sneezer41
Well-known member
Oh,loved the middle finger 'cactus' pic, so I looked it up:
http://www.snopes.com/photos/risque/ventcover.asp
http://www.snopes.com/photos/risque/ventcover.asp
Lots of opinions here. Regardless of who was first in their construction, the OP or the neighbor, BOTH should have considered the future and its possibilities.
The OP is not void of the responsibility he has in destroying the value of property not more than 10 feet from from his own.

I am amazed by the number of people in this discussion that do not seem to understand the concept of "property rights".
The clueless neighbors bear total responsibility for their situation and dougmac is being criticized for not bending over enough to please them. That's just nuts!
Yep, sometimes it's better to be nice than right. It's a pleasure to have like minded neighbors. It's a PITA to have ones who are always nit-picking everything you do.Just because it is legal doesn't make it right, folks, or do you not have a moral compass at all?


Just because it is legal doesn't make it right, folks, or do you not have a moral compass at all?
A good friend in Michigan had a neighbor that built a beautiful garage with all the necessary permits only to have a very rich neighbor object to it. He lost (or actually gave up) after spending over 30k in legal fees and finally "removed" the garage. Being right does not really matter as much having deep pockets. See it every day with our legal system.
Seems a lot of people are confusing legal rights and property rights with "wrong and right".
Just because the law says you can do it and property rights give you the right to do it, doesn't mean that it is right to do it.
I'm sure these same people would be screaming about the immorality of someone's land being taken under imminent domain or through shrewd legal maneuvers. Just because it is legal doesn't make it right, folks, or do you not have a moral compass at all?
agree 100% i cant believe people ever bough "flag" lots that small...sure maybe a flag lot with a really long driveway back to the property would be fine but forget having your front yard bein the back yard of someone elses property. the owners of the house had a choice to allow access from their driveway vs looking at a huge building in their front yard so they have no one to blame but themselves.DuluthMN: Oh, how I wish I had YOUR neighbors!!!
Matt M, PA: Flag lots are still common in Maryland, and multiplied during the housing bubble. Stupid people buy them in droves.
dougmac: You did your due-diligence, tried to be a good neighbor and preemptively compromise, and the idiots who bought the flag lot spit in your face. Not surprising they would make the stupid choice since after all they bought the flag lot! You have nothing to feel bad about and no bad Karma. They've earned all the bad karma for buying bad and being pig-headed when the olive branch was offered to them.
My Dad taught me that when buying property, it's my responsibility to buy it right. Like buying a car. If I buy a clunker, it's my fault. When buying a house, he taught me not to buy one in a flood plain (lot's of dumb people in the world...), not to buy one on a major road (might be expanded into 4-6-8 lanes), not to buy one in an area without big setbacks (like this neighborhood), triple-check zoning on any surrounding property (so a Wally World Mega Mart doesn't spring up in the back yard), or with a wet basement, etc, etc, etc. If I ignore the advice and somebody builds a Garage Mahal six feet from my front porch, it's MY fault for buying stupid.
BTW, that is a sweet garage. Mine is a toilet bowl in a bus station by comparison...![]()
So how do you feel about someone controlling your land by building a house in a way that makes it "morally wrong" for you to use your land? Isn't this also a form of taking control of you land without compensation?
When I was able to offer them what I felt was a reasonable solution to the problem, it satisfied my moral compass. I was not legally bound to even consider their situation in any way.
As you can see by the posts here, what I felt was a "reasonable solution" seems to be very subjective..........
Seems a lot of people are confusing legal rights and property rights with "wrong and right".
Just because the law says you can do it and property rights give you the right to do it, doesn't mean that it is right to do it.
I'm sure these same people would be screaming about the immorality of someone's land being taken under imminent domain or through shrewd legal maneuvers. Just because it is legal doesn't make it right, folks, or do you not have a moral compass at all?

I do have a moral compass but I don't have a magnet pulling its needle to the left. Have yours recalibrated.

Hey, its a two way street.. Just because it was legal for the neighbor in back to build his house 5 feet from the first guys backyard doesnt give him the right to then forever prevent the guy in front from building the garage he's always wanted in his back yard just because he might block their "view". That's just idiotic. If you have any expectation of privacy / no neighbors building anything in front of you, then you better buy a big plot of land, and build IN THE MIDDLE OF IT.. not in someone elses back yard.
![]()
Something is wrong with the ‘system’ if zoning, setbacks, building permits, or what ever allow a situation like this to occur. I’m guessing this one isn’t over yet, although it sure looks like the little guy got a royal feckin.
Reminds me of a saying an old friend used to say... you can be right and you can be dead right.
First you put your neighbor in 'check', then 'check mate'… wasn’t like there was much if any genuine consideration or negotiations here!
Hope your neighbor has more compassion than you or might find yourself being dead right.
I’m sure glad I don’t live near you and wonder how you can sleep well at night. Sometimes when you win, you still lose.
The zoning ordinances were well in place before the neighbor decided to buy & build on the flag lot behind the OP. They too, should have known, or researched at least, all the variables that the OP has within his rights of owning the land to do to his lot. They too, should have thought about orienting their house in a manner different from which they eventually wound up building it. When the neighbors bought the flag lot, some ~5 years or so after the OP had already been living on his property...they should have amicably approached the OP and talked at length about future plans, etc. so they could have positioned their house in a manner that wouldn't affect them down the road.
First you put your neighbor in 'check', then 'check mate'… wasn’t like there was much if any genuine consideration or negotiations here!
Duh! what did you think was going to happen? It has nothing to do with morals, and everything to do with being a goddamn idiot. They made the bad decision, They can deal with the consequences.![]()
OMG!!! I am crying from laughing so hard!!

So you are saying the neighbor bears no responsibility for building or buying a house in a terrible position on a terrible lot?
And that dougmac shouldn't be able to build his dream garage because his neighbor did so?
That the neighbor's view trumps dougmac's dreams and the money that he paid to buy a lot where he could build a garage?
I think you are on the wrong forum. This is the one for people who don't think owning land gives the owner the moral right to legally develop it and people bear no responsibility for their own stupidity: http://www.cpusa.org/
People here are mixing up what’s moral and what’s legal.
Once that house was allowed to be built where it exits and given that it was 15 years ago, it was just wrong to build another structure in front of it like that.
I didn’t say the neighbor bears no responsibility, I said this system failed. How the hell whoever built that house on that property like that is beyond comprehension, but it happened. I hate codes and regulation just as much as the next guy, but they are a fact of life and meant to keep things like this from happening.
As a totally non-biased by standard, I still say what the OP might have been legally within his rights, but wasn’t right for doing it. Once that house was allowed to be built where it exits and given that it was 15 years ago, it was just wrong to build another structure in front of it like that.
Doesn’t anyone remember the old sayings like two wrongs don’t make a right or do onto others as you would have others do unto you…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Golden_Rule
It’s not law, it’s the Golden Rule. Break the golden rule and it’s considered immoral or unethical. People here are mixing up what’s moral and what’s legal.
I don't think they're mixing it up at all. The problem is that legality is fairly concrete while morality is highly subjective.


That and I'm sticking to my guns that I am sure glad I don't live anywhere near you.
![]()
I agree with this statement 100%.
All you all that think it's morally okay to stick it to your neighbor like this have a different moral compass than me… that’s all. I will restate my position from right or wrong and leave it at different.
That and I'm sticking to my guns that I am sure glad I don't live anywhere near you.
![]()
I guess I shouldn't ***** when my neighborhood association gets bent out of shape because my mailbox isn't the correct shape of taupe. I could be living somewhere where it’s a screw or be screwed world.
Maybe I’m living in Camelot where we treat our neighbors with respect and enjoy one another’s company. I’ve never had it any other way.
Honestly, as I read this thread I felt sorry for the OP until I saw the pictures. I don’t care what anyone says, there is no doubt in my mind he stuck to the man; within his rights, yes no doubt. I guess that’s normal out wherever this is… my guess, out east somewhere.
What would I have done? As if it matters, I’d come up with a plan that was congruent with the existing buildings and properties. If that wasn’t feasible, I’d move. As much as I like the garage by itself, it looks like **** in the bigger picture. Personally, I wouldn’t want a garage that looks like it was stuck on the neighbor’s front porch… that’s not my idea of a dream garage.
Like they say, everyone is entitled to their own opinions… and you know what they say about those. Now if I could only constrain myself to what my mom said about if you don’t have something nice to say…

