Freak Neighbor

[Pats300zx]

I have lived in a townhome for the last 13 years and spend a lot of time on my lawn and home as I do my cars. I always found it rewarding to have folks stop you on the street and tell you how nice your home looked. My former neighbor was a single mother and I pretty much took care of her lawn for her with fertilizing it (at my own expense) and taking care of a large tree and island that separated our properties.
I love spending time outside doing stuff so for me it was very relaxing and therapeutic.

My former neighbor recently moved and a single 30-35 year old male moved into the home. Everything seemed to go fine until one day when he told me that he was having the property surveyed to see where the exact property line was. I didn’t really know what to say and basically shrugged it off. I had an idea where the property line might be but really didn’t care about it all that much. It wasn’t like I was putting up a fence or something. It’s a small townhome so it really didn’t bother me. As long as my home looked good that was all I cared about. We had a great neighborhood. Folks would cut each others grass if others were on vacation etc.

Well this week I come home from a very hard day at work to see several large stakes throughout my property with large flags at the top and “PROPERTY LINE” written up the side. Imagine a elongated regtangle and the property line going from a portion of it diagonally. The surveyor who designed the property must have had a martini lunch that day cause I can’t figure out what he was thinking when the lines were drawn.

Based on the survey, I was actually shocked to find out how much property I might have lost and that the large island with the tree that we shared was actually my neighbors. I knew the tree might be on the line and I had planted nice flowers and bushes in the island which made both of our homes looking good.

The other day I am out cutting my grass as normal and the next door neighbor comes flying out of his home ,runs down the steps, and starts screaming at me. He starts pointing his finger in my face and yelling that can’t I see where the property line is and what am I doing. I responded that I was just cutting my grass like I always do. He proceeds to rant that he paid a ton of money to find out where the property line was and I should be respecting his property. I told him that I am cutting my grass and to get out of my way and proceeded to keep cutting. My neighbor proceeds to get a video camera and video tape me for 45 mintues cutting my grass. At times I may have crossed over where the property stakes were.

When I was done he continued to scream and ask why I wasn’t respecting his property. To keep the situation from escalating I told him “whatever” and to basically stay on his property and leave me alone.

I see this problem escalating and getting ugly. They guy is not the type to care for his property (ie no flowers, scrubs, etc). He bascially cuts the grass and that’s it.

I have thought that its possibly time to move. I can’t stand the tension that is going to occur on a daily basis with this “wacko”.

Any Autopian input on this one and what I should do to keep my insanity???

[dietoremain]

A shotgun and some bleach.
jk jk

Man im sorry that sounds really horrible. I couldnt imagine that. Im glad you take pride in your lawn, my lawn well its not much of a lawn since I sorta park on it.

It sounds like hes just trying to start crap for no reason.. tell him he can put up a fence if he has beef and to leave you alone. sheesh..

[BigAl3]

looks like your neighbor approached it ALL the wrong way at first, and hadn't even come up to you to meet & greet himself into the neighborhood...

also... keep cool with him, you wouldn't want to come out of the house one morning to see a nice long key mark across your ride...

[natebood]

Wow, sucks to hear that man. Some people are just that anal about such minor things. I imagine if he freaks over something of this nature, forget about having a bbq or anything else that may produce some noise.

We recently moved into a new subdivision (currently no neighbors on either side) and I dread thinking of what may move into next to us.

[mikebai1990]

Wow.. It must be unbearable to have such an a** as your neighbor, that's just disgusting... As you've mentioned, I also realize how important good neighbors are. We just had a new family move in next to our house, and from what I can see, they are very friendly and I'm glad that's the case. We also have great neighbors across from the street, one who loves detailing his car (we discuss car detailing sometimes), and another who is nice enough to help snowblow our front sidewalk in the winter. It's really awesome, and I'm very thankful for such great neighbors.

As for your situation... I can't believe someone else would have a problem with you mowing their lawn... I mean, I certainly wouldn't mind doing a bit less work But since he's so insistent on you keeping off the property, I guess you should just keep your own side of your property to prevent further animosity. As BigAl3 said, you certainly don't want to start a feud with your neighbors, it's gonna get ugly. Wow... the more I read, so more I'm disgusted. HE TOOK A VIDEO CAMERA??? That's just.. insane. He barely knows you and he's already looking to take legal action to prevent you from touching his property?

I really feel bad for you, but I don't know how bad it is, so is it really so bad that you are seriously considering moving?

[Pats300zx]

Yes I have actually considered moving. The tension of having to deal with someone like this on a daily basis just sucks.

I kinda figured with the that with the new property line that he just wanted to know where it was. I was just going to cut to complete the rectangle when I cut my lawn to make it look neater instead of a diagnol cut on a rectangle. Oh well. Its not like I was planting corn or something.. GRRRRRRRRR

I can see this progressing into legal action if I don't just suck it up.

[zoomzoom mazda5]

When you brought you home and like everyone else in this country , you should have a copy of the survey that they did on you property when you close on it. Try looking for it and it might show you your property line all around your home.

[FMINUS]

Laws suck and so do people.
And get off his property......

[BlueZero]

Wow, that sucks. I just bought a house about a month ago. I wanted to put up a fence right away so I could get a dog but figured I would wait till next year. I didn't want to be the guy that put up a fence with out getting to know the neighbors first. Hope it all works out, maybe hire your own surveyor and put up a privacy fence so you don't have to deal with him. It's sad that you would have to do that but maybe it's for the best.

I work for an architectural firm and deal with surveys on a daily bases. Most of the counties around here have access to GIS data on there websites. You can look at an aerial photo of your property with the property lines shown. If you can't find the information on your own, just go down to your local city hall. It doesn't sound like you want to start a war over it but it will at least give you an idea of how many martini's his surveyor had during lunch. If you need any help figuring out the survey or anything, just shoot me a PM. Good luck, hope it works out.

[BlueZero]

I did a little leg work for you. If your in Chester County here is the website for the GIS information... GIS

Looks like you have to pay. Around here it's all free.

[truzoom]

Is he particular about how his grass is cut? If he's the kind to not care, I don't know what the hell he would be griping about if someone was offering to cut his grass for him.

Are townhomes the same as condos? Is it a duplex type unit that you live in?

[pgp]

I would go down to the courthouse and see if there is a property map of your place. Get your own survey done if it's not too expensive if you question his results. Could he be thinking of liability issues for you cutting the lawn? Most people would not care or welcome it as it was before.