There is a real good chance this won't happen again. The son was sorry, the father is aware it isn't going unnoticed. You want to sell in a few years. You don't want a buyer find out there are hostile neighbors. Fertilize the shrubs so they will get growing. Be very sure of the property line. I would avoid a spite fence. A fence comparable with others in the area would be good. The worse outcome for this would be to devalue your potential sale price of the home. When you do move, pick a place with more distance between the homes.
get a lawyer and sue the idiot, don't attack him even though he needs it. sue his arrogant butt. take pics of the property line and have visual evidence. You already have one of him cutting it on your land. get a pic of the property line itself if you can. You can't lose. Most Lawyers won't even take the case if they don't think they can win. I'd make him pay for replacing all the hedges and anything the lawyer thinks you can get. and I'd hire the most expensive landscaper to replace them I could find. Do not let him get away with this or he will just keep doing crap to you. I'd even see if you can make him pay for a fence with the lawyer. maybe not on that one but I'd ask. I tell ya, the nerve of some people. just sue him, don't let him slide.
What kind of hedge is that? He's using a hedge trimmer. That'll NOT make clean cuts. They'll be ragged, introducing further stress on the shrub. Each ragged stem is an invitation to disease and rot. More pictures for his honor.
Interesting thread so far. I went through something similar recently. When I went to our attorney one of the first questions he asked was something like "do you want to save decent relations with your neighbors or not?" In our case, our neighbors are generally good people and all of us plan to live here for the long haul, so that drove the route we went down. Your situation is totally different. As above, document everything! Then, send him a certified letter saying fix it or see you in court.
I totally agree. I’d put in a fence all the colors of the rainbow...on the outside facing the neighbor. Make absolute sure it is inside your property line, and the neighbor can choke on it. There was a case in Florida where a man was somehow able to buy property that bordered a subdivision’s lake view lots, on the water side. He erected a tall privacy fence and ruined everyone’s water view. They literally had to pay the jerk 10’s of thousands of $$ each for him to remove the privacy fence from their property line so they could regain their view. They took him to court and lost, with the court siding on the property owner’s right to erect a fence on his land. They had to pay him if they wanted to restore their waterfront status. My whole point is you’d be perfectly in your right to do so, and the jerk neighbor couldn’t do anything about it. I say payback is a Biiiiiiitch. And, make him pay. Have a certified arborist come out immediately and tell what the hedge was worth at 10 feet tall, and the current damage after it was damaged with the pole saw. Then file a lawsuit for the damages and replacement costs. And still build the rainbow fence.
That guy is never going to be a good neighbor if he would do crap like that. heck I want to sue the idiot and he ain't even my neighbor.
The one good thing about this is he doesn't actually live next door...and the son that does knows dad stepped over the line (literally )
Right, but having seen that pic of them in jdude ’s yard tells me he was complicit and that his “apology” was worth a handful of chit....
Oh I agree, worthless...but the fact that he made the effort to come over and say that means he knows that they were in the wrong...and might be expecting some consequences
Just a reminder that although it is best to take the high road, the wounds of being dissed in that way are hard to forget, but we’re working thru it.....
Yes it is!!! But I can assure you thats how everyone feels, and me, now that I'm retired, well I don't give a $#!T!!! I would have smacked him good!
As I mentioned earlier, i'm going to consult with my attorney next week. I'm going to print out the pictures I have to take with me. I am not sure EXACTLY where the property line is but there didn't seem to be any question when the police were here as to it being on my property. I will ask the attorney if I should get a simple survey done ( I know a guy in town here) to simply establish exactly where the front and back points are and then I can run a string from front to back and take a photo of it to add to the other evidence. I'm not overly concerned about neighborly relations going forward, he did what he did and it was wrong. If he can't see that then I have no use for any further contact with him. I think once he finishes working on the next house over he won't be around here much at all. I think the thing about this whole situation that has me the most pizzed off if when he said " If I would have asked you, you would have told me no". That's simply a total lack of respect for me and my property. I told him when the cop was here that a little communication before he did this would have gone a long way, we could have come to some agreement to resolve his issue with it hanging over on his side. I did actually trim it last year on both sides so it isn't like I was just ignoring it and not being concerned about keeping it looking nice and off his property.
That's exactly why I had to go back in the house when I first confronted him, my blood was boiling and I wasn't sure I could keep front rearranging his face. I went in, took a shower and then called the police. Another funny thing..........when i first walked away, I said " you're a F'n a-hole", when the cop was here and was asking him questions about why he did it he said " he called me an A-hole"........like that was important....
years a go 2 young lads put a stone thourgh one of our cars back window, i was the one how had to pay for it,
Just make sure you know where the line is and can show, last thing you want to do is be unprepared. he will have a lawyer too most likely. and the way he went about doing it I could care less if he ever said anything to me or not.
Sorry you have that yahoo for a neighbor. I have run into arrogant types before and are definitely not a pleasure to deal with. Don't let him get away with it.
