Being neighborly
A few months ago, you may recall we had a little visitor in our house.
After that debacle, we had a lock installed on the front gate to our property to match the locked gate at the back of our property. I like to say we live in Fort Knox now, because unless you have a key or a garage-door-opener, you ain't gettin' in. I feel pretty secure and am happy with the situation because it means I don't have to buy a gun. Not that I don't think you shouldn't be able to have a gun. I am all for licensed, trained firearms owners exercising their right to bear arms. Or their right to bare arms, although only if they work out because I see enough of my own flabby triceps and don't need to see anyone else's.
Not so happy about the gated community we've established is our new next-door neighbor. Our old next-door neighbor moved away last week and the new people moved in. Like many residents in this area, they're renters, young whippersnappers just out of college. I have seen their landlord, the owner of the house three feet to the south of our house, the house where we can see into their bathroom and got to know the sex lives of our neighbors two years ago a little too intimately, exactly four times in the last four years. He doesn't have someone come and remove the snow, he doesn't really give a shit about his property, he just shows up when something major needs fixing or when new people move in.
Genius Landlord, as we'll call him, has owned his building about 150 years longer than we've owned ours. And he has been taking advantage of our property situation by telling his tenants to access their basement laundry room by opening our front gate, walking down our stairs, meandering down our little sidewalk and re-entering his property via a door under his deck.
Which used to scare the living shit out of me several nights a week when I would hear people clomping down the stairs at midnight and think someone was trying to break in and kill me. It makes perfect sense to do laundry at midnight on a Monday, no?
In the winter, we don't shovel the steps going down to the ground level because A. there's no reason we need to go down there and B. by not shoveling, we can see any footprints and know if some unsavory characters have been lurking about where they are not supposed to be. That and we can see if any urban fauna (i.e. rats) have chosen to grace us with their presence.
But that presents a dilemma for us. Because we don't shovel the stairs or the path (let's not kid ourselves, mostly because we are lazy), but our neighbors use it to access their laundry facilities, they could sue the organic crackers out of us if they slip and fall. One of Josh's best friends is a personal injury attorney, and if you hear about all the ways you could get screwed by a personal injury on your property, well let's just say your butthole puckers at the mere thought of someone stubbing their pinky toe at your house.
On the advice of our attorney, we decided not to give a gate key to the new neighbors. It's too much risk. Not to mention, all Genius Landlord has to do is cut a hole in his deck and drop a staircase in there and the tenants have access. Nice and easy. Everybody wins.
New Neighbor called the house last night to ask for a key to the gate. Josh explained the situation and politely told him it's not happening and to call his landlord to figure out what to do. New Neighbor was displeased. Said suing was, "not my style." Unfortunately, living out of a box under an overpass with three kids is "not our style" and we're not giving up the key.
He tried to argue with Josh about the merits of property access and told Josh that if he breaks into our property and falls and hurts himself, he could still sue us. Umm, not sure how credible that case would be, but as Josh pointed out, if we give him a key, that's giving him permission to enter and that's certainly going to hold up in court.
So they parted on not-so-great terms and I am waiting for Genius Landlord to take an interest in this and get out the plot of survey and start duking out access rights with us any minute. In the meantime, I hope New Neighbor doesn't start throwing his dirty boxers over the fence in protest. Because I would totally do something assholish like that if I was him.
After that debacle, we had a lock installed on the front gate to our property to match the locked gate at the back of our property. I like to say we live in Fort Knox now, because unless you have a key or a garage-door-opener, you ain't gettin' in. I feel pretty secure and am happy with the situation because it means I don't have to buy a gun. Not that I don't think you shouldn't be able to have a gun. I am all for licensed, trained firearms owners exercising their right to bear arms. Or their right to bare arms, although only if they work out because I see enough of my own flabby triceps and don't need to see anyone else's.
Not so happy about the gated community we've established is our new next-door neighbor. Our old next-door neighbor moved away last week and the new people moved in. Like many residents in this area, they're renters, young whippersnappers just out of college. I have seen their landlord, the owner of the house three feet to the south of our house, the house where we can see into their bathroom and got to know the sex lives of our neighbors two years ago a little too intimately, exactly four times in the last four years. He doesn't have someone come and remove the snow, he doesn't really give a shit about his property, he just shows up when something major needs fixing or when new people move in.
Genius Landlord, as we'll call him, has owned his building about 150 years longer than we've owned ours. And he has been taking advantage of our property situation by telling his tenants to access their basement laundry room by opening our front gate, walking down our stairs, meandering down our little sidewalk and re-entering his property via a door under his deck.
Which used to scare the living shit out of me several nights a week when I would hear people clomping down the stairs at midnight and think someone was trying to break in and kill me. It makes perfect sense to do laundry at midnight on a Monday, no?
In the winter, we don't shovel the steps going down to the ground level because A. there's no reason we need to go down there and B. by not shoveling, we can see any footprints and know if some unsavory characters have been lurking about where they are not supposed to be. That and we can see if any urban fauna (i.e. rats) have chosen to grace us with their presence.
But that presents a dilemma for us. Because we don't shovel the stairs or the path (let's not kid ourselves, mostly because we are lazy), but our neighbors use it to access their laundry facilities, they could sue the organic crackers out of us if they slip and fall. One of Josh's best friends is a personal injury attorney, and if you hear about all the ways you could get screwed by a personal injury on your property, well let's just say your butthole puckers at the mere thought of someone stubbing their pinky toe at your house.
On the advice of our attorney, we decided not to give a gate key to the new neighbors. It's too much risk. Not to mention, all Genius Landlord has to do is cut a hole in his deck and drop a staircase in there and the tenants have access. Nice and easy. Everybody wins.
New Neighbor called the house last night to ask for a key to the gate. Josh explained the situation and politely told him it's not happening and to call his landlord to figure out what to do. New Neighbor was displeased. Said suing was, "not my style." Unfortunately, living out of a box under an overpass with three kids is "not our style" and we're not giving up the key.
He tried to argue with Josh about the merits of property access and told Josh that if he breaks into our property and falls and hurts himself, he could still sue us. Umm, not sure how credible that case would be, but as Josh pointed out, if we give him a key, that's giving him permission to enter and that's certainly going to hold up in court.
So they parted on not-so-great terms and I am waiting for Genius Landlord to take an interest in this and get out the plot of survey and start duking out access rights with us any minute. In the meantime, I hope New Neighbor doesn't start throwing his dirty boxers over the fence in protest. Because I would totally do something assholish like that if I was him.
Labels: Annoying People
posted by Amy at
1:25 PM
5 Comments:
I would not be neighborly. Stick to your guns and don't give him the key.
We just went through the whole re-survey of the lot thing so we could put up a fence to keep OUR neighbors out. It got pretty tense - even after the survey was done as to where the fence would be. I agree with Monica - stick to your guns! Don't let 'em in! Gotta love landlords!
Your concerns sound exactly like what we've been talking about in my Torts class- definitely don't give them a key! (Not to mention, what kind of landlord sets up their property so you have to repeatedly trespass on the neighbor's property?)
New follower to your blog, but I don't understand what kind of person demands a key to someone else's property and then gets pissed when they don't get it.
Not only that, but I can't imagine that crossing over your neighbor's lawn, digging out a key, going down a set of stairs outdoors-especially in the winter- and crossing back over to your lawn is the simplest way to access a laundry room or that any landlord would seriously advise it. Very strange. Sorry your new neighbors are jerks, but I hope you don't cave.
Totally agree with Abby - and I'm also new to your blog. What kind of arrangement allows renters (or even the owners, if there were owners) to repeatedly walk on your propery to access their laundry? Sounds horrible. Genius Landlord will surely get snippy, but he's been on easy street for too long. Good job, and stay strong!
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