[floridaorange]

Backstory:

We live in a nice neighborhood, houses range from $500k - to as much as $5mill. Part of the charm, is that each home is pretty unique, which has it's pros and cons in terms of conformity and value, but gives new buyers the opportunity to teardown and rebuild, which has happened a lot lately around us. We live not too far from some very nice schools, public and private so there are a lot of families here.

Our neighbors behind us, presumably living an alternative lifestyle, going by haircuts, coexist bumper stickers and love of chain-smoking, over the years have made some odd additions to their teardown home. Like paying a mason to cut large concrete borders around their little tree's in a yard they don't maintain very well. Or adding a permanent shed to the back of their already awkward garage addition. Or, and this is the best one, the pool they dug themselves and cover with a tarp. I think they just put some kind of inflatable in the ground, I'm not sure exactly, but it's strange.

Situation:


Anyway, their backyard is part of our backyard since they are on a corner, so we can see what is going on back there.
We get home from a vacation out of the country this past Monday for spring break with our kids and there is a very large tent setup. No big deal, camping out is fun, but kind of weird since the couple doesn't have any kids. As the day progressed we see what appears to be a long haired male in his late 20's or 30's walking from the tent to the house a couple of times and one of the women walking from the home to the tent. The weather has been in the 40's in the mornings, so not sure how comfortable this camping situation is.

But more importantly, what would you do? On one hand, I dont care at all if he is just shacking up for a few days, that's no big deal, I love camping as much as the next outdoorsman. But today is Friday, so that's at least day 5 of camping out. Again, we can see the tent and alot of the backyard from our kitchen, because our house was recently built, it's graded higher than theres is.

Do we a) ignore it and let the guy enjoy his life in the ladies backyard?

b) see how long it lasts

c) report it

d) b & c?

e) stop being a karen and welcome the lad to our neighborhood

[Mason Hatcher]

MYOB. To whom and about what would you report?

Yes, you are being a Karen. And just FYI, his backyard is NOT part of your backyard.

[vreihen16]

f) Get the homeless encampment out of your neighborhood before the residency time definition is crossed and you need to spend $$$$ for lawyers to file eviction papers and fight for months in a tenant's rights court.....

[JerseyM3]

Originally Posted by Mason Hatcher

MYOB. To whom and about what would you report?

Yes, you are being a Karen. And just FYI, his backyard is NOT part of your backyard.

While I'm more of a MYOB type of guy, I would keep an eye on what and how this pans out. If the home owners are wackadoos and just have a few friends over for a while and thought it would would be cool to sleep in a tent them no harm no foul. But if this turns into a habitat for homeless then I'd be on the phone. Question: what city is this if you don't mind sharing? Just curious.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by floridaorange

Backstory:

We live in a nice neighborhood, houses range from $500k - to as much as $5mill. Part of the charm, is that each home is pretty unique, which has it's pros and cons in terms of conformity and value, but gives new buyers the opportunity to teardown and rebuild, which has happened a lot lately around us. We live not too far from some very nice schools, public and private so there are a lot of families here.

Our neighbors behind us, presumably living an alternative lifestyle, going by haircuts, coexist bumper stickers and love of chain-smoking, over the years have made some odd additions to their teardown home. Like paying a mason to cut large concrete borders around their little tree's in a yard they don't maintain very well. Or adding a permanent shed to the back of their already awkward garage addition. Or, and this is the best one, the pool they dug themselves and cover with a tarp. I think they just put some kind of inflatable in the ground, I'm not sure exactly, but it's strange.

Situation:


Anyway, their backyard is part of our backyard since they are on a corner, so we can see what is going on back there.
We get home from a vacation out of the country this past Monday for spring break with our kids and there is a very large tent setup. No big deal, camping out is fun, but kind of weird since the couple doesn't have any kids. As the day progressed we see what appears to be a long haired male in his late 20's or 30's walking from the tent to the house a couple of times and one of the women walking from the home to the tent. The weather has been in the 40's in the mornings, so not sure how comfortable this camping situation is.

But more importantly, what would you do? On one hand, I dont care at all if he is just shacking up for a few days, that's no big deal, I love camping as much as the next outdoorsman. But today is Friday, so that's at least day 5 of camping out. Again, we can see the tent and alot of the backyard from our kitchen, because our house was recently built, it's graded higher than theres is.

Do we a) ignore it and let the guy enjoy his life in the ladies backyard?

b) see how long it lasts

c) report it

d) b & c?

e) stop being a karen and welcome the lad to our neighborhood

I can sympathize. Our former neighbors had a run down house with gutters and soffits hanging off everywhere. Plus they had a huge (8ft diameter) ancient satellite TV dish right on our property line. They let a weed grow into a bush that rubbed against the dish in the wind and made an odd screeching noise. Long story short, they got divorced and the wife had to move into assisted living while the husband moved away. Their neighbor on the other side bought the house and property and tore it down, leaving a much nicer open lot with grass and trees. We were very happy with it. Now that neighbor is selling her house and property. We've told them we are interested in buying the open lot from them and they said they'd give us first dibs on it. It's about .9 acres, just like our lot, and mostly a wooded hillside with maybe a 1/4 acre of flat grassy area. We're hoping they don't ask too much for it. It is build-able and has utilities on site since there was a house there. But they didn't want another house there and they know we don't want another house there, so we're hoping we can work something out.

On our other side was another open lot that just got sold with the house on the other side. Those folks wouldn't sell the open lot separately and the new owners have a pontoon boat and other toys, so now they're building a big pole barn on that lot. I don't have an issue with that, per se, but I'm worried about the open lot we're interested in going to someone who will put up another pole barn. Having your house bracketed by out buildings isn't an ideal situation.

[floridaorange]

Originally Posted by Mason Hatcher

MYOB. To whom and about what would you report?

Yes, you are being a Karen. And just FYI, his backyard is NOT part of your backyard.

You're right, I communicated that poorly. When we look out of our windows we can't help but look at their backyard.

Originally Posted by M_Six

I can sympathize. Our former neighbors had a run down house with gutters and soffits hanging off everywhere. Plus they had a huge (8ft diameter) ancient satellite TV dish right on our property line. They let a weed grow into a bush that rubbed against the dish in the wind and made an odd screeching noise. Long story short, they got divorced and the wife had to move into assisted living while the husband moved away. Their neighbor on the other side bought the house and property and tore it down, leaving a much nicer open lot with grass and trees. We were very happy with it. Now that neighbor is selling her house and property. We've told them we are interested in buying the open lot for them and they said they'd give us first dibs on it. It's about .9 acres, just like our lot, and mostly a wooded hillside with maybe a 1/4 acre of flat grassy area. We're hoping they don't ask too much for it. It is build-able and has utilities on site since there was a house there. But they didn't want another house there and they know we don't want another house there, so we're hoping we can work something out.

On our other side was another open lot that just got sold with the house on the other side. Those folks wouldn't sell the open lot separately and the new owners have a pontoon boat and other toys, so now they're building a big pole barn on that lot. I don't have an issue with that, per se, but I'm worried about the open lot we're interested in going to someone who will put up another pole barn. Having your house bracketed by out buildings isn't an ideal situation.

Similarly, we bought the lot next to ours, sold the house to a developer who put in a new big $ million home, which is good for our home value. They are currently putting in a deck and pool and the noise it sometimes going to 8pm+ but I don't mind at all. They are cool neighbors, millltary vet and surgeon with 2 boys ours like to play with.

Btw, when I first met our new neighbors to the back, one of them were throwing leaves over the fence onto our property, so it wasn't the best intro. This was 10 years ago.

[floridaorange]

Originally Posted by JerseyM3

While I'm more of a MYOB type of guy, I would keep an eye on what and how this pans out. If the home owners are wackadoos and just have a few friends over for a while and thought it would would be cool to sleep in a tent them no harm no foul. But if this turns into a habitat for homeless then I'd be on the phone. Question: what city is this if you don't mind sharing? Just curious.

It's a city in Central Florida that recently passed a law, no homeless encampments in the city. The city also is looking into asking neighboring cities to help bare the cost and infrastructure for housing them, instead of consolidating those places downtown, which has really made the downtown area undesirable to be in for most people. It's a tough situation, and I actively volunteer to help get people back on their feet, so I am not trying to be cold in this situation, it's just really unexpected to have a huge tent so close to our home.

After reading the responses I think I'll leave it alone until it becomes a real issue, because it is nice the neighbor is trying to help the person. I guess.

[spazzyfry123]

Is there any type of residency duration threshold that's written? HOA, city, otherwise? I'd make that my mark. Believe me, I'm a MYOB guy. I live in MYOB central. But with kids running around and having a questionable dude living in a tent adjacent to me, I'd be unsettled.

[Alfisti]

I am not sure what I would do but I am 99pc certain this is not going to well. They sound like borderline hippie types, these people are a fucking menace, all this free spirit bullshit just means what's mine is mine and what's yours is for sharing.

There will be more tents and more people back there within 3 months.

[3.0L]

Maybe plant silversheen. I did that when I noticed my backyard neighbors
watching me while was in my hot tub. Silversheen grows fast and tall.

[RickFLM4]

Sorry to hear you’re dealing with this shit. I’d definitely plants tall hedges or Areca palms.

I’d be concerned about stuff like the shed in a hurricane or tropical storm,. Can’t have those where I live in FL unless they have a foundation and meet code. If they have stuff against code that could damage your property I’d report it to the town. Otherwise I’d put up the vegetation and leave them alone.

This is an example of why HOAs can sometimes be worth the hassle they can be. Not that they always enforce the rules uniformly but that’s another matter.

[2000cs]

Buy their house?
Seriously, if the tent man is pissing in the yard, etc., then the city should step in.

Unless the neighbors are violent (I had one of those years ago), maybe try talking to them to find out what’s up. If they indicate he is a permanent guest, push back (good to know the local law first). If he is just a visitor, maybe get an introduction and let him know how you knew he was there (assuming he won’t appreciate being watched).
Perhaps a security camera looking that way would be a good idea, to help keep your actual yard safe and have recordings should anything untoward happen.

[JerseyM3]

You could always bring over your fat uncle Walter to hang out in his dirty tighty whities in clear view of your sketchy Neighbors..

[floridaorange]

Originally Posted by 3.0L

Maybe plant silversheen. I did that when I noticed my backyard neighbors
watching me while was in my hot tub. Silversheen grows fast and tall.

We planted fairly mature podacarpus 2 yrs ago with thick tall hedges in mind and they are not growing very fast - assuming due to direction of the yard and sun but that’s another issue.

No HOA.

[Alfisti]

Is there a way to make his life unpleasant without him knowing it was you? I dunno, throw some skunks over the fence or something? Make subtle noises at night so he can't sleep?

i dunno man, these people are menace, he's gotta go.

[vreihen16]

The now-former owners of Yasgur Farm wrote the book on eradicating hippies who gathered there every anniversary of the Woodstock concert. Book another vacation, and then fertilize your yard with chicken manure right before you leave. The smell is so rancid that it might as well be marketed as hippie repellent.....

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

Sorry to hear you’re dealing with this shit. I’d definitely plants tall hedges or Areca palms.

I’d be concerned about stuff like the shed in a hurricane or tropical storm,. Can’t have those where I live in FL unless they have a foundation and meet code. If they have stuff against code that could damage your property I’d report it to the town. Otherwise I’d put up the vegetation and leave them alone.

This is an example of why HOAs can sometimes be worth the hassle they can be. Not that they always enforce the rules uniformly but that’s another matter.

I 100% agree... which is why I made an effort to look for a home with an HOA... it's not perfect but it's extremely good... they only do things I would want them to do which is essentially not allow the neighborhood to look like crap... all i ask is lawns are kept up with... no wild exterior modifications etc and well homeless encampements ... OTH, if you go to the neighborhood next door, within 2 minutes you will figure out which one has an HOA and which one doesnt.

[floridaorange]

Gonna try to look for an opportunity to invite him to Sun night Bible Study with friends of ours from church. Wasn’t my first idea I admit but sometimes the right idea takes a few days to surface. Appreciate the feedback.

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by ASAP

I 100% agree... which is why I made an effort to look for a home with an HOA... it's not perfect but it's extremely good... they only do things I would want them to do which is essentially not allow the neighborhood to look like crap... all i ask is lawns are kept up with... no wild exterior modifications etc and well homeless encampements ... OTH, if you go to the neighborhood next door, within 2 minutes you will figure out which one has an HOA and which one doesnt.

Generally agree. I am unhappy with our HOA now for a couple of things but our neighborhood looks a lot better than crossing Southern Blvd. into Loxahatchee. Gotta be able to take the bad with the good with HOAs.

[Pauly Wauly]

Good fences make good neighbors.

[Pauly Wauly]

Originally Posted by Esteban

Is that your new fence?

No, I wish, my fence is in bad shape. I had the back fence repaired last year, and last week I finally fixed one section of the side fence that fell down in the winter from a wind storm.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by Pauly Wauly

No, I wish, my fence is in bad shape. I had the back fence repaired last year, and last week I finally fixed one section of the side fence that fell down in the winter from a wind storm.

I decided to delete my post because it was out of place in this thread, but thanks for the response. I think I remember you talking about a fence in disrepair here on the forum and that’s why I brought it up. Didn’t notice your reply before I deleted it.