Combative Neighbors

[Pukeballs]

I was wondering if the OP had looked into getting an electric trailer dolly. http://www.powermoverinc.net/htmls/pmdcmovers.html .

Without the added length of the truck, I bet he could use a dolly and easily back the trailer in there. Seems like a better way to go then having a pissed off neighbor. One flaming arrow out of the neighbors front door and bye bye garage. JMO. Of course its his property to begin with and should be able to do what he wants with his property.

 

[bczygan]

OK,
We've had great fun looking at the might have beens on this project. What's done is done. I just went back and looked at the original thread and am impressed with what a gorgeous design this garage is. We should all give the OP props for a great build and hope he gets many years of fun from it. It is here:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=76341&page=1

Bill

 

[brownbagg]

I reread the post too, and I would have no problem at all living in the flag house. build a brick wall from house to garage corner. have a private entrance, little private garden. Like a town home but with parking

 

[SnowBlaZeR2]

One flaming arrow out of the neighbors front door and bye bye garage. JMO.

Bye bye ******* neighbors too. Bye bye to prison for arson.

Get two birds stoned at once.

 

[matty d]

ahh human nature...re. your neighbor: people should be kind to one another...after all, you never know who will be your roomate at the old folks home when the house gets sold, sheds, garages and all!

 

[Super6]

This is a somewhat difficult post. On one hand the garage itself is close to what I want to build and for what it is worth, it was done very tastefully.

The problem with the building structure is the property is being held hostage to RV storage. If we removed the RV from the equation the garage could have easily ended up in the other corner.

The bulk of this thread revolves around finding enough turning radius for the RV. If it were me I would have built the garage in the upper corner and parked the RV off site at a second location. More hassle, more expense but you would have had better relations with the neighbour. To be honest I hate looking at RV's regardless of what season it is.

 

[56nash]

WOW, just read this whole thread. This is so much like the situation I am in now. I bought a house in an existing neighborhood 9 years ago. It is a corner lot with a great view of the Salt Lake Valley. The lot slopes about 9 feet front to back and the original homeowner had the home built with a driveway both from the front of the lot and from the side with a garage downstairs and a carport above. I saw the future possibility of two 24x24 garages and my wife liked the house, win win right? Well I have a neighbor to the side of me separated by the road, widow who has lots of time on her hands. She has tried to help me live every aspect of my life by calling the county zoning folks on me at every turn. The 45 year old wood fence along the side of my property blew down the first year we were there, I decided I liked the look of a steel fences, decorative open panels since I had no privacy anyway due to the slope of the lot and the fact her house as essentially two stories at the end where it overlooked my backyard. My first intro to her way of doing business was the note on my door from zoning that I had a "derelict" vehicle on my property. It was a 1968 Barracuda, restored but out of registration by 1 month. I had moved from California and had to re-register it in March when I moved. March is still snow season here and road salt too, so a vehicle that will not be driven till May was the first bug up her fanny. The other was the "pile of scrap metal" on my carport upstairs. This pile of scrap metal were the bundles of fresh cut metal from the steel supplier that were being welded each night in my lower garage so that I could have all the panels finished when the thaw came and erect the fence. The nice lady from the county made an appointment and came back out to look things over with me and found no violation was in order. I could go on, but it suffices to say we have had multiple calls to the county and have had nothing but grief from this woman. I have since enclosed the 24x24 carport upstairs into a garage and all the other neighbors think it looks great, but have heard nothing good from her in 9 years. She gets upset if we grill steaks or burgers out back with friends if the breeze takes the smells her way and will stand on her porch, hands on her hips and stare at us in our own back yard. I can only hope she will die soon and relieve the discomfort we live with. I know karma is a *****, but I really will not miss her when she kicks it. I now fully recognize why her deceased husband ended it at the end of a rope in the detatched garage she has out back on her lot. If I had to live with her I would have swung from a rope or died from a lead overdose.

I have to say to the OP, as much as people have tried to portray you as the bad guy, I don't care how bad the street view picture was, it is your land to do with as you please. Enjoy what you have and eventually the thorn behind you will go away or die. Or if you are lucky maybe they will just continue to give you the silent treatment.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Slightly off topic.

I live in a typical suburban neighborhood. Mostly ranch homes and a a few tri-levels, 2 car garages on your typical suburban 1/4 acre lot.

A few years ago Grizzly Adams moves in. His hobby is chopping and burning wood. Not in a fireplace or stove, but out side in one of those portable "fire pits". This goes on year round. Winter, spring, summer, fall.

I happen to have a tri-level home that is located "down wind". Even when the temp cools off on summer evenings we have to run the A/C or the bedroom (upper level) smells like a campground well past midnight. Lots of time the fire is burning and there is no watching it.

Of course we have asked, but it is his "right" to stink up the neighborhood any night of the week he chooses.

The way I read the zoning ordinances, anything that release "noxious fume" is a violation, but neither the city cops nor the county zoning will enforce it.

Any ideas, short of soaking his wood pile in gasoline and starting it on fire ?

 

[wed4life]

I may have missed the obvious here, but I think a front mounted 2" receiver hitch would put that trailer right where you wanted it. I do agree though, that it is your property, and should be able to do as you wish.
David

 

[BBQ&Love]

I think the problem with your neighbour's property is simply that the house is not well sited.

Bingo. I don't see anything stupid about the back lot. What was stupid was the house design and siting. That could have been a sweet lot.

 

[scott37300]

Slightly off topic.

I live in a typical suburban neighborhood. Mostly ranch homes and a a few tri-levels, 2 car garages on your typical suburban 1/4 acre lot.

A few years ago Grizzly Adams moves in. His hobby is chopping and burning wood. Not in a fireplace or stove, but out side in one of those portable "fire pits". This goes on year round. Winter, spring, summer, fall.

I happen to have a tri-level home that is located "down wind". Even when the temp cools off on summer evenings we have to run the A/C or the bedroom (upper level) smells like a campground well past midnight. Lots of time the fire is burning and there is no watching it.

Of course we have asked, but it is his "right" to stink up the neighborhood any night of the week he chooses.

The way I read the zoning ordinances, anything that release "noxious fume" is a violation, but neither the city cops nor the county zoning will enforce it.

Any ideas, short of soaking his wood pile in gasoline and starting it on fire ?

Pretty sure wood burning isn't "noxious fume". It's a form of heat. If your neighbor farts and you're down wind are you going to call the cops because it's "noxious fume"? I go camping a lot in the summer and actually like the smell of camp fires, it's what we use to stay warm at night and cook our food. If he is throwing wild parties that is one thing but if they are sitting around a fire having some drinks then leave them alone. I grew up around a fire each night. If the city lets him than not much you can do. There is more important things in life to worry about.

 

[SGKent]

great post but I would not buy either home. Worse, both homes are about the same size so what you have is two similar homes, one with a detached shop / garage and one without. Everytime the one to the back sells for pennies on the dollar it will create a low comparable sale that will work against the one in the front. The shop could have been angled and set to allow for a row of trees at an angle that would have given the back home some isolation and in doing so made both homes worth more. I feel bad for both parties. Best guess is the guy to the back will turn it into a rental and then watch the home values fall. The shop is clearly within the law but you can be legal and still lose money. I mow my neighbors yard when he is lazy because it keeps the property values in here higher. Presentation and location are everything in Real Estate.

 

[cowboyjosh]

I have a "*******" neighbor caddy corner behind me. When I bought my house I also bought the custom home site behind my house, cause I didn't want a taller house then mine behind me, well the neighbor who's a real ***** built on the second lot in because they wanted a neighbor on the lot that I bought. Its been a handful of years and he and his wife are still pissed, we don't communicate other then giving each other the finger when the situation warrants itself. I had some more landscape done, he claimed my water was draining into his yard, he called the city, county, a engineer, etc; only for all of them to tell him that he was "nuts", all I could do was laugh. I told him and his wife many of time that they could have bought the lot and built a house there and sold it as a spec or let the lot vacant like I do. From what I hear buying a adjacent lot as I did causes allot of friction between neighbors, much like garages and outbuildings, obviously.

I think the original post is funny as hell, what person in their right mind would buy a lot where their front yard is someone else's back yard? I wonder that on my own street we have a couple homes built on flag type lots.

 

[Garage5.9]

WOW, just read this whole thread. This is so much like the situation I am in now. I bought a house in an existing neighborhood 9 years ago. It is a corner lot with a great view of the Salt Lake Valley. The lot slopes about 9 feet front to back and the original homeowner had the home built with a driveway both from the front of the lot and from the side with a garage downstairs and a carport above. I saw the future possibility of two 24x24 garages and my wife liked the house, win win right? Well I have a neighbor to the side of me separated by the road, widow who has lots of time on her hands. She has tried to help me live every aspect of my life by calling the county zoning folks on me at every turn. The 45 year old wood fence along the side of my property blew down the first year we were there, I decided I liked the look of a steel fences, decorative open panels since I had no privacy anyway due to the slope of the lot and the fact her house as essentially two stories at the end where it overlooked my backyard. My first intro to her way of doing business was the note on my door from zoning that I had a "derelict" vehicle on my property. It was a 1968 Barracuda, restored but out of registration by 1 month. I had moved from California and had to re-register it in March when I moved. March is still snow season here and road salt too, so a vehicle that will not be driven till May was the first bug up her fanny. The other was the "pile of scrap metal" on my carport upstairs. This pile of scrap metal were the bundles of fresh cut metal from the steel supplier that were being welded each night in my lower garage so that I could have all the panels finished when the thaw came and erect the fence. The nice lady from the county made an appointment and came back out to look things over with me and found no violation was in order. I could go on, but it suffices to say we have had multiple calls to the county and have had nothing but grief from this woman. I have since enclosed the 24x24 carport upstairs into a garage and all the other neighbors think it looks great, but have heard nothing good from her in 9 years. She gets upset if we grill steaks or burgers out back with friends if the breeze takes the smells her way and will stand on her porch, hands on her hips and stare at us in our own back yard. I can only hope she will die soon and relieve the discomfort we live with. I know karma is a *****, but I really will not miss her when she kicks it. I now fully recognize why her deceased husband ended it at the end of a rope in the detatched garage she has out back on her lot. If I had to live with her I would have swung from a rope or died from a lead overdose.

I have to say to the OP, as much as people have tried to portray you as the bad guy, I don't care how bad the street view picture was, it is your land to do with as you please. Enjoy what you have and eventually the thorn behind you will go away or die. Or if you are lucky maybe they will just continue to give you the silent treatment.

this part had me rollin

 

[xcgates]

Might I suggest the topic has run it's course?

 

[BBQ&Love]

Might I suggest the topic has run it's course?

Right when we are getting some funny stories?

 

[Tbucit]

I think this kind of stuff happens fairly often and I was wondering if any of you guys have also had to deal with combative neighbors during the construction of your garages?

Just read this entire post and think that the question got lost in the translation. Op was asking about others with combative neighbors. I never saw where he ask for opinions if he was right or wrong.

Randall

 

[Holedgr]

I think this kind of stuff happens fairly often and I was wondering if any of you guys have also had to deal with combative neighbors during the construction of your garages?

Just read this entire post and think that the question got lost in the translation. Op was asking about others with combative neighbors. I never saw where he ask for opinions if he was right or wrong.

Randall

Holy ****!! You don't want to get me started....One day, when my palace is done....I'll start a thread and post pics with a whole mess of a story to accompany it...

-T

 

[Colonial Cobra]

Doug was well within all his rights, morally and legally. He might not realize it yet, but the neighbors did him a favor by not agreeing to the common drive.

Life can be a Biatch when you don't think about the future, especially with such a major purchase like a house and property. I happen to own a piece of property that is a pan handle (flag) lot, fortunately I have 2 acres. I own the driveway, but the deed allows the neighbors full use and access to my driveway. I happened to buy it from family, but, it has been a constant pain in my side since my family subsequently sold and moved on. I knew what I was in for when I bought it, and nothing is any different than what I expected.

IMHO the neighbors did you a great favor by forcing your hand to place your garage where it is and maintain full use and access, to your own property, by your own property, even if it came at greater financial cost to you. Not to mention the visually impaired cost to them.

I am of the opinion that once everyone else starts making my mortgage payment, then they can start telling me what I can and can't do with my property... Can you tell that I don't live within a HOA... I looked at over 50 - 60 houses before I finally bought the lot from my Grandparents. It's always the lesser of two evils that you and they choose.

They choose that lot and house, and if they didn't know what could happen in the future, then shame on them...

My thoughts exactly..... I'm amazed at how many people think he is in the wrong for building on the property he is paying for. The neighbors purchased a screwed up lot and have been invading his backyard privacy for 15 years. He can now enjoy his backyard without his neighbor watching.

And he now has the garage he wanted.

 

[ptschram]

I posted this in another thread but it warrants repetition.

My parents moved into the house I grew up in in 1963-I was a little guy then.

Through the years, we ended up owning two of the contiguous lots.

When we moved in, the road in front was two lanes, dirt with an open sewer on the far side.

I'll try to make this short.

The city took more than 100' of our yard, the road is now five lanes wide, and the corner one yard away is one of the ten busiest in the state.

Through the years, we'd had some problems. I bought it in 2000 and the adjacent neighborhood association was revived with the sole purpose of keeping me from selling for commercial purposes.

Four years ago, I sold the house for $10K less than twice what it appraised for. As a result, my neighbors have all suffered a significant increase in their property taxes as my selling the house for that amount raised the property values in the area-something they said I was going to do the opposite.

We moved to the country and almost immediately had the same problems due to the number of vehicles I own and running my shop from the barn behind the house. Got my zoning exception and a while later, my neighbor who claims to have an easement across my property complains to the county. Head of the building dept shows up, looks around, tells me I have a beautiful house, yard, and shop (he did ask why I owned so many Land Rovers though-LOL).

Both times, the neighbors complained, they ended up losing. I know I've got a huge redneck flag flying (let your freak flag fly?) and I may have a bunch of vehicles, but the partially disassembled ones are behind the barn.

BTW-we're zoned agricultural. If I had tractors of combines dead in my yard, they'd be completely legal.

Now for the best part. I basically told the county building department that if I don't run my shop from the barn behind the house, we'll be in foreclosure in 90 days as it's my only source of income (got fired from my job the Friday after we moved in on Saturday). You think the trucks lower your property values, just think what having an abandoned, foreclosed house next door would do. I told the complaining neighbor that I would be happy to stop running my shop here-after he buys the house from me for $250K.