<p>Speaking of the steamy violadad: Wasn’t he the one who did the great riff on his didgeridoo-playing child? I didn’t get it at the time, but now I’m assuming that was a dig at Caltech as ds just received a postcard from them saying that they prefer didgeridoo players to clarinetists. Alas, ds plays neither.</p>
<p>I think VH has been booked for assualt after hitting the plant-bearing neighbors over the head with the $1,100 bill.</p>
<p>$1,100 - that’s an expensive plant. i agree - i don’t think the neighbors are that nice.</p>
<p>I’m sorry, but perhaps I have seen too many huge homes put up in what used to be rural areas, for people who only use it maybe a month out of the year- which alters the culture of the place for the long time residents, & I think that anyone who builds a structure that doesn’t fit in with the neighborhood, who tears up a common road for their project for over a year, which is a hassle for the others on the block and then expects the same neighbors to pay to have the road put back together, is someone who is used to getting their way.
Oh they may be * nice*, as long as they get their way.</p>
<p>
Have definitely encountered these sorts of folks before…</p>
<p>^^I was already thinking that a plant wasn’t much recompense for having torn up the street for a YEAR! Then presenting them with a bill? Hmmmm…Come to think of it, my sewer-sharing neighbor hgave me a plant when we moved in. She also gave me a horrible cold that turned into a major sinus infection lasting for months. :)</p>
<p>What’s that on the horizon? Looks like torches and pitchforks!</p>
<p>I apologize for having diappeared. I had lunch with an old old friend in NYC, whom I’ll never see again if we move to Atlanta . . . Oh wait, that’s another thread.</p>
<p>So, to respond to a few inquiries:</p>
<p>Yes, we share the cost of snow plowing. We have a very very long driveway, but only care about a small piece of the road, so we pay the same as everyone else. Seems fair to us.</p>
<p>Yes, the end of the road – the portion we drive on – was in need of repair; it had cracks and potholes. The neighbors had agreed to postpone repair until the building of the McMansion was complete, since the trucks wouldn’t do the road any favors.</p>
<p>I have no idea why the entire road was torn up instead of just a trench for the pipes. </p>
<p>And by the way, in his lovely note to us, Mr. McMansion points out that “with normal wear and tear the new road should last 15 to 20 years, if not longer.” Well, that’s dandy, but I’ve already lived here 21 years – even if we don’t move to Atlanta, I’m only expecting another two or three years here anyway.</p>
<p>This morning I called Neighbor A and Neighbor B. It turns out that Mr. McMansion and Neighbor C paid a visit to Neighbor A and discussed the repaving. Mr. A agreed that repaving and sharing the cost was reasonable. Mrs. A, whom I spoke to, was surprised that Mr. McM and Mr. C hadn’t discussed it with us.</p>
<p>Then I spoke to Neighbor B. He is in total sync with DH and me, started complaining about how Mr. McM’s contractor’s trucks had torn up his packasandra, how the entire road did not need to be repaved, and how he was going to pay some amount to Mr. McM but he certainly wasn’t going to pay what was requested. He also started raving about how Mr. McM just had about $25,000 worth of sod installed – I questioned his estimate, but he did have four truckloads of sod delivered and installed two weeks ago – and, that while Mr. B said he wasn’t whining that Mr. McM is rich and he is poor (he’s not, by any means), he didn’t feel obligated at all to pay this.</p>
<p>We don’t talk to Mr. C since he tore down the basketball hoop that DH erected. It was on Mr. C’s property, at the end of the cul-de-sac, but we thought it would have been decent to discuss it with us first. Mr. C is a meanie. Neighbors A and B agree with us that he’s a wacko and a meanie. </p>
<p>Where we stand right now is that Neighbor B is going to talk to Neighbor A and see if there is anything else that Mr. B and we ought to consider. Assuming there isn’t, I think we’ll pay about $400, along with a nice note, and call it a day.</p>
<p>Whadya think??</p>
<p>I think that you folks need a written agreement, pronto. ESPECIALLY if you are thinking about selling your house! As a potential buyer, I would want to know what I was getting into in terms of potential expenses.</p>
<p>I do not know which town in Connecticut the OP resides in … however in <em>my</em> neck of the Connecticut woods, if it was a private lane, the lane is probably not <em>owned in common</em>. </p>
<p>It is much more likely that the lane is technically owned by one of the homeowners, and everyone else has a right-of-way easement. And it’s also possible that the lane traverses over several property lines as it goes in to serve the furtherest homes. </p>
<p>Our land in <em>my</em> part of Connecticut tends to be particularly rocky and ledgey and where it’s not rock ledge, it may very well be wetland. Hence, if the subdivider builder guy can <em>find</em> five buildable envelopes on a large parcel, he takes what he can get in terms of access to them … meaning you end up with a small shared driveway or lane.</p>
<p>Then, somewhere in the depths of the deed where easements and restrictions are discussed, there will be some mention of sharing of costs in terms of maintaining the right of way. </p>
<p>(Having looked at every single possible buildable lot in my town and several adjacent towns – I have a sense of what you might be likely to find around here.)</p>
<p>I think a neighborhood meeting sans the new neighbor is in order so that a united front can be built. The legal stand should be known, and then some sort of compromise should be done. Then the new neighbor should very nicely be told the consensus and a party should be done to celebrate. You are all neighbors and getting along is important. Also the new neighbor and any future newbies should be clued in on how things are done. Maybe a written pamphlet so that no one else makes missteps like this one did.</p>
<p>Did neighbor A say how they decided how much each person would pay? Was it split evenly between the 5 houses, or did they use the same percentages per house that were used in the past? </p>
<p>If an even 5 way split = $1100, then you should pay less, as you have in the past. If $1100 is a smaller percentage than the rest, you might need to consider paying it - especially if the road had potholes and cracks and needed to be re-done anyway.</p>
<p>(Certainly Mr McMansion should have spoken to you before any of this took place, but that’s water under the bridge now. He should be made very aware that he must speak to ALL neighbors and get consensus before undertaking anything like this in the future, because you were caught off-guard by the timing and amount of the bill.)</p>
<p>That’s amazing that neither the McMs nor the other neighbors discussed this with you ahead of time. Sounds like each one thought someone else had. Or maybe Neighbor Meanie purposely left you out of the loop and figured he’d just hit you up for the bill later. </p>
<p>However, you are acknowledging that the road did need to be repaved or repaired (though Neighbor B disputes this) and that the work was just put off until this house was finished and otherwise would have been done sooner. A question I have is whether or not you think it was a reasonable bill for the project and/or would you normally have had some kind of say so as to who was used to do the job. If it’s a reasonable bill, and if you are interested in maintaining good neighborhood relations I would still consider offering to pay your traditional pro rata share -the fact that you may not see the full benefit of the road in years, notwithstanding. Of course, you might not care about taking a firmer stand against the way all this was handled - and you’d be justified there, too. But as you suggested, I would first hear Neighbor A out and then consider what’s fair.</p>
<p>Since Mr. McM didn’t bother to discuss it with you up front like he did with your alphabetical neighbors, if I were you I’d conclude he must not really have wanted any money from you. Let this be a lesson to Mr. McM. It doesn’t sound like he’d end up in the poorhouse anyway.</p>
<p>The road to he** may be paved with good intentions, but the road to VeryHappy’s house was paved with poor communication…</p>
<p>^^ That’s a good one.</p>
<p>With more details, it would appear that there was intention to repave the whole road once the pipe were laid down, and that in fact the repaving was delayed in order not to interfere with the pipe work or to be undone by the pipe work. So repaving was going to happen and VH would have been expected to pay her share of the bill. The fact that VH plans to move soon is immaterial: the owner of VH’s house is liable for the appropriate share. If VH wishes to sell the house, it would be best to resolve this issue.</p>
<p>What seems to me worth debating is whether the amount billed to each owner is appropriate (was the work put out to bid?). If the bill is excessive, then each owner should pay only the appropriate amount rather than what the McMs request.</p>
<p>That is a separate issue from poor communications.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Actually, no. We would have repaired/repaved only the crummy part at the bottom of the road. </p>
<p>And the total cost of the repaving was $18,575.48. Here’s how Mr. McM broke it out:</p>
<p>Neighbor C: $2,320 (12.5%)
Neighbor B: $2,320 (12.5%)
Neighbor A: $1,160 (6.25%)
Mr. McM: $11,615.48 (62.5%)
Us: $1,160 (6.25%)</p>
<p>I have no problem with the pro ration, just with the entire lack of communications. And the amount. In years past, we’ve repaired the road for – oh, $5,000-ish.</p>
<p>Ah-ha! Now the road to VH’s house is paved in gold!</p>
<p>Yikes! Big bill, with yours being a small portion. The $1160 bill seems high until you look at the total. I think you may have gotten off easy if the road needed to be repaved. If it was done in a way that will last 15-20 years and not 10, it could be a good deal. I know that you spent the last 20 years on the road, and will not be spending the next 20, but what a good selling point to future buyers. Mr McM did certainly pay the lion’s share. Interesting how he came up with the division of responsibility… THere are 16 portions. Two neighbors got one portion of the bill, two neighbors got 2 portions of the bill and Mr. McM got 10 portions of the bill. He is paying 10 times your bill.</p>
<p>VH:</p>
<p>If the road was repaved ten years ago, the $5,000 it took then will have become substantially more. How much more is the issue.
Are you objecting to the amount or to the lack of communication? Granted, there WAS lack of communication and perhaps the McMs can be reminded that they should have consulted you as well as the other neighbors. But if it’s the amount you object to, the best way to deal with that is to get another estimate and pay your share of the estimate.</p>
<p>Asphalt prices have more than doubled in just the last year…it’s oil based. Many towns are postponing repaving projects due to the increases.</p>
<p>I think the issue is the lack of communication. I think We would pay our share, but written neighborhood guidelines need to be established. We have a private grass median that runs the length of our cul de sac. Maintenance (mowing and pruning) costs are shared equally by all residents regardless of their property’s road frontage. We have a homeowners board and a yearly meeting.</p>