still pissed.

2

Read the post. Haven’t had time to digest all the angles yet.

But in general?

It is YOUR property, you’ve been nice or have tried to be and have gotten fucked over for it (multiple times it sounds like).

NUKE THE FUCKERS FROM ORBIT (or tow the mother fuckers like there is no tommorrow).

I’m sure other posters will be along shortly with more sage and practical advice.

Just wanted to chime in that IMO your anger probably has some reasonable justification.

3

Can you put up a fence? And possibly a security camera? You’re obviously in the right here, but wars with neighbors… Not good. Good luck.

4

Put up a fence as soon as you can, put it up exactly on your property lines. If you can afford it, get one of those automatic garage doors that you can install at the entrance to your parking pad. Don’t let the neighbors take a little, they clearly will very quickly feel entitled to what is in fact a kindness you are extending.

5

Two things:

!.) You need to get the latch fixed on your gate. That’s all on you. Not sure how big a part of that plays on the issues you’re having though.

2.) Try not to make any decisions when you are in such an emotional state. If I’ve learned anything from reading the Dope all these years, if you find yourself in a lull with your neighborly dispute, you take it, and go with it. Any actions by you may stir up the hornets nest and you’ll find yourself with a whole new set of headaches. I know it’s hard to swallow your pride when you know you are in the right, but really, do you want this feud to last in perpetuity?

6

New fence is on the agenda, it just wasn’t a priority but it can be moved up. The existing fence ends at the parking pad.
I’m sure fence installers know how to deal with that.

The broken latch is an issue because if the gates come lose and swing they can damage their vehicles and I don’t want them coming to me saying it’s my fault.

I could start parking crosswise again and take up most of the three spaces.

7

I agree with Grrr! in that you need to fix the latch on your gate. That should be top priority.

Second, you need to tell the landlord to tell his tenants that if they park on your property, they will get towed, and be sure you tell the landlord the name of the towing company you plan to use (you probably ought to put this in a registered letter to him). Make up some flyers that say “You are illegally parked on my property and are subject to being towed”. Put these on the windshield on the 1st offense. Keep a record of car, make, model, color, and license plate number, as well as date and time of each offense. On the 2nd offense, hand write on the flyer “this is your second and final notice. Next time you will be towed” and put the landlord’s phone number on the notice. When you have an offender’s vehicle towed, call the the landlord and tell him the date, license number, and make/model of the car that was towed (and the towing company’s name).

My point is you need to get the landlord to have some skin in the game. If he is bothered by his tenants actions, he will be more likely to do what he can to prevent it.

If they park in front of your driveway, take a picture and call the police. Same thing with any vandalism.

If you get on top of this problem, you can manage it. If you let them walk all over you, they will.

8

Nothing aggravates me more than people impinging on my property. Then there are the liability concerns.

I agree with the latch on the gate being the priority item. You will be liable if the gate damages someone’s property. Try securing it with a bungee or lock until you can get it properly prepared.

9

I don’t think you’re being a bitch, but then again, I could be one myself…

Neighbors who don’t respect their neighbors don’t deserve any latitude as far as I’m concerned. Sadly, tenants often seem to care less about their neighbors than owners.

Until you get your fence in, I’d suggest putting up a “Private Property - No Parking” sign, or maybe installing a large boulder to occupy all but your parking space. I wouldn’t mess around with notes or “Final Notice” or any of that - they know they shouldn’t be in your yard.

And get yourself a bigger, meaner dog. :wink:

10

Post a sign with whatever wording your locality requires about unauthorized cars being towed, then have them towed. Put up a security camera.

A guy recently bought a corner commercial lot near me that hasn’t been used in at least a decade. He put up a sign and signed a contract with a friend who owns a tow-truck, setting an obscenely high rate for towing. Prior to this people were using the empty lot as an unofficial park-and-ride. Now his buddy kicks back half the fee and he is making some extra money!

11

Yeah, don’t try to compromise with people who will slash your tires when they are caught trespassing.

12

Fix the latch.

Ask the landlord once more to get the line painted. If he doesn’t do it, send him a registered letter telling him you will hire someone to paint it and deduct the cost from your rent.

If they are blockiing you from getting in or out, that is not being petty. If they are blocking you, I wouldn’t bother with flyers. Just call the towing company. Don’t even go out and argue with them if you see them - let them argue with the towing company. If someone is just parking on your spot, that might be seen as being petty. You might consider letting them park 4-5 feet over your property line for the sake of peace in the neighborhood.

I had something vaguely similar in our first house. The neighbor’s son lived with him off and on. When he did live there, he would park in our driveway and block me from getting out of my garage. The issue was resolved when the neighbor got tired of me knocking on their door every morning at 6:30am and requesting, not angrily but clearly, to please move your car - I have to get to work. I never had to have anybody towed.

Slashing tires is way over the line. They may not be susceptible to reason.

Regards,
Shodan

13

It sounds like the people in that area aren’t too respectful of land rights. You’re going to have to somehow block off the pad because guests of the apartment aren’t going to know. Don’t let anyone else park on your property. If you give them an inch, they’ll take it all. Get some wooden sawhorses and paint “NO PARKING” on them and put them on the other slots on the pad so there is only enough room for your car. You can even install some eyelets into the pad so you can padlock the sawhorses down if necessary.

Consider getting a camera to monitor the pad. You can find inexpensive ones which continually record to memory. If anyone messes with your car or the pad, it will help address the problem.

I would advise you to try to not be confrontational. There are thousands of ways the neighbors can make your life miserable.

14

Sahirrnee owns her property. The landlord is the neighbors’. She can paint a line, and ask the landlord to pay for it, but if he doesn’t, there’s nothing to deduct it from, since she doesn’t pay him rent. She would have to sue him, owner to owner.

15

Thank y’all

I’m reading and taking it all in.

I left a message for the landlord next door, that I am not comfortable with our agreement anymore.

16

How certain are you about the property line? Is it marked?

Also, do you have a couple hundred $ to spend on this?

If certain and if you have the cash, I’d put some impediment up 6-12" on your side of the property line. Check what is permitted in this alley location - such as how far back a fence could go. Might be sufficient to have 1-2 parking curbs installed. Have them affixed to the slab, so they can’t be moved. Then post a “No Parking” sign, a motion activated camera, possibly motion activated light, and have any violators towed.

Re: the fence latch, at least loop a bungee around it.

17

I didn’t catch that - thanks for the correction. I wouldn’t bother with a lawsuit, then - paint the line, post a sign saying “Private Property - Violaters will Be Towed” and keep calling the towing company.

Regards,
Shodan

18

Don’t bungee the gate. Somebody can mess with that easy. Use a chain and a lock. That will at least require any random asshole to go get a bolt cutter.

I like the idea of big assed boulders on either side of the drive with just enough space for your car in the middle. Probably cheaper than a fence and harder for somebody to mess up. Plus you can probably sell them when you move.

19

Just to throw out other ideas, you can offer to rent any extra space on the parking pad. I’d include the “space” that’s mostly on the landlord’s property plus a few feet on your property.

Here in DC, a parking space in a crowded neighborhood can bring $200 a month. Even if it is much less than that - call it $50 even - then you give one or two renters a stake in policing the pad for assholes and maybe even calling the tow truck themselves for people who block you and them in.

20

What state are you in?

In this order -

Have all vehicles towed, by the most expensive tow company you can find
Security cameras to use as evidence in civil and criminal cases
Fix fence
Investigate potential for suing landlord for his tenants - some communities have enacted nuisance ordinances for landlords and can levy fines for bad tenant behavior.

People who engage in vandalism may be more inclined toward other violence. Secure other areas of the property and be prepared to defend yourself. If in TX, be prepared to defend your property.