Neighbor is Not Happy With Me

[Haneyrm]

I am building a new home in middle Tennessee and decided to go over an introduce myself to my new neighbors this past weekend. I did not get three words out of my mouth when my new neighbor proceeds to tell me how displeased he is with the siting and orientation of my new home. He is used to having an open field next to him and now there is a house there. He told me that the "country" thing to have done would have to included him in the decision making process on where to site my home. My options were very limited where I could locate my house because of the terrain and I was completely unaware that I should have asked my neighbor if it was o.k. to build a house in that location on my property. In the summer time, we cannot see each others houses because of the leaves on the trees. Now that it is winter, we can easily see each other. Keep in mind that these two houses are at least 750 feet apart. I admit that I am not a deeply rooted country man. I grew up in a very rural part of southern Maryland but have lived in Tampa, Florida for the past 15 years. Have I committed a country faux pas or is my neighbor just venting. I would really like to befriend the guy and his family but it is not looking good at this point. I have committed to planting 6 white pine trees to help further screen the houses which will help immensely in the winter.

In addition, I have three miniature donkeys that I will be keeping at the house. His reaction to that was just as negative. He told me that I was city folk that was trying to blend into the country life and that I had no idea what I was doing. This is from a guy that apparently despises livestock of any type and drives a BMW. I am not familiar with a hatred of livestock and love for BMW's being "country" attributes.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. The city part of me wants to tell the guy to go fly a kite and that I am going to do whatever I want to do regardless of what he thinks. But I am just not like that and would like to be a good neighbor and friend to this guy.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[Gator6x4]

I would start checking the property for discarded items and trash. Sounds like you have taken away the poor fellows dump. If he says anymore about it, ask him if he got your permission prior to building on his property.

 

[randy41]

around here country means myob. do what ever you want. its your land.

 

[tony123]

Oh, this will be a fun one!

I'm at work and can't type right now, but this topic hits home with me.

In short, he sounds like a shmuck. I would go to length to help his concerns if he had a better attitude. But with this attitude??? I wouldn't give him the time of day.

Long version to follow.

 

[MikePA]

Have I committed a country faux pas or is my neighbor just venting.

No. Your neighbor is an idiot. You don't have to justify how you situated your house on your land. If you want to plant pine trees, by all means, but not to please your neighbor. If he doesn't want to see you let him plant the trees.

Oh, everyone, please remember TBN is a Family Friendly Site.

 

[MossRoad]

The "country thing" to do was he should have come over to your place the fist day he saw activity and welcomed you to the neighborhood.

You have done nothing wrong. Enjoy your new home and ignore the neighbor. Plant trees to shield the view between the two of you and that will be that.

 

[firemanpat2910]

build a good strong fence, double check your survey. live and let ......

 

[Sigarms]

Part of the reason why we bought extra land with our house is so that no one could build around us.

You neighbor should of done the same thing.

As mentioned, your neighbor sounds like a idiot.

 

[Trainer]

This sounds like someone that you can't please no matter what. Do what you want. It is your property. Stay within the restrictions set by the county. If you are irritating enough, you could get a new and better neighbor. You could get some rusty scrap tin and put up a privacy fence along your property line. That will help improve relations.

 

[Red55]

Do the ah schucks routine bring him over a bottle and tell him for now on you'll check with him before you do anything. You are right you did nothing wrong BUT banging heads (especially while building) is something you don't have the time for. Being right doesn't mean a thing if he decides to call the powers to be (ie building dept, epa, health dept etc) every time he sees an opportunity. P.S. you might want to down size that house you're building and sell pronto. Isn't that why you moved out to the country? to get away from those xxxxx. -Ed

 

[bearhawk]

Reminds me of a saying.

Whats the difference between an elephant and a BMW.

On an elephant, the xxxx is on the outside.

 

[ktm250rider]

Similar thing happend to us at our first house. OUr lots were much smaller and there was only one location for the house due to some wetlands. We were there for a couple months, meet just about everyone else on the road but the people next door. We saw them planting trees to block the view of our house too.
One day they were working on the front lawn so we decided to walk over. Nothing like that bozo said but we found out later that they had similar feelings. I brushed it off. If they wanted the privacy, they should have bought the lot too.
They turned out to be pretty nice. Now that I look back, just about the only time we saw them was when they needed to borrow a tool from me.

750 is quit a was. I wouldnt do a thing unless YOU wanted to. Dont listen to that bozo.

 

[ToadHill]

When we bought our place the lot next to us was vacant. We did the neighborly thing and bought it so no one would block the view. He should have done the same.

 

[George2615]

Sigarms is right. If your neighbor didn't want to look at a house next to him which is now blocking his view he should have bought the property to prevent anyone from building. As far as consulting him with your site plan, He has no say so in this matter. Only your local code enforcement officer has a right to see where your are going to build in order to approve your building permit.

If you want to plant trees, by all means go ahead. He has no right to say what you can do on your property.

It sounds like this neighbors attitude will be an ongoing problem. Keep your fingers crossed that he will get fed up and move.

 

[zzvyb6]

I'd get out my 30-06 or my 50BMG Barrett and start pounding the Earth backstop to remind him of the new dog in the woods. When things settle down, keep watch over him to see how you can bump into him just when he needs a helping hand: stuck, broken, weld, push, fix BMW tire, find lost dog, ride home, wife needs some trim, anything. Then do the Neighborly thing. If he liked your property so much, he should have bought it. Now the deed is done as they say.

 

[MikePA]

to get away from those xxxxx.

Guess you missed this, request, eh?

Oh, everyone, please remember TBN is a Family Friendly Site.

 

[MikePA]

Reminds me of a saying.

Whats the difference between an elephant and a BMW.

On an elephant, the xxxxx is on the outside.

You missed it, too.

 

[RayH]

I think we have the same neighbor
Ive got 2.5 acres and my house sits in the middle. When I built, my neighbor was mad that I situated my house further back on my lot than his house is because "you can see what Im doing in my backyard". Like I care what he's doing. He proceeded to hang up a HUGE blue tarp in the trees between our property. It hung there for about a year before the weather took it down. Anyway, I got into it with him a couple more times after that and I ended up putting a fence up between us because his son couldnt get it through his head that my property was no longer available for him to ride his ATV on. You know, I may have considered locating my house differently if he had come to me BEFORE we started the excavation but for him to say something AFTER the house is finished is just plain stupid.
Ive lived here about 10 years now and we wave at each other but thats about as far as our relationship goes.

 

[shvl73]

Ive lived here about 10 years now and we wave at each other but thats about as far as our relationship goes.

There's nothing wrong with that.
Haneyrm, just wave everytime you see him and leave it at that. It costs nothing to be polite and take the high road. If he becomes obnoxious or does something overt, well, good luck!

 

[WayneB]

For what it is worth saying, you do own the property and you are paying to build a house on your land. I do not think you are doing anything out of the ordinary and there is no reason for a neighbor to act or react to you stopping by and introducing yourself.

Down the road from us there is a family (from the professional trades (lawyers)) that were totally upset because someone purchased land that abutted their property and built a small home on the hillside. She, the wife told me that all it does is lower the values of every bodies properties and the town should not issue building permits for sub standard homes.

I live in the oldest home in the area and happen to be on the zoning board so I am sure she was telling me this so I would know how to vote if it ever should happen again! My response to here was "some people move to the country and build homes for their family and others move to the country and build houses with a focus on maintaining a high selling price when they move on in five or six years"? Needless to say we won't be invited to their Christmas party!

In our town we have five acre building lots, in the low density area of town so it is very difficult for me to worry about what someone does on their five acres.

As for what you are confronting I would suggest trying your best to be a good neighbor and the same goes for your wife. Actually, I would think the wives will end up getting along just fine once the grass is planted and you are happy in you new home. These things have a way of working themselves out and sometimes it is best to wait and see what happens.

Wayne