We lived in a small townhome community in VA, with one crazy guy. We decided to replace our original windows (which were horrible) and found that the wood around the windows was rotted (most of the homes were brick, just the area around the front windows had wood). My H was on the HOA board so we talked to them and replaced the wood with siding in an approved color by the board. We had emails to prove approval and color was extremely close but not exact.

Well, the crazy guy threw a fit. The "color change" affected the whole neighborhood. He decided that he was going sue us and the HOA board over this change. So...he was going to pay for his OWN lawyers, and also (through HOA payments) pay for the HOA lawyers as well. It was ridiculous. Everyone else was like, your house looks so much better.

Eventually he dropped it. But he had his "those people are trying to take over" moments (directed at our lovely, sweet Middle Eastern neighbors). Our president at one point was an awesome Jewish guy with an Asian wife...they eventually sold and left due to this guy. I can't say it wasn't a factor when we sold, since my H isn't white.

The funny thing is after we left, he complained to the county about the mailboxes in an open space that would occasionally flood. Fix it! he said. WELL. The mailboxes didn't have a permit to be where they were so the county moved them to a much less inconvenient spot outside the community. Thanks, crazy guy! Sometimes these kind of people create MORE problems than less.

Our elderly (and crotchety yet talkative) neighbor had a large (and dying) tree in their backyard, close to the fence line. Branches would hang over our property, often dropping branches or touch our car when under the weight of rain, so we would trim what hung over our property only. She would always have an absolute fit when we would do this, would tell us we were killing her tree, and she loved that tree.

One year she started paying a professional annually to trim (and trim and trim) the whole tree. And not to be kind, but because we were “probably killing her tree”.

One day she came out to tell me it was going to be cut down, to let me know they may have to access our driveway to trim and clean up. Then she went on to tell me she was sad, explaining me she had pushed her children, and then her grandchildren, in a swing hung from the lowest branch. They had played under its shade. The tree was full of memories. She loved that tree.

They came and cut down the tree and cleaned up well, but oddly enough, left a perfect circular “slice” of the tree propped up on our side of the fence. My husband took a little sander to it and cleaned it up so it was smooth, and I brought it over to her, telling her I thought maybe she’d like to keep the slice of tree, since it held so many memories.

“I don’t want that! I hated that damn tree!”

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a DINK who is so aware that I don't know what it's like in the trenches. My new next door neighbors have an old 2 year old and a 4. year old. Constantly running around in the street barefoot. Come streaming out of no where at 9pm. Driving their little cars in the street completely unattended. I find balls under my car all the time. I check under my car now before I start it up. The parents leave the back of their suv open and the kids use it as a play space unattended. I came out the other day and the one kid was. playing on the roof of the truck, unattended. The parents pop out and play with them, and if they see us come around pull the kids to the sidewalk but so often they are out there alone. I'm terrified that I will hit one of these kids. No use saying anything to they parents, they know.

Call CPS if they are unattended.

I know. I feel like the parents are always just around the corner and know/see the behavior. What's the demarcation for that hands off parenting vs. neglect? One time one of the kids was on his little truck and I saw a new kid in the mix whipping around the corner, on the street low to the ground. Oh, wait. It's the dad.
And admittedly, the fact that I don't have kids is pulling me back from making any calls. Am I making judgements about parenting that is not calibrated right? Is the mom inside looking out the window and OK with this? etc. etc. etc.

A crazy neighbor moved into a middle unit within our townhome community and proceeded to cause actual concerns about a neighborhood mass shooting. I knew it was going to be problematic the first week when he put up a no trespassing sign and installed three different cameras, two facing a SHARED PATCH OF GRASS and one on the garage. Within days I told my husband the guy was for sure nuts. Who puts up a no trespassing sign and multiple cameras when they live in a middle unit townhouse?!? It was absolutely a harbinger of what was to come. He terrorized the entire neighborhood over the course of what felt like the longest year-multiple police call-outs, actual stalking of a neighbor's daughter, a restraining order from a different neighbor. Many other incidents. We were legitimately afraid.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Neighbors have more kids than they can manage (six.). Older kids are supposed to be watching younger kids but don’t want to do. Younger kids are always at my house. When I was home with the kids it was like having two more. Now that I’m back at work it’s extra work for our nanny. The sad part is I feel they’re always at my house. My other neighbor feels the kids are always at her house. So when they’re actually at their own home with their own parents is beyond me.

PP at 19:16. Unsupervised kids are definitely part of the problem we have had.

Yeah, and it's not as easy to tell the kids to go home (they are there at your house because they're unhappy at home) and you can't tell the parents to start doing their job and parent their kids because they're people you're stuck living next to and you don't want tense relationships.

+2. This is difficult. I always wonder what my neighbor is actually doing so often, that she is inside, and all the little ones are outside by themself. I feel bad for them - but most importantly, it is just not safe! Plus, they are always yelling for her . I think she likes babies, but not kids, sadly.

Anonymous wrote:I'm a DINK who is so aware that I don't know what it's like in the trenches. My new next door neighbors have an old 2 year old and a 4. year old. Constantly running around in the street barefoot. Come streaming out of no where at 9pm. Driving their little cars in the street completely unattended. I find balls under my car all the time. I check under my car now before I start it up. The parents leave the back of their suv open and the kids use it as a play space unattended. I came out the other day and the one kid was. playing on the roof of the truck, unattended. The parents pop out and play with them, and if they see us come around pull the kids to the sidewalk but so often they are out there alone. I'm terrified that I will hit one of these kids. No use saying anything to they parents, they know.

Call CPS if they are unattended.

Anonymous wrote:I am literally moving next month because of this. Our neighbor is just ridiculously loud and our houses are SFHs but have very little room between them. His roaring up his driveway at 12:30am with his music blaring, slamming the car door, and yelling into his phone on speaker got to be too much (amongst many other things -- including putting his trash bins in front of our house and then leaving them there for 3 or 4 days before taking them back). I often have to leave for work at 6am and I'm a light sleeper and have issues if I don't get enough. His kids are loud as hell too, and totally unsupervised. Can't take it. Moving. Life is too short and I need more peace than I have living next to this guy. We have owned this house for over a decade and he bought the one next door about a year ago. Oh, I forgot the dumbest thing -- picture this: It is late at night. The whole neighborhood has gone to bed. Loud music, bad music -- like, I don't know, maybe NSync or something -- starts blaring from this neighbor's porch. He and new girlfriend (3 mos post divorce lol) are dancing away on the porch. Like ugly embarrassing Elaine Benes dancing. You can't make this stuff up.

Will be renting out my house. Would love it if the eventual tenant annoys the neighbor. Poetic justice.

Where is this happening - they sound like fun!

I'm a DINK who is so aware that I don't know what it's like in the trenches. My new next door neighbors have an old 2 year old and a 4. year old. Constantly running around in the street barefoot. Come streaming out of no where at 9pm. Driving their little cars in the street completely unattended. I find balls under my car all the time. I check under my car now before I start it up. The parents leave the back of their suv open and the kids use it as a play space unattended. I came out the other day and the one kid was. playing on the roof of the truck, unattended. The parents pop out and play with them, and if they see us come around pull the kids to the sidewalk but so often they are out there alone. I'm terrified that I will hit one of these kids. No use saying anything to they parents, they know.

We own a condo in Florida that we're at 30 days a year. We share only our floor with the ppl below us. EVERY time we're there they knock on the door, telling us we're too loud.
The last time, we were watching the the UConn/Iowa women's bball game, just sitting there but it did go til 11 on a Friday. I made the mistake of walking into the kitchen to get a drink of water though, and that brought them up.
My husband told them to eff off this time. Guy asked the score after that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Neighbors have more kids than they can manage (six.). Older kids are supposed to be watching younger kids but don’t want to do. Younger kids are always at my house. When I was home with the kids it was like having two more. Now that I’m back at work it’s extra work for our nanny. The sad part is I feel they’re always at my house. My other neighbor feels the kids are always at her house. So when they’re actually at their own home with their own parents is beyond me.

PP at 19:16. Unsupervised kids are definitely part of the problem we have had.

Yeah, and it's not as easy to tell the kids to go home (they are there at your house because they're unhappy at home) and you can't tell the parents to start doing their job and parent their kids because they're people you're stuck living next to and you don't want tense relationships.

We had one single lady who has tried to sleep with many of the husbands in our neighborhood. She hooked up with at least two of them that we know of.

Several gossips who will speculate gossip and then spread it with more exaggerations but people seem to take it in stride and not care too much.

Anonymous wrote:Neighbors have more kids than they can manage (six.). Older kids are supposed to be watching younger kids but don’t want to do. Younger kids are always at my house. When I was home with the kids it was like having two more. Now that I’m back at work it’s extra work for our nanny. The sad part is I feel they’re always at my house. My other neighbor feels the kids are always at her house. So when they’re actually at their own home with their own parents is beyond me.

PP at 19:16. Unsupervised kids are definitely part of the problem we have had.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mine tried to get my historic chestnut tree chopped down because they were convinced of had termites. It didn't, but I had to spend $2500 for an arborist to certify it.

Their brat child throws his ball into our fenced backyard and helps himself to retrieve it, constantly letting our dog out because he doesn't close the gate. The dog could get hit by a car, and it's just a hassle to canvas the neighborhood searching for him

Camera in your backyard and tell them they are not allowed to enter your back yard.

Lock on the gate.

Neighbors have more kids than they can manage (six.). Older kids are supposed to be watching younger kids but don’t want to do. Younger kids are always at my house. When I was home with the kids it was like having two more. Now that I’m back at work it’s extra work for our nanny. The sad part is I feel they’re always at my house. My other neighbor feels the kids are always at her house. So when they’re actually at their own home with their own parents is beyond me.