I know Denis, Denis is a friend of mine. He'd pay his own way for the opportunity to come and visit.

I have been blessed with my neighbors at the beach house (its on a canal lot). If I make too much noise, my neighbors get pissed b/c I didnt invite them over.

This neighbor on the other hand...there has got to be something else behind this. It must be jelousy. or pent up sexual aggression...

I too am in a townhouse complex. When I first fired up my 3.4 after two years, my neighbors came over with beers when they heard it. And it is loud.....

We only have one idiot, and he does not like me much. They tried getting a car towed one night for parking in the visitor spot. We had words about because I told him he was being an *********. He wanted to know why, I explained the only reason he wanted the car towed was because he knew who's it was. If he didn't know, how else would he know it did not belong to a visitor..... I suggested a good neighbor would leave a note or knock on the door instead of sneaking around in the darkness to get someone's car towed. Even the tow truck driver agreed with me. I found out who's car it was and went and explained what happened. No one talks to the idiot much anymore....... Don't think he got re elected to the council either :)

John,

As long as you are not contradicting the bylaws or covenants too bad for miss panties in a knot and he husband who sounds like he needs the little blue pill. If they don't like it, maybe they should move.....

Cheers

hahaha, Its always good to see your posts Jeff!

Its funny how you have the exact same situiation as me. They complained b/c my sister parked in the visitor spot for a week b/c I took her to the airport. We are not allowed to tow though b/c it is not posted (NC Law)

The BMW guy from accross the way did the exact same thing when I got mine fired up. We ended up sitting in the driveway drinking a beer talking for an hour.

If the only clause in the covenants & HOA agreements is "habitual living area" then you are fine. Read it all over very carefully however (as noted above) for two reasons:
1. to make sure you don't have any other violations
2. to see if the a'holes do.

Also be sure to check your City codes, etc.

Now - you are in frickin' Nawth Carolina - so start sreaming about your inalienable PROPERTY RIGHTS. (they aren't at all inalienable or absolute but don't let that stop you).

Accuse the witch of being a flaming liberal - this works great if she is conservative, not at all if she is liberal. But you can always call her a pinko commie...

And... buddy up with the BMW guy and any others around there.

You can also take them up on their request to have you move. Offer to sell them your house. Tell them that you will do so by helping them avoid paying the high fees for a realtor and then name a price about 2x to 3x what it's worth. If they take you up on it (dang unlikely) then do it. Write a hard ass contract - NO warranty, not subject to inspection, as is, etc. and insist on a huge non-refundable deposit.

If it comes down to it, get an attorney who specializes in this sort of thing - start shopping around to find out who now.

Other fun fantasies include:
dog crap on their yard
putting their dog crap on others' yards
dirt and pizza deliveries
any other juvenile stuff you were too adult to do at 14 but would still like to fantasize about.

Here's a true one - I have a nasty old witch next door to me. After she started screaming at the new neighbors (including one of the more hard-ass Sociology professors I've ever met, I suggested that - since he spoke Russian - he should start screaming back at her in Russian (he stuck to English) but I thought that would be a fun touch that might just knock her off her rocker.

There are lots of things you can do to make her life a lot of fun. Just don't get caught and don't do anything that is actually illegal.

Most important of all - when you catch her alone, do NOT act sane. Mumble (don't do anything a video camera could capture like wild gesticulations or shaking a fist) make the mumbles sound like threats.

If anyone else is present, be the model of courtesy and friendliness.

See if you can drive her insane - sounds like she is not too far away.

Time to move the futon and fridge out of the garage.

Get Tom to host one of his "Special" parties at your place and send the ladies out onto the front lawn.......... :)

I dont think the trying to sell them the house would work, b/c it would probably come back to bite me in my ass (I have a real estate license, and the NC commission loves to take them away)

I do like the mumbling idea, b/c your right. she is right on the edge of loosing it. I thought about just lauphing everytime I saw her.

I will be using my video camera on my phone everytime I come home late now though. It sucks I have to go out of my way, but all I need is something concrete so I can get the authorities involved

Damn, and I had plans for a flatscreen tv, and permanent computer as well...

WTF? Why am I not surprised?

Has it ever occurred to you that some people move out to the boondocks of Shuswap because they would like to enjoy some peace and quiet? Or think they would. And then they discover they have a neighbor who's into jet skis and motorboats and snowmobiles and Hummers... I mean that is the worst nightmare of every recreational property purchaser, is it not?

What is it about peace and quiet that you don't get?

Mumble Away! Post results. We all need some humor in our lives.

Wave and smile when you see her. You want to alternate two different extreme behaviors to try and get her goat.

I can't really think of a WORSE lake to try to get some peace and quiet on......

John,

My neighbour directly across form me (a cop) has flat 6 honda bike so he is glad he is not the loudest around anymore. Truth be told I idle the car out of here the few times I have driven it and if I have to leave for early for a DE it will be parked on the street....

My father is the chairman of the strata where he lives so I understand how much goofy $hit goes on with this stuff.....

I like where I live and will try to keep my neighbours happy, but I don't have any lunatics living near me. We have a real mix of "keep to them selves" types and then some of us who are fun. Everyone gets along for the most part and in the summer a few of us keep the front door open to the others when we are home.

Cheers

Either what you are doing is allowed by your CC&Rs, or it isn't. Either way, I'd just ignore the neighbor and carry on. If and when you get a letter from your HOA, deal with it then.

hire a lawyer...preferably one that you know or is recommended to you by a friend... draft a solid letter which you will send to the 'offended' people as well as your local HOA that states that what you are doing in your garage is perfectly legal and within the boundaries of your own domain etc.... then put in a threat that if this Harrassment against you does not stop, you will have no choice but to press charges with the local authorities as well as persue them for damages through legal channels.

Either that, or get everyone together for a meeting....have your wife bake some nice apple pie and serve coffee and tea. Express your pleasure with living in a neighborhood where there are so many great and caring people... give them the details of your specific project and how much it means to your life. Offer them a compromise with a specific timeframe of when you will finish your project. thank them for coming.

pick the poison

Be the bigger man, go over there with a nice gift/pie/cookies and make peace. Ask them nicely what you could do to be a better neighbor. Talk to the husband and wife both. Many benefits to have good relations with your neighbors.

If they do not come around then fire off a pre-emptive strike with the HOA. Speak softly and carry a big stick. Talk first, use stick if talk does not work :)

Have you tried bending your wife/girlfriend (not sure if you are married) over the couch with the curtains open when you know miss busy body is watching??

I did that to a strange older fellow who lived across the street from me at my old house. Even waved at him. He never bothered me much after that...... :)

Cheers

Yeah! Hire me:D I'd love to visit the tail of the dragon in the spring.

I have taken on a number of over zealous HOA's and kicked butt:cool:

But it has really gottren bizarre when the city decided to enact an ordinace making the breach of a private contract; i.e., a protective covenant, a crime punishable by fines and jail time. Looks like it may end up in the SCOTUS.

And to prove I'm not BSing you, here's a link to2 news articles on it last month. The BOD's (3 people) of a HOA tried to make a covenant barring renting of property in an upscale neighborhood even tho the original covenants allowed it and required a 90% vote of the 600 or so property owners to modify the covenant.

And you guys hate lawyers;)

http://search.clarionledger.com/sp?aff=117&keywords=atkinson&datespan=&submit=sear ch

http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:vf5PnCM3qgAJ:www.mcherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article%3FAID%3D/20071204/NEWS/712040307/1001+madison+missippi+pierce+covenant&hl=en&ct=cln k&cd=1&gl=us

Jeff with all of your educational auto body threads I was thinking it would be great to have a neighbor like you. Your other "bodywork" might give me second thoughts ;)

I'm not sure if I piss off my neighbors or not with the p-car, I've only checked the timing advance a few times. They didn't seem too pleased when I used combustion chamber cleaner on my Jeep, it looked like airshow smoke!

I think we're going to try and avoid places with HOA when we move, it just seems to be hit or miss. It's not like I park on the grass but there is a limit to what is reasonable. People around here are shocked to see that I change my own oil....their first question is always "what do you do with the old oil?". I think they assume I dump it down the drain rather than recycle it which is what I always do. I do know my dogs piss of the neighbors sometimes.

Would you like to borrow my Harley with straight pipes or my 2400 watt stereo system :)? I'm respectful of my neighbors and tend to mind my own business, but if I had an ********* neighbor pull something like that on me, it'd be "ON", and I would then become their worst nightmare. It wouldn't take long before they figured out that they had simply f***ed with the wrong person.