Hey all,

I have a neighbor who recently decided to park 4 cars at the bottom of his yard and store stuff in them. The cars are in plain view of my house and the road that runs by our houses.

Now, I got a copy of the regulations for our subdivision. There is one area in the regulations that clearly states that derelict vehicles cannot be stored on any property, and that only storage buildings can be used for outside storage.

I went to the courthouse to see what could be done about this and they told me that there was nothing I could do because we don't have a code enforcement officer in our county.

So what's the deal, am I stuck with looking at his junky cars for the rest of my life or do I have another course of action?

I don't want to be a total butt head to this guy because he has a criminal record that is very current and I would not put it past him to retaliate somehow if I took him to court over it. The biggest reason this bothers me is because my wife and son are at home by themselves a lot and if he were to go over there and try to start something while I'm not home, I believe my criminal record would start up.

Also, the guy has 2 big dogs that he keeps inside his house which is fine. However, he lets them out to use the bathroom and lets them roam all over the neighborhood to do so. It just so happens that about 2 weeks ago, I walked down to the bottom of my yard to get the phone from next to my son's swing set and the biggest dog charged me from his yard into mine. My wife was standing on the porch with my son and she yelled at me to watch out. I stood there waiting for the dog to attack me so I would have an excuse to kill it or take his butt to court. When the guy heard my wife yell at me, he then started yelling at his dog. Mind you, when I walked out, the dog was in his yard right next to him. So when the dog took off my way, he should have instantly started yelling for it instead of waiting until my wife started yelling at me.

All of the neighbors have had problems with this guy in the past, we've all called the police on him before for the loud arguments that he and his girlfriend get in to and have had the police knock on our doors looking for him. The most recent police visit was because his truck that he drives is stolen and was involved in a hit and run. Nice stuff.

Anyhow, if I take this guy to court, I don't want him terrorizing my family, breaking into my Trans Am or other cars (which all run and are driven weekly) or stealing my trailer.

Sorry for the long post, but I am totally baffled on what I should do?

Any thoughts?

 

Get a shovel and a shotgun......problem solved!

 

"Huh? How did that happen?! That's crazy! If there is anything I can do for 'ya neighbor, just let me know!"

 

I would go to the local law enforcement and speak to them. Try going to your city Cops first and see what they say. If you cannot get any help from them, than go to your county force. If nothing else, they can just tell him that the vehicles are in violation the next time they get called out for something like a.... complaint of loud noise?

And if all else fails, just ask the guy, never know, he may be cool with it. If you really want a good chance at it, offer to help him move them on a day off. I mean, all he can say is no, and most people would not be offended by such a request so long as it remains a REQUEST and not a demand.

Stan

 

Well, the only problem with this is that there is a couple that lives across from me that everyone in the neighborhood likes, even the guy with the cars. He went down to the guys house and politely said, "It looks like you've got some car troubles". The guy said yeah, but I'm only using them to keep my junk in. So the nice neighbor went so far as to tell him that we aren't supposed to keep vehicles like that for storage purposes. The guy told nice neighbor that he would like to see someone try to move them.

Like I said, the NICEST guy in the whole danged neighborhood talked to him and he got mad at him about it. I'm beginning to think it's going to be a neighborhood court battle.

 

Document, document, document! Photos of the cars, report the dog incident if there's a leash law, etc. Then if it comes to a legal showdown, you have ammo.

 

Ya, you may have to resort to what dump. said. Start taking some pictures.

 

Sounds to me like everyone in the neighborhood needs to get involved and take it to court. He can't very well go after EVERYONE.
And if he does:

 

I would have all the local neighbors one by one, myself included, talk to the guy and maybe even offer him help on moving or storing the cars somewhere else so they are not an eyesore. As long as he pays for materials or something, maybe build a shed or garage for storage.

Maybe someone should mail a copy of the law and highlight the points he is violating. If that does not work, have city hall or the police mail it registered (without filing a complaint) mail. Then pop over for a talk.

I would exhaust the gentle ways before resorting to the harsh ways. You do not have to like your neighbors, but, getting along without causing them pain even when they are wrong goes a long way to working out a problem.

Maybe pointing out selling the stuff and putting the money in the bank is a wiser thing to do then storing basically junk in the yard might work.

 

having been a president of a homeowners association....
there are no easy fixes for a "Jerk"
if it's not in the by-laws and restrictions registered with the county/state...
there's not much u can do except move... if he doesn't see the error of his ways from peer pressure...

If there is a by-law and restriction, the homeowners association has to send him at least three registered letters stating the problem, the by-law he is breaking, and the punishment/fine that will happen....

Many homeowner groups have by-laws but NO stated punishment...
so if there is no fine process in place, what leverage do you have ???
if you do fine him - it takes lawyers to put leans on the propoerty which are not enforceable until sold...
No matter waht - it's a bad situation for what you thought should be a simple issue..

The only other leverage is Property valuation... and that will take a court case...
get a real estate person to give you a valuation with and without the nuisance and that;s the damages (times each house affected)

It's sad, but the courts have ruled in favor of the offenders against the homeowners association EVEN though the rules are part of the purchase contract BEFOare they moved in...

I understand that some homeowner groups MAY go overboard sometimes and it IS your property, but there's a reasin that people don't want cattle next to their house, or trucks blocking the street, or.... you get my point...


To me, it's the SAME thing as contracting with a builder to build a 3 story 5000 sq ft house and then he builds a 1 story 2000 sq ft house !!!!

 

If you have regulations (convenants) for your subdivison, do you have a functioning homeowners association? If you do, then there should be a method of legal recourse available to you. Most HOA are able to legally exact a daily fine for breech of convenants. If someone knows they are being fined on a daily basis and can be a lien on their property if not paid, they will be very motivated to move those junker cars.

 

Sounds like if you just leave it alone the problem will take care of itself, he's headed back to jail, he just doesn't know it yet.

 

I have to admit, there was a period of time about 6 months ago where he was in jail for about 4 months. I was just waiting for his house to get forclosed on since there was no one in or out of there while he was in jail. Come to find out that his girlfriend paid all of his bills for him while he was in jail, and he paid cash for the house.

 

Who says crime doesn't pay >?!?!>!>!

 

If he paid cash for the house he may not have any fire insurance. Just a thought.