What are your thoughts on my neighbor?

C

childplease_IHB

New member
First time poster, long time reader. Just bought a bank owned house, moved in a month ago and yesterday after work, pulled up to my driveway to see my neighbor using my hose/water to wash his driveway and water his grass. I got out of the car to ask what the heck he was doing. His justification was that while it was bank owned, he watered the grass on my lot and therefore was allowed to use my water. I know it's just water, but I wanted to deck the guy for such a lame response.



Instead, as the new neighbor I reluctantly said thanks, but that I wasn't the homeowner at the time and I never asked him to do it. I also asked if he stuck some fertilizer and seeds on my lawn during that time (grass is/was dead) because my gardener just put some on this week and that I could shovel it onto his lawn. I have no idea how long he planned on doing this to feel "even" or if there's a bill waiting for me in the mail...



He didn't even apologize or discuss the idea. To me, just felt like if I see your car on the driveway, claim it looked dirty and therefore washed it, now I'm entitled to borrowing it. Or that his landscaping was lacking, therefore I planted some plants and now he owes me. You don't do nice things and expect things in return...if so, don't do it. The ex-vet on the freeway off ramp you gave a few bucks to, you don't go looking for him at lunch to claim half his sandwich. To me his response was lame/ridiculous. Just wanted other people's thoughts and see if I'm the one who's being ridiculous and not in the spirit of being neighborly. Btw, my grass was DEAD when I moved in so I don't know how much he actually did water.
 
Your neighbor is full of s#it and an a$$hole. Cant blame you for wanting to knock his a$$ out. What kind of person would even think it is ok to use your neighbors water?



I personally would not stand for this. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Keep us posted on whether he continues to use your water and what happens.
 
Chances are he didnt water. Most than likely he felt entitled to use the water because the house was bank owned and for whatever reason felt like he was kind of sticking it to "the man"



If I were you, Id let it go this time. But Id be wary as heck of people like that in the future.



Good luck with your new house and neighborhood!
 
I would just politely remind him that you live in the house now and you are paying the water bill, not the bank. That is pretty ridiculous but remember that you just moved in and you may have to live next door to him for a long time. Try to find some common ground or anything you have in common so you can try to get off to a better start.
 
It seems like your neighbour thought you were a squatter. Now that you have clarified that you are the owner he should stop that.
 
I dont blame him for using the water while the house was bank owned, but to use it after the new owner has moved in (and giving you a lame/false excuse) - thats just stealing (mind you - prior to you moving in it was stealing from the bank - but since our taxes are going to the banks I don't have any qualms about that)
 
Thanks for the responses...we'll see what happens. Also, I'm a first time homebuyer and don't know protocol for neighborly behavior and wanted to hear other people's thoughts. Btw, this is a house in a gated community in the nice part of Fullerton...I didn't expect neighbors like this.



Finally now that I've posted, always wanted to say thanks to those active on this blog. So many times I wanted to buy, but I'd come here, read the blog and forums and postpone the home purchase. It's saved me a lot of money so thank you. I wish I could of continued waiting, but I just had a daughter and the wife insisted we leave the apartment so finally bit the bullet. Thanks again...and now that I own a home, I'm hoping you're all wrong about housing going forward.
 
I think there is some confusion over whose water he used while it was an REO. One could read it to mean he used his OWN water on your home's grass and now wants to use your water on his to be "reimbursed"... or, are you saying he used your home's water then and still wants to use it now. I am pretty sure you meant the first scenario where he used his water on your... err, the bank's... lawn before you bought it.
 
He was trespassing on your property. Hopefully now that he knows you are there, he won't do it again, but if he does I would just tell him that you would prefer that he not do it. Unless he's a total nutter, I doubt he will. If he is a total nutter and does it again after you have clearly told him not, then I would call the police.



One of things about buying bank owned properties is that the neighbors were used to it not being occuppied. Our neighbors to the east were so relieved when we bought ours, but the ones to the west were very difficult. They were used to throwing garbage on the lawn, over the fence, tromping on the property to short cut, making noise as they saw fit, etc... They didn't like it when we told them not to do these things and it was a very tense relation. They were renters so did not have the same thinking as owners do about their neighborhood.



They ended up getting evicted and the new tenants are respectful. Maybe the other ones wouldn't have behaved they way they did if we were here before they moved in, but they always had this attitude of "we were here first and we have the right to do as we please." If your neighbor is an owner and again, not a total nutter, then he will most likely want to keep things cordial.
 
My only concerns/experiences as an adult with neighbors was banging on common walls to shut each other up. had no idea buying a house = guarding water sources. thanks for the suggestion.

About sending an invoice...I want to go home and hose down his windows and expensive car, then knock on the door to tell him he owed me $10 for the spray down. But more than anything, I'm just really hoping it doesn't happen again. Cause if it did, I'm sure my wife would unleash the collar and give the ok for me to whip some @$$.
 
trespassing... stealing.... I'd caution against feeding/inciting a situation that may otherwise be relatively benign. Keep in mind that you're going to have to live next door to this person, and the last thing you want to do is elevate this to the Hatfield and McCoys. Whether or not the neighbor had bona fide neighborly intentions, I think the focus needs to be how you resolve this going forward. Your intial response was great, if it happens again, its worth a deeper conversation. As a community, however, i don't think we should be feeding the tension.
 
[quote author="MojoJD" date=1255140421]Following from the above post, your neighbor committed theft. HE WAS STEALING! Period. Trespassing to boot. Technically, you would be justified in filing a police report. He came onto your property, uninvited, for the purpose of using your resources without permission. Any of his statements about going over there while it was bank-owned do not justify his actions; rather - they admit a pattern of trespassing in the past.



It doesn't matter who owned the house at any period of time. He didn't own it. And maybe the next resident would not even want a live lawn. In this drought-conscious era, perhaps they wanted to plant indigenous low-water foliage.



"Childplease" - defend your property and don't take shit from this guy. Call the cops next time and be confident in your convictions if/when you should happen to confront this issue again.</blockquote>


Chill out. Give the guy a break, start a good relationship with the neighbor.



What you are describing is reasonable after the second or third occurence.
 
[quote author="Roo" date=1255141643]

Chill out. Give the guy a break, start a good relationship with the neighbor.



What you are describing is reasonable after the second or third occurence.</blockquote>


Bad idea... the most important thing when moving into a new home and meeting your new neighbors is to establish dominance.
 
[quote author="acpme" date=1255144139][quote author="Roo" date=1255141643]

Chill out. Give the guy a break, start a good relationship with the neighbor.



What you are describing is reasonable after the second or third occurence.</blockquote>


Bad idea... the most important thing when moving into a new home and meeting your new neighbors is to establish dominance.</blockquote>


Kinda like moving into prison.
 
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