Sorry. I’ll bow out of here now. I’ve just been lucky to have nice neighbours I suppose.
I’ve had friendly neighbors in the past. I’ve had other neighbors that I hardly knew other than to wave at, but they maintained their property, and did not interfere with my peaceful enjoyment of my property.
If you have never had the misfortune of having really crappy neighbors - as I have at the moment - it is hard to appreciate what a luxury it is to live next door to people who are not assholes.
99% or more of homeowners would not dream of taking down their neighbor’s fence and driving a bobcat across their lawn. Not to mention doing it a second time after the neighbor objected. But if you have the misfortune of living next door to that fraction of a percent who would, it can really suck.
Count me in with the group that says call the cops. Fool me once…etc.
I had something like this happen to me about 3 years ago. My neighbor tore down part of my fence without asking and in doing so, let my dog out of the yard. When I got home, she was sitting on my front porch. Did I mention that I live right on a VERY busy highway. She could have been killed if she had run into traffic. Then the fucker refused to pay for any damages and I just fixed it best I could and went about my business. I ignore him, he ignores me. But I would STILL be pissed if this ever happened again and I WOULD bring about civil actions the next time.
BTW, just an FYI, but you’re gonna want to have someone come out and look at any underground sewer lines and stuff after they’re done. We had a dumptruck drive through part of our yard when I was a kid after dumping new gravel for the next door neighbors driveway, and they drove over some sewer lines and collapsed them. Just thought you might want to check that out.
Unless there’s some clause in jsgoddess’s deed giving her neighbors a right of access across her property they have absolutely no night to do this.
Anyone who wouldn’t be upset by the deliberate destruction of a fence has obviously never priced one.
That’s not even counting the violation of your personal property.
You were nicer about it than you were required to be last time, jsgoddess. Now your kindness has been spit back in your face. They’re savages who will just keep taking advantage of you. Call the cops.
Okay, they’re really really bad neighbors, but I still liked the story better when I thought it was a bobcat cat rather than a bobcat machine. Still they need to stop.
-Lil
Call the police, goddess. I remember the first thread, and it made me sick for you. It’s either that, or shoot them, and as a gardener, and custodian of all things growing and beautiful, prison wouldn’t be kind. I wish I had some better advice, but I don’t even know you or your neighbours, and I’d like to punch them. Hard.
OK. I’m back for a visit, and this is what I see?
You want to shoot or punch your neighbour over this? You know, maybe there is something behind the “Canadians are sooo nice” rumour after all. Because I would seriously rather have a one-on-one discussion with my neighbour rather than call the authorities or pursue litigation. or resort to violence.
You people who would immediately take legal action or would take physical action are a complete mystery to me.
Immediately? It’s been a year since it happened the first time, at which time it was discussed. I completely agree with you that the first time, you should grab a six-pack and head over to talk about it. However, the second time is completely different. In the earlier example of the neighbor scratching your car while doing yard work, let’s assume you had a few beers together, and worked it out. Then, when you had been inconvenienced for a day or two while your car had been in the shop, they “accidentally” damaged your property again?
Originally posted by Leaffan:
Sigh.
Show of hands, who thought that Savannah literally meant that the way to resolve this situation was to shoot the neighbors? Anyone besides Leaffan?
Anyone?
Bueller?
And, for the 100th time (See that? I think that might be the same thing as what Savannah was doing concerning wanting to hit the neighbors, wherein someone says something that they don’t literally mean, to show anger, or emphasize a repeated point some one else ignores over and over again), jsgoddess HAS talked with the neighbors, the PREVIOUS TIME THAT THIS HAPPENED, and THEY DID IT AGAIN.
I wish Leaffan had been my dad. It would have been so much more peaceful around our house. Assuming our neighbors didn’t just dismantle our house and carry it away with them.
jsgoddess’s neighbors are beyond the pale.
Goddess, howzabout an update? Call the cops? Neighbors extract equipment via helicopter?
I’ve been thinking about this on and off… You know that “I should have said ‘X’” feeling you get, when you finally think of the best reply to something two days after the encounter?
Well, this is sort of similar. The first time this happened, you were flabbergasted. You just did not know what to do – let it go, complain, call the cops, shrug it off.
But you’ve had an entire year of time to work through your feelings about having your neighbors abuse your property without so much as a ‘by the way’ in advance, and not even out of ‘necessity’ but purely to avoid having to fix damage in their own property.
So I’m guessing you already knew what you were going to do. And since you didn’t say anything like “I called the cops/a lawyer/the scariest guy I know” in your post, I’m guessing what you decided to do was…well, bend over and take it.
Which I wish you wouldn’t do. People who simply let bullies (and that’s really what your neighbors are) get away with their actions just confirm to bullies that their way pays off: they get what they want, and if their victim moans about them somewhere? So what. They got away with pushing some around to this degree, and that makes them just a bit more likely to continue on trampling others and maybe in even worse ways.
Basically, if you don’t do anything that shows them that bad actions result in bad consequences, you’re enabling them.
(Sorry, I don’t mean to blame the victim, but… Well, my grandmother said to me once: If you turn yourself into a doormat, don’t whine when people wipe their shoes on you.)
Sorry, I should be updating.
First, to answer some questions: My BIL isn’t in zoning any longer. I called the cops (or, in this town rather, I called the cop, there’s only one. His name is Jim, not Barney, more’s the pity.) but I got the voicemail and yes, you all can mock me relentlessly but I felt stupid leaving a message.
Before I left for work yesterday, I propped the fence back up, put a bright yellow garden cart in front of it, and stuck a sign on it that repeated that they do not have my permission to touch jack shit.
When I got home, everything was still in place. There were no cars in the neighbor’s driveway. I went into the back and mowed and weeded and replanted/resettled a lilac that they had knocked over (those poor damned shrubs), and no one came out to their backyard, or even to their pool. Cars came and went from their drive.
So, I haven’t seen anyone and nothing has happened. I don’t know if they are trying to avoid me, or if it’s just coincidence.
No. I had zero thought that this incredibly odd and unusual thing would ever happen again.
I would never consider so much as playing volleyball on my neighbor’s lot, let alone driving heavy equipment through a fence without permission (though I’d imagine they figured permission wouldn’t be granted, so why waste time asking).
My neighbor asked if they could take down THEIR OWN FENCE, fercrissakes. We were amused that they thought it was ours. We granted permission. 
Right, my neighbor asked if I minded if he re-painted his own fence since he would have to come on my side to paint it.
That’s how good neighbors communicate.
So is this an exception to the old saw that “Good fences make good neighbors”?
Or is js’ problem that she simply didn’t construct a good enough fence?
Might I recommend these guys? Maybe inquire about their razor wire and electrified options?
Screw that. One of the few things that can get me riled up like nothing else is people messing with the yard that I have put so much time, money, and effort into. Do not mess with my yard. You might have touched on something that would actually get Canadians to take up arms - mess with our yards!
We need to do some work on our fence this year, and we fully intend to talk to the neighbours about it first. It’s the neighbourly thing to do. I guess some people missed that life lesson growing up, like they missed the lessons on not parking in the fire lane and not butting into lines and not taking 20 items through the 10 items only line. In other words, some people just weren’t raised right.