Do You Have a Neighbor from Hell?
By: Diane Tuman, Content Manager | March 23, 2007
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Ah, neighbors — you either love ‘em, you put up with them, or - yes— you even hate them. Last week, the Inman blog had a post about a Noisy Neighbor from Hell (subscription wall, sorry). And just this week, an oldie but goodie was making the e-mail rounds in which a neighbor war in Utah led one neighbor to install a vent on his house in the shape of the middle finger salute (photo above). He would not remove it until his neighbors apologized. They did and he did.
Both of these stories brought back bad memories of my own noisy, rude, obnoxious neighbor who moved in next to me here in Seattle about 4 years ago. Like any city parcel, the lots are small and the eaves of the houses nearly touch — that’s how tight things are. So when our dear, reliable, responsible, smart, courteous neighbor sold her house and moved, she sold it to someone who is her polar opposite: rude, inconsiderate, and vulgar. Our new neighbor was a single mom, was about 20-something and had a young, 4-year-old daughter about our daughter’s age.
- The first thing my neighbor-from-hell did was install a 6-foot stockade-style fence around her property with the “nice side” facing her property. Isn’t that a no-no?
- Up until 1 a.m. most nights, she would sit on the steps of her front porch — with 2-3 friends — and drink wine and smoke cigarettes, laughing and talking as if no one else existed. Our bedroom happened to be in front, right above this nightly party and we could hear EVERYTHING as the cigarette smoke wafted through our bedroom window. When we asked if she would keep it down or move inside, they became belligerent, vulgar, and even louder.
- One night while taking my trash out to the back yard, I heard grunting coming from her backyard and yup, you got it, she was having sex with her boyfriend on the back deck that was high enough not to be blocked by her stockade fence. I should’ve just run for my camera, but somehow my first thought was, “We need to move.”
We did eventually move for job reasons, but when I hear others tell their bad neighbor stories, my stomach churns with the same, sickening feeling I had with my neighbor-from-hell. It was so bad I never wanted to come home from work, which is pretty bad! Maybe that “Make My Neighbor Move” feature suggestion wasn’t so far-fetched after all.
P.S. I wish I had this guy to help counsel me. Lots of hellish stories here…
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- Categories: Friday Fun, Real Estate, Zillow
Comments
12 Comments so far
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Rome tours on March 23, 2007 9:50 am
Well,you are not happy after this paradise people connection?
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr….I had killed them
J Asorth on March 28, 2007 12:04 am
Sure Zillow comes off like they they have the key to the knowledge room. In fact Zillow has
very little clue what some prices are or how to figure estimates for
exterior upgrades such as permitted
buildings and so on. To top it off
the site doe’s not work right, if you try and change your info or better yet correct the Zillow morons mistakes, you can’t get in. The site will say we already have an account with your e-mail address, you just need to reset your password. So you try to do this , they e-mail a site address to do this, yep!!! you guessed it, you can’t get in. To top it off I have e-mailed these idiots at least ten times with all the problems, their mistakes to lack of correct prices. They refuse to correct or let you correct
anything. Not much of a site, how can you sell your home on this site when they have it undervalued by as much as fifty percent, JERKS.
Robert on May 21, 2007 12:45 pm
When I was growing up as a kid, a new set of neighbors moved in with two Scottish Terrier dogs. The would yap non-stop 24/7. The owners were very passive and my parents attempted to discuss it with them, but a week later, the same old yapping occurred 24/7. My brother and I would play out back and here them yap in discontentment. Needless to say, my brother and I loved peanut butter. My brother came up with the bright idea of placing a very thick mound of peanut butter in a couple of wallered out dinner rolls, and threw it over the fence to give them something to eat and shut them up. The next day, the dogs ate the peanut butter, and damned near choked to death. My brother and I scrammed inside not wanting to get into trouble, and the next few days, the dogs were not found outside. Evidently, both dogs came down with a bad case of the runs, and a month or two later, the neighbors house was up for sale. I guess that’s one way to shut a dog up and cause the neighbor to move out.
Jo on October 8, 2007 3:01 pm
My neighbor is very discourteous, loud, and noisy! They have a big growling, barking dog. That disturbs the peace in my quiet neighborhood. NOBODY ELSE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD HAS A BIG GROWLING, BARKING DOG LIKE THIS!They even keep it outside barking and barking super loudly in the winter time!(All year round.) They are very, very discourteous this way. When they are going somewhere in their car they slam their car door 6 or 7 times for each person, when they are getting into and out of their car! VERY LOUD AND DISTURBING!! They wheel their huge garbage can down and then back up the gravel driveway making such a LOUD DISTURBING NOISE—IT IS SCARY!!!
Jessica on April 16, 2008 10:29 am
Hey I liked your blog so much I posted it on Yearbook.com
Tawnya on April 16, 2008 1:58 pm
If you think you have neighbor problems you should try being 36 and living in a co-ed dorm! These teenagers are like a bunch of monkeys. There is no privacy and certainly no room to grow! I have learned threw my dorm room experience to live in a smaller space and be happy doing it. The small houses might really work after all.
jojo on May 11, 2008 1:15 pm
my mum lives next to a women who has tryed to run her over 3 times in the past 2 years, has her family laught in my mums face calls her and f ing cow gets her young girls to insult my mum mum is 60 she is 43 and how did it all start you wonder well it was when we brought my dad home to die and asked if they could keep the noise down a bit then all hell broke loss, what am i doing to help mum not what i would like to do to her but she is the type of person who would go the police if you raised ur hand to her, its about time we stood up to these bullies at the end of the day why should they be aloud to get away with it, we did the last time she tryed to run mum over its all in the hands of the police.
Gene on June 4, 2008 5:47 pm
I have an obnoxious neighbor that has a howling (not barking) dog that howls late into the wee hours. I filed a complaint and they counterfiled a complaint saying I was stalking their daughter and had a surveillance team monitor my movements. After that didn’t work, she had some bouncer come over and pay me a visit. Want to trade neighbors?
Gene on June 4, 2008 5:48 pm
I have an obnoxious neighbor that has a howling (not barking) dog that howls late into the wee hours. I filed a complaint and they counterfiled a complaint saying I was stalking their daughter and had a surveillance team monitor my movements. After that didn’t work, she had some bouncer come over and pay me a visit. Want to trade neighbors?
jenny on June 24, 2008 11:14 am
my neighbor does not have a dog or do anything but complain about us. to every agency he can. He doesnt like anyone and the whole neighborhood hates him but he keeps on trying to bully people.
We have cats and he puts out a capture cage and if he catches them they will disappear we found out when we first moved and it happend. so we got a couple more cats and he called animal control saying we had 25 cats. then i started building a little fish pond in the back yard he called the health department. i put up my pool the lines for it were drawn a month before it was put up but he called zoning for it being to close to his fence. i tried to talk to him from the sidewalk and he called the police on me. then it was dcfs because i have babysitting in my home. then he assulted me for putting something on my side of the fence because it is his fence: funny how it made sure he couldnt see thru it accept at my bedroom window. i called the police and they did nothing about him assulting me saying i was trespassing. last night the police were here cause someone stole his capture cage. I am afraid of the man i would never go on his property but he called the landlord 4 times today telling them something bad is gonna happen to me towmarrow. we do not throw parties we are not trashy we do not have a yappy dog or make noise at night, the only noisy time is when the kids are in the pool.
i am at my wits end on what to do about him, moving is not an option. it takes everything i make to just keep my head above water now i have this man trying to run me off.
Just to let you know all the places he has turned me into were unfounded but it gets annoying not knowing who is gonna knock on my door next with a complaint.
Jay on June 29, 2008 4:45 am
Omg!I came home from a nightcap at the bar around midnight one night and turned into my lane to shine my headlights on my neighbors teen daughter and some guy having sex right in the strip of grass on the street. Right under the street light and last week condoms were found by my husba d under a rock when he was mowing the grass. Gross! When I saw them I yelled to them to beat it and go have sex in front of someone elses house that if I found them there again I would call the cops. I am so mad right now!
judy on August 15, 2008 3:32 pm
my upstairs neighbor started doing construction in January. I was on chemotherapy at the time and asked that he at least let me know which days would be tolerable at home because it was difficult for me to get out of the house to avoid the assault. he wouldn’t talk to me. His contractor tried to help, but he fired the contractor, which I found out later because i was draging myself out every morning & staying out all day to avoid the impossible noise, even though it turned out I didn’t have to be. he started again in March. In June I finally lost it, spoke to the manager who said she’d try to find out what they’re doing. the told her there was a week worth of work left till they demolish the wall between apartments- whcih they didn’t have the permit for yet. Four weeks later, she finally made them stop . they said they had a week’s worth of work to do after the wall demolishion. two days ago (we’re now in August) I get a note (I’m supposed to be grateful that i was warned ) that it’ll be going on for three more months. the manager said she got a schedule so i can plan my life and that according to the schedule it should be over before three months. well, according to schedule, the wall demolishing was supposed to happend yesterday and today. it didn’t. they’re lying doing whatever they please and getting away with it while i can’t live in my own home.