Q & A Table of Contents
Bad Fences Make Bad Neighbors
From: Brianna, Tarzana, California
Question: What can we do? We have avoided suing, we really just want the fences they took down, replaced and our privacy back. We're sitting here with a Holiday approaching and unable to have a barb-q, go in the hot tub or get new dogs because we are in this fence fiasco!
THE STORY:
Never had a problem with the old neighbors, or any others. We keep to ourselves mostly, spend a few hours a month in friendly chat with the nearby neighbors. Give them a hand
when they need help...pick stuff up for them in our pickup etc. overall generally nice neighbors...keep the music down after 10PM etc. So when we left for a week, we asked
our old neighbors to "keep and eye out" on the house as we all do for each other in this rural area.
The day we were leaving, the new next-door neighbor who till now has been friendly and agreeable, asked my husband if he'd split the cost of a new fence for the back yard...that they were "thinking" about replacing the chain link one. We're out of work right now and he told them that he didn't think we could financially do it right now, but that he'd talk to me...which we did while we were away.
Well, this is a rural area, NO ONE has a wood fence, because the wind blows them down! AND the dogs can get through them to easily. LOL (Lots Of Luck)...our house was built in 1925, and the chainlink was probably installed I'd guess somewhere in the 80's? It was in great shape, strong and an effective barrier for our animals. My husband (I admit) is one of those packrats, that has a number of trailers, cars, big bins you name it on the 3/4 acre lot. So I know some would find it offensive, on the other hand EVERYONE out here has stuff like that, horses, lumber, we don't have to worry about the problems faced by the inner city homeowners, or so we thought!...LOL it's rural and that's what they do...that's part of the charm? Hmmm well maybe not so charming, and since lately the homes here are skyrocketing up into the 700K range, many are adding on and building new...and the new neighbors are part of that new jet set...new money...have no interest in how we feel about anything... So we came home to...no fence!
Upon inspection in the daylight, we found the chainlink fence gone! A big dumpster, all the posts sawed off at the ground level, huge post holes dug, NOT on the property line, broken lawn ornaments shattered which were hanging on our side of a wood privacy fence we had constructed last year...that was pulled out as well and completely damaged, and thrown away in the bin. They cut down trees on our lot, stepped on building materials for a metal awning, bent them to smithereens, threw our other piles of wood out of their way with no regard to take care in any of their actions, to protect our property. A few words come to mind ... GALLING, TRESSPASSING, DAMAGING, we can no longer bath in private in the hot tub, they removed our privacy in 1 fell swoop...and have taken 4 weeks to begin to erect a new fence which they bought. When confronted, their attitude was demonstrated in her answer to my question "Ms. X, if this had happened to you, how would you have felt?"
Ms. X replied "Ohhhhhh, I would have been SOOOOOOOO happy to have had a brand new PRETTTTTTYYYYYY fence instead of that old ugly one." I countered that I thought she would react by feeling as we do, with our PRIVACY and RIGHTS VIOLATED. She answered "Ohhhhh, no we would have been SOOOOOOO grateful that we had such a PREEETTTYYYYYY nice, NEW Redwood fence instead of that ugly one". There was no talking to her, she rambled on and on about how nice it was going to be, how THEY were going to be paying for it. We firmly stated that they did NOT have our consent to remove our barrier for PIT BULL DOGS "Ohhh where are your dogs?" "They died, at 14 years old, suddenly last Jan and Feb and we are still grieving their loss." Oh, well a REDWOOD FENCE IS VERY STRONG. Oh yea lady? Well... years ago the dogs grabbed the fence with their teeth and walked right through it..."
So no, it's not a better barrier...We are responsible owners of animals, we double gate, use dog kennels and we do not feel that your new fence is a sufficient barrier". Well...fine then, we'll put up a chainlink fence...(which led to another ball of wax, they were going to go "cheap" since they'd SOLD ours...???? YES they SOLD ours to a neighbor...OMG (oh my God) I thought I'd pop a cork when I heard that! So...they were going to replace a 5' fence with a 4' version. NOPE, no good...needs to be EXACTLY what you took down! ON and ON and ON...they argued, kept asking WHY we needed a chain link fence...it's been a month...no fence is up...they erected one on the other neighbors line...our side still has not been done. The put some posts in some of the holes...the others are still open to fall in. They don't keep their front gate shut, so dogs have gone back their and gone to the bathroom, kids can wander in...we have liabilities for the pool and safety issues which they flagrantly ignore. WHAT ARE WE TO DO?????? They act as if we are some horrible monsters for putting them through all of this...OY VEY!!!
Response: It sounds as if you have gotten into a situation which has escalated out of control. What you need to do is investigate your BATNA, your Best Alternative To A Negotiated Agreement. Checking your BATNA will tell you whether it is in your interest to negotiate with these neighbors or whether you are better off taking a different approach.
You can look at your BATNA several ways:
According to your account, your neighbors are behaving illegally by having knocked down trees on your property as well as taken away a fence that was your property and selling it to someone else and by having damaged your building materials. If they entered your property without your express permission, that may have been an action of trespass. You should check with appropriate authorities to find out whether there are laws that apply.
Finding out what other neighbors' experiences with this couple may help you understand what to expect from the problem neighbors -- and whether there is anything you may have to offer them that would bring them to friendlier behavior. While it sounds as if the money situation is likely to be a real problem, you should investigate whether there are any self-help steps you can take such as erecting your own chain link fence so you can keep dogs and children out of your property. You may also want to improve your privacy by erecting a fence, planting arbor vitae or other shrubs that will screen your hot tub.
In keeping with #3, it sounds as if you have a great deal of material on your property that could be used to create privacy, erect relevant structures such as a dog house, and protect your property from trespassing. If you and your husband don't currently have jobs, perhaps you have the time to undertake this sort of work -- depending on your skills, physical condition, etc. If you cannot do the work yourselves, is there anything you could trade with friends -- or friendly neighbors -- to get their help?
Once you have investigated your BATNA and determined the choices you can make, then you can determine how best to deal with -- or whether to ignore -- the unfriendly neighbors.
Good luck with a challenging situation,
Steve
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