stupid neighbour

[bcmaxx]

So I live in a fully fenced yard on the end of a cull de sac (where I normally park) there is a back alley entrance ( my actual physical address where mail is delivered,garbage is picked up,etc.)my house is the last house on the alley. One day I noticed the neighbour took it upon himself to build a fire pit in the middle of the alley, in my normally unused parking spot. Its dug down approx 2 ft, 3 1/3 feet across and bordered with big rocks. It was a slight annoyance at first,having to go around the pit to drop my garbage in the alley. I parked my jeep in my alley parking spot over his firepit last night in preperation for a halloween bash tommarow night as parking is tight out front. My gf got a call from the cops this afternoon saying they found my vehicle abandoned in an alleyway, my gf pointed out to the cops that the vehicle is insured and registered and the regi matches the address where it is parked,end of story,Its my spot. what do I do? just keep parking it there over his pit, be a really nice guy and not sweat it,let him leave his pit, or tell him to remove his firepit from my parking spot?

[FlexdXJ]

do you own the place. does he own it whats going on here? sounds to me like you just need to drop a tire in there and f*ck it up:D actually i would say if it's your spot which you own/rent tell him to remove it. Just because you don't use it doesn't give him the right to use YOUR parking spot as a Fire pit

[Darky]

Use his firepit as a field expedient latrine....don't think he'd want to cook over that...:D

[ECKSJAY]

Pave over it.

[iwannadie]

Next time hes using it call the police/fire dept. and report a fire behind your house. Im sure theres some laws against an open fire in an alley way near houses.

[GSequoia]

Here's a crazy idea...


How 'bout you try talking to him?

[iwannadie]

Here's a crazy idea...


How 'bout you try talking to him?

Talk to the guy who dug a pit in his parking spot, then tried to claim his jeep was an abandon vehicle because it was parked over the pit... Sounds to me like the guys one those not open to much talk.

[GSequoia]

Talk to the guy who dug a pit in his parking spot, then tried to claim his jeep was an abandon vehicle because it was parked over the pit... Sounds to me like the guys one those not open to much talk.

You'd be surprised what some people are willing to talk about.

Or what areas some people don't realize aren't theirs to mess with.

Or what vehicles are supposed to be somewhere.

[bcmaxx]

do you own the place. does he own it whats going on here? sounds to me like you just need to drop a tire in there and f*ck it up:D actually i would say if it's your spot which you own/rent tell him to remove it. Just because you don't use it doesn't give him the right to use YOUR parking spot as a Fire pit
I own, he owns, he moved in about a year ago

[bcmaxx]

You'd be surprised what some people are willing to talk about.

Or what areas some people don't realize aren't theirs to mess with.

Or what vehicles are supposed to be somewhere.

he knows my vehicle, thats what irks me, why would he make himself an ass to the cops, just to try get my jeep towed?
\ yeah I'll try to talk with him, hopefully not with my foot on his neck

[5spd_xj]

i agree that talking with him would be the best first approach, keep calm about it and if he's unreasonable and uncooperative, then get authorities or whoever else involved...

good luck meeting your new best friend! haha

[Rod Knee]

The firepit is in the alley...city property. Call the city. Let the city be "reasonable" with this idiot.

[karstic]

The firepit is in the alley...city property. Call the city. Let the city be "reasonable" with this idiot.

Not if it's a private alleyway.

[alex22]

Not sure how bad the courts are north of the border, but down here you could be sued if somebody happened to be walking down that alley at night fell into that hole on your property and sue you for medical, emotional and/or psychological damage. If the neighbor is reasonable when you talk with him and you don't think the fire is too close to your house then have him buy or make a cover for that giant hole when its not in use.

~Alex

[bcmaxx]

Not sure how bad the courts are north of the border, but down here you could be sued if somebody happened to be walking down that alley at night fell into that hole on your property and sue you for medical, emotional and/or psychological damage. If the neighbor is reasonable when you talk with him and you don't think the fire is too close to your house then have him buy or make a cover for that giant hole when its not in use.

~Alex

My plan is to park on the pit until he says something to me, it just fits between my tires and under my front diff.

[hubs97xj]

Since he's had the shovel out, and you've already tried to annoy him, why don't you both just suck it up, act like adults, and discuss the matter? Then, when that fails (and it almost surely will when men start squabbling over lines in the dirt), get the city/county/whoever owns the alley/right of way involved and have them sort things out.

[8Mud]

To tell you the truth, back stabbers (who use the authorities to fight there battles) and back yard diplomats are a lost cause. In there self centered universe you are the irritant, never them. The whomever has the best line of BS tack, never really settled anything. Many people consider arguing endlessly as entertainment.
My solution is usually one of two things, I tell them how it's going to end, you'll have to kill me to stop me. Or plan two, if they are arrogant enough to fall for it, I act meek, look at the ground a lot, convince them I'm a chump and wait for them in there infinite arrogance to grab my arm or make a threat, then beat the crap out of them. You'd be surprised how many times plan two has worked for me, I've never been charged. Seriously, don't underestimate the other guys arrogance, find a way to use it to your advantage. One guy insisted I park my Jeep farther up the block (I park it under my front window) so he could see better when he pulled out of his garage. This was the beginning of a running commentary from him, which ended one day when he called me a c++t and I broke his nose.
Rule number one, you'll rarely beat somebody at there own game. The more outrageous and unexpected your attack is, the better your chance of victory (be creative). Who in there right mind messes with a Badger? Badgers are easy going to a point, then are more like Wolverines.
Or the last alternative, is to let the guy yank your chain for years and make life just a little bit more miserable than it has to be.
Last tip, behind every border dispute there is invariably a women involved. Somebody is likely motivating him. Though there is a fair number of guys around on testicular overload.
On lady called the Police on me for painting my Unimog, I was using a brush and roller. I then painted it hot pink and parked it in front of her house for the next five years.
Most of the guys around here cut firewood and let it dry in the forest, wood thieves are a problem. The solution is a very large firecracker, someplace inside a piece of firewood, someplace in the stack.

[karstic]

My plan is to park on the pit until he says something to me, it just fits between my tires and under my front diff.

Drain your front diff in the pit. Then let him start a fire.

[buzzbombxj]

Hide bottle rockets, firecrackers and roman candles under a thin layre of ash.

[Mutant_Xj]

Who owns the alley? If its you do, fill the hole in and tell him to pi$$ off. If he does find a new parking spot. If the township or whatever its is does, he can't build a pit there anyways.

[CaliGold]

How about some pics so we can see what's actually going on?

[bcmaxx]

How about some pics so we can see what's actually going on?
Its too dark, he'd prob call the cops ( "sir, someones it trying to break into the abandoned jeep parked on my firepit")
btw I don't even know the guy,they are like hermits,he has a full yard,lots of places to put a firepit and he picks my frickin parking spot, I hope the mailman breaks his ankle and sues him

[iwannadie]

Its too dark, he'd prob call the cops ( "sir, someones it trying to break into the abandoned jeep parked on my firepit")
btw I don't even know the guy,they are like hermits,he has a full yard,lots of places to put a firepit and he picks my frickin parking spot, I hope the mailman breaks his ankle and sues him

If the mail man breaks his ankle, its Your parking spot.

I dont know the situation beyond whats been posted of course. If your legally bound to the parking spot(since you claim its yours) then its all on you. Good luck proving your neighbor dug the hole without any proof other than your word against his.

[Art Triggs]

If the property he dug the hole on belongs to you, and you can prove it (in other words it's documented) fill in the hole, park your jeep there and ask him to not dig there again.
after that after that its time for the law to be involved. BE sure you can prove tat the property is yours befor you do that...

[rogersjeep]

Hell just swing by homedepot and buy a few bags of concrete and fill the damn hole up. He will have fun tring to dig it again.

[5-90]

Try talking to him - civilly and calmly. You can start out nice and turn into an arse later - but the other way around doesn't work. If you can't get anywhere with him, then you'll want to prove where the pit is:

If it's on his property (doesn't sound like it,) then it's his problem. Notify whatever local jurisdiction anyhow, and make sure it's not yours.

If it's a public right-of-way, notify Public Works or your local Roads department - they'll handle it.

If it's on your property (sounds like it,) it's your arse if someone hurts themselves, even if you didn't dig the hole. Backfill straight away, and civilly and calmly tell him he doesn't have the right to dig a pit on your property. Everybody gets one.

One step further - if you can prove it's your property (check the deed and property lines) and you own, not rent; then mix up some mortar, get a load of cinderblock, and backfill with that. Put about two inches of dirt overtop of it. Ideally - when he's not there to see you do it. Failing that, find an old trench plate and backfill until it would be 3-4" below grade, lay the plate, and finish backfill. Spendy, but effective. Alternately, get a few and lay them over your parking spots - if they can be dug in, you've got a great excuse - you want a flat parking area, and can't afford to pave (or don't want to get into getting everyone to co-operate, or you're sure you can't get everyone on board, or ...) Essentially, you backfill the hole on your property and provide a barrier that requires a positive effort and positive intent to dig a hole. Document that you've done it, save your receipts, and what-have-you - they'll all likely come in handy later. Pictures added to the file would also help. Take a picture of the hole, the backfilling in progress, and the final result. File in case the city ends up asking you (recall that government and courts have a major paper fetish - I don't care where you are.)

If it were my situation and I were renting (with the pit on property provable as "mine",) I'd notify the landlord/property manager/property owner and let them handle it (since they'd get involved sooner or later, and you'll have to notify them ASAFP before something happens.)

[Metal Thrasher]

In many of the states it is possible for someone to take your property from you if they have been using it without any challenge for a period of time. I know that back in the 80's in California we had a guy attempt to annex a piece of our property by bulldozing a drive way to his land on it without permission. He had just gotten through with winning a lawsuit from the neighbor on the other side where he annexed thier land by tilling and farming on it for three years. In Washington state I saw a small triangle of land get annexed the same way as part of a driveway.
If you have a clear legal claim to the land do not allow anyone to use it in any way with out a contract or some form of easment agreement. You may only charge them a dollar for the use but if you don't get some sort of compensation you are giving it away. Also consider that many lots are required to be of a certain size to support a building. If they take a portion of your land and your lot is no longer large enough or the house is too close to the property line you may not be able to rebuild, expand or even sell the property.

- I know the laws are different every where but I was just talking to an uncle who used to be a real estate agent in BC. He says you better make peace and keep them on their side of the line.

[bigalpha]

Keep the fire pit, but block it off so he can't use it. I bet he'd be pretty pissed to come out and see you using the fire pit he dug.

[Mtb Jak]

dont let him have a fire while your jeeps parked over it... lol

[bjoehandley]

Keep the fire pit, but block it off so he can't use it. I bet he'd be pretty pissed to come out and see you using the fire pit he dug.

I keep thinking that would be a great place to do oil changes without having to lift the truck any further off the ground....once it's cleaned out though

[cornholio]

Maybe I missed it, but whose property is the pit on?
Or is it on a shared easement?

[Mudderoy]

The majority of people do not like conflict, so they have a tendency just do stuff thinking the other person will just bend over and take it.

If you didn't "speak" to the guy when he first put the pit in that was a mistake. I would have gone to the guy and approached it from the stand point of "Why did you dig a hole in my driveway?" This gives the guy the option of saying "Oh I'm sorry I thought it was ... blah blah blah"

If you say "Look a$$hole fix this sh$t!" then you are likely to have a negative response. If you leave a way out for people, they will usually take it since they were hoping you wouldn't say anything.

Things are starting to escalate now since he called the cops, so I guess the best thing you can do is arm yourself with some information. You may need to contact an attorney and find out what your legal rights are. Once you have that I would tell the guy here are my rights. If I exercise them it's going to cost me money and you a lot more money.

Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to fill that pit in and you're not going to build another one on my property, okay?

If you REALLY don't want to talk to the guy, then have the pit filled in by a company. Take the receipt and go to small claims court and sue the guy for the bill. I think it costs $90 to file.

You have to put a stop to things like this because someone can wind up injured or dead. Neither is good.

[Darky]

I think out here the statute for annexing someone's land through usage (squatter's rights) is one year. Past a year its yours.
I'd say just fill it in and if he digs a new one in your property, confront him and say you filled the last one because you assumed it was just a mistake but now he ought to know, so no more holes.

[turpehar]

Go gig a hole in his yard,,, make sure they aren't home,,, maybe even at night. If he confronts you he'll be happy to know you were returning the favor:conceited