<p>One of our next door neighbors will wrench his neck to avoid making eye contact or wave hello to us anymore…not that I expect him to come over and have a cup of coffee anymore , but not quite sure what WE did wrong…long story short , he and his domestic partner have suffered financially in the last few years and admitted to my husband and I that their home is in foreclosure. The literally have not paid their mortgage in 2.5 yrs. When he learned several months ago that we had a rental property that was vacant , he asked us if we would rent to him…just him as apparently their issues have caused their relationship to deteriorate and will be splitting up. We considered it as a month to month basis , with several months paid in advance ( he has a Mr Fixit type of business ) But soon after we agreed , with no papers signed , he began to attempt to negotiate his way out of actually paying us rent…I could fix this , that , improve this , that…you get the picture. We told him that we fixed the necessary things to make the house function , for instance replacing the exterior door and frame that the previous tenants kicked in , replacing a water treatment system for the well water ( a must in our area ) and professionally cleaning to make it habitable ,as the previous tenants were filthy people and left if a huge mess…after much complaining from him and a confrontation with a business associate that we let stay there for a week while here on business , we decided that this would be a very bad idea to get involved with , and my husband told him it was a no-go
Now it has become awkward when we are out in our yard and he is home…we have a 6 foot fence between our properties , but still, the tension is difficult for me to deal with.
Also , we knew that his business has suffered in the last couple of yrs , and we threw some work his way to help him out.
Now I find myself wishing they would move out …the sooner the better</p>
<p>Awkward for sure, but wouldn’t it have been worse to have him not paying you rent, thereby creating more tension and problems, and then having to deal with throwing him out of there too? It wasn’t a practical idea and you did the right thing…I would just try to act as if nothing happened, he’ll likely get over it (if he manages to stay in the neighborhood much longer - 2.5 years, yikes!).</p>
<p>As they say, good fences make good neighbors.</p>
<p>Sorry this situation has happened to you. But consider yourself lucky you haven’t gotten yourselves financially entangled with this guy. He sounds like he’d be more than happy to take advantage of you. Stay away from him. Wave and smile in passing, but just get used to keeping your distance. Hopefully he’ll be gone soon. Good luck!</p>
<p>You have nothing to be embarrassed about. Hold your head high, smile, say hello if you feel inclined and then go about your business.</p>
<p>One of the many things I feel uncomfortable about is out dog area of our property is right up against theirs…he keeps weird hours…in bed by 8pm , up at 5am…we are pretty active outside in the evening and sometimes my dogs bark…after 8pm…I don’t let them just howl it all up , but if there are animals ( turkeys , deer and other critters ) out in the woods , they will make it known
I think I am just upset because we tried to help by giving him business when he had no work and he chose to make us the bad guys. We are worried about his stability and will feel very relieved whenever they are actually forced out of the home…and also a little angry that he has gotten a free ride for soooooo long when we work our butts off to keep afloat in these tough economic times</p>
<p>Doesnt sound like you did anything wrong at all. He got some hairbrained idea in his head that he’d get a free place to live, and when you burst his bubble he got upset. He’s probably the one who is embarassed. And you did the RIGHT THING for sure. As for the dogs, you are clearly a kind neighbor, but his weird hours aren’t really your problem.</p>
<p>Believe me, that ride he’s on isn’t free. He’s paying for it in many ways: broken relationship; wrecked friendships; tensions with banks and probably creditors. It’s hard to watch someone’s life fall apart, but you did nothing wrong. Just wait it out, he can’t stay there forever.</p>
<p>I hate to say it…but it sounds like a good thing that he “doesn’t like you anymore”…you do NOT need friends like this. Hopefully they will move soon and the new neighbors will be at least friendly enough. </p>
<p>You did nothing wrong…all the better reason not to be concerned about this.</p>
<p>He put you in an impossible situation, and when you didn’t comply, he is now punishing you. Don’t let him get away with it. Pretend like nothing happened, be friendly, and move on. So sorry you have to deal with this.</p>
<p>You did nothing wrong.</p>
<p>He is probably angry, but his anger is misplaced. People often do that…especially when they’re in bad situations. Years from now, he may see things from your point of view, but right now he thinks you’re the “bad guys” because (in his mind) you were his free ticket for housing. </p>
<p>If he really hasn’t made a house payment in over 2 years, then he’ll be forced out soon. </p>
<p>Hey, he probably hasn’t paid property taxes either. At some point in the near future, he’ll be forced out. </p>
<p>However, when you get a whiff that he is being forced out, you probably should avoid him completely. He may be so angry at his situation that he may take it out on you in some way.</p>
<p>
with all due respect, there is no need to worry the OP unnecesarily. When he is being shown the door he’ll have more things to worry about than taking some sort of misplaced revenge on the neighbors.</p>
<p>It’s also possible that his cold behavior is really just a manifestation of his own discomfort and embarrassment over what happened.</p>
<p>OP, you did the right thing. Had you let him move in rent-free, you would only have been enabling his irresponsible behavior – at your expense. You need to protect yourself and your assets first and foremost. He’s not your problem to solve.</p>
<p>the last thing I want is to take on a deadbeat , which is why we chose NOT to get involved. I am seriously questioning his mental stability as well . I will be relieved once they are forced out , which I never thought I would say. I am worried because I think the house will remain empty for some time once it is vacant. Homes just are not selling in our neighborhood , and I have heard that another one might be going into foreclosure as well :(</p>
<p>*However, when you get a whiff that he is being forced out, you probably should avoid him completely. He may be so angry at his situation that he may take it out on you in some way. </p>
<p>==================</p>
<p>with all due respect, there is no need to worry the OP unnecesarily. When he is being shown the door he’ll have more things to worry about than taking some sort of misplaced revenge on the neighbors. *</p>
<p>I disagree. While I don’t think the neighbor would inflict any bodily harm, there is a possibility that when the neighbor is given the final notice of eviction (which could be a 2 week notice or similar) that would give the neighbor time to bother the OP’s household in some way. </p>
<p>There’s nothing wrong with being cautious.</p>
<p>I once had a neighbor whose “live in boyfriend” got angry at us for putting up a fence (we have a pool, it’s required…duh). He did a few obnoxious things …like pounding in some rebar into the ground next to our driveway hoping we’d back into it and get a flat tire. He also turned off our water at the meters. And, he once followed me in my car.</p>
<p>He was also annoyed that we put in a pool…he said that it upset their “water dogs” who would become frustrated when they would hear the water splashing but not be able to get to the water. </p>
<p>Ugh…thankfully, the gal broke up with him after we reported his actions to the police.</p>
<p>There are some real odd people in the world.</p>
<p>Sad situation all around. That said, you have nothing to feel bad about, you tried to help this person by giving him work, and when he proposed renting your rental house you were willing to do that…until suddenly he decided to change the rules (which right off the bat raises red flags to me; either he was planning to try this from the start, or his financial position has so degraded that he realized he no longer could afford the rent…). If you had taken his offer of living there rent free, I would be willing to lay strong odds that you would neither receive rent nor see the house maintained or upgraded, basically he would end up living there rent free as long as he could, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it continued on after he could afford to pay rent.</p>
<p>I understand the tension level, I had a problem neighbor a number of years ago, someone with anger issues and the like who we suspect was also abusive towards his wife and such, it was pretty tense. On the other hand, you have nothing to feel bad about, you helped as much as you could and the guy, probably in desperation, grasped at a straw, you said no, and now he is ****ed that you turned down what to him was probably a big win. You weren’t cruel, you just prevented someone from more then likely taking advantage of you, something he should never have asked you to do.</p>
<p>Ugh neighbor is still there and at it again.
the day I landed in Sweden, I received a series of aggressive texts fromhim because he accused me of throwing dog poop over the fence onto his property
my daughter did toss it over the fence onto our own property, nowhere near his
I am home now but it was making me very nervous while we were away
I think, judging by his nasty remarks that he is coming unglued mentally
my husband wants to speak to him and try to get it ironed out,but I don’t know if it will just make matters worse
I really wish they would just move out already</p>
<p>(((hugs))) Lje62</p>
<p>The main thing, sounds to me…you need to prevent the dog from bothering him in any way. I’d keep the dog in the house after 8 PM…when the dog goes outside after this time, go with him. Keep his barking to a minimum…that is the one thing that the neighbor can (irrationally) key on-- he’ll convince himself he is the victim here—of your dog’s barking (and your dog’s poop!). Personally, I’d avoid him completely. No hellos, nothing. And, my vote…your husband talking to him will make matters worse.</p>