A Different VentThe one really bad thing about summer is that it gives the ####*les in this world a chance to reach their full potential. A good example is my next door neighbor. We just got some very heavy rains. He is complaining that my two downspouts are causing water to seep into his basement. Well, the one is 30 feet or more away from his house. The ground runs level from there to his house and the only slope is towards the side of my house. The second drains down a hill away from his place. As a matter of fact, to reach his house the water would have to make a left turn against gravity! I have checked things during the heaviest rains and everything drains properly according to local ordnance. Nothing even goes in his direction! Now this genius doesn't even consider that his problem might be that he connected his one downspout with a 2 liter pop bottle, funneling the water through a nickel-sized opening or the fact that he removed a retaining wall alongside his house. The ground there now slopes towards his foundation allowing the water to run in! This guy is a hot head that you can't reason with. The county constables even came to his house to arrest him. Well, I looked him up on the internet and found a record going back to 1980. Though it almost all has something to do with traffic violations, his most reason trouble involves assault and resisting arrest. This is the kind of person that you hope doesn't have a gun. To try and shorten this, the jerk wants me to put extensions on the two spouts. I will probably do this just to shut him up. I think the less I have to do with his type the better. Sorry for getting off the topic of venting about work, but I just had to say something. Downspout extentions are really cheap. Why doesn't the idiot buy them himself? Hasn't he ever heard of Home Depot? I wouldn't do it. Take pictures of his house for your records so if he takes you to court you have a defense. The thing is that I am struggling right now. The best I could get is a part time job. All this does is reduce the rate at which my savings diminish. So, I can't afford a lawsuit from this nut case. I did make an offer to put extensions if he will fix something that affects my property, and am waiting for the reply. But, I have scouted his place for photographs in case of court and have documented everything so far. Diehard, you haven't seen this guy. He is a real hot head with a criminal record and who knows what he is capable of. He could very well torch my home or vandalize it when I'm not home. I don't even want to think about him having a gun.
By law ifyour downspout is doing what it needs to do then tough on the neighbor. It is his problem - if it is a tree on your property or whatever and hitting his then ok that is differnt but an act of god isnt even if it WAS your downspout problem but it sounds like it isnt. Send him a registered letter and tell him that your home complies with it all and that you have checked with a contractor - even if you havent so what ? He sounds too dumb to know better - and that the matter is no longer open for discussion - period. I have a gal in Illinois whos tree did tons of damage to my roof and she refused to cut it - yelling and screaming at me all the time when I even brought it up and finally I said ok to heck with this noise and I had a friend come over and just chainsaw the thing - but I made sure he stayed within my property line - and yeah it looked like crap when he got done but at least I didnt have any more holes in my brand new roof from it - she came UNGLUED - (Funny but it took her over 3 months to even notice - that was how important her back yard was to her - it only became important when I wouldnt bow to her whim) - she called the cops on me for destruction of property - they came out and talked to me and I laughed and said yeah come here I will show you exactly what I did and why so I showed the cop the tree and pictures showing it hitting my roof and clearly knocking down my guttering - the cop went OFF - but not at me - he marched over to her house and told her if she filed another false claim for this he would haul her into jail in handcuffs. lol Arent neighbors fun ? Good luck
Has this jerk threatened you? He has absolutely no business on your property, contact the police and at least have them write out a report, and tell them you are afraid he will hurt you or your property because he has a criminal record and has a very short fuse. Maybe he is on probation, which just might get the police to cruise by Having a gun wouldn't hurt either. Sorry you are going through such a nasty situation, take care! tb:) Tango, Thanks for your reply. I am still waiting for a reply to my letter in which I offer to give him what he wants if he does something I want. It has been 10 days now. My main concern is to keep things from escalating. In his original note, he ended it by saying that it would be in my best interests to take care of what he wants as soon as possible (yet he makes no reply to my proposal). Now, that could be interpreted in number of ways. Right now, I am documenting everything as much as possible in case the authorities need to become involved. Also, I am thinking of sending him a letter reminding him that I have received no response. Hi Dogbert, Is the downspout something you are responsible for fixing, it doesn't sound like it after reading the other posts. tb:) Is the downspout something you are responsible for fixing, it doesn't sound like it after reading the other posts. The downspouts are mine and have been disconnected for almost two years now. Now, all of a sudden this jerk claims that they are draining into his basement. If he is having problems, it's all his own fault. I plan on taking pictures of his property showing the poor shape his gutters and downspouts are in (his one is connected with a 2 liter pop bottle funneling the water through a nickel-sized neck). As for approaching him, I am going to keep it all on a written basis if possible. This Friday will make two weeks since I replied to his letter and yet, have received no response to my proposal. I will write him a letter pointing this out and also warning him that if he touches anything on my property again, he will be charged with tresspass.
Good! I wouldn't offer to do anything for him. Take care!
Boy, does this bring back memories. I had the exact same problem with a lady who lived next door to a rowhouse I bought to rent out. The house use to be the local crack house on the street. Of course she never complained to the owner, because he was in jail for attempted murder (that is another funny story for another time). She would come up into my face, complaining that my water run off was causing her basement to leak water. I brought out 2 different contractors to check it out and both said it wasn't my drain spout. Here is the kicker. She was the bookkeeper for the real estate company who helped me buy several properties and was taking care the rental side of my property. My agent hated her. Finally, I wrote a letter to her boss stating that I felt uncomfortable going to my property and going to their offices, because of her actions. Something had to be done about her behavior or I will seek the services of another company. Finally, my agent (this what I heard) and her got into a huge argument about the situation and finally she shut the hell up! I never heard from her again, but she still works there. Luckily, I live in CA and the property is in Philly, so I don't have to deal with it everyday. I feel for you man, my situation is similar but, I least I had ammo. Some people are just looking for any reason to cause headaches for others.
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