'I forgot to tell her': Couple eclipses nosy Karen neighbor's home with massive privacy fence

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Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Nov 14, 2023 12:00 PM EST

Moving house is a stressful affair that is capped off by the uncertainty of who your new neighbors will be. It's like you're spending your entire life savings to get a single roll of a D20, which could very well end up in a critical failure. After all, nothing makes or breaks the enjoyment of a peaceable existence like ending up next to the wrong people; you could have the most perfect abode that you'd ever dreamed of and still be more miserable than you were in your little old decrepit one if your neighbors prove to be wildly problematic.

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  • 01
    "She called the city because we got a dog. She called the city because we were in our back yard at night."
    via Kostiantyn Li

  • This couple moved into their new home after working with a real estate agent in order to specifically avoid dealing with an HOA—and to avoid the accompanying busybody neighbors who comprise HOA boards. Yet, try as they might, they still ended up next to a nightmare neighbor who took dramatic offense to every little thing the couple did within the bounds of their own property. So, being unable to solve the problem completely, the couple decided to stick a massive fence between themselves and the problem. See their story below.

  • 02
    Font - Posted by u/StevenAnd LindaStotch Oops, forgot to tell my neighbor about our new fence... EDIT: There isn't actually a two-property HOA. We say that as a joke because she is constantly trying to tell her what to do. When we first moved here, we thought she was being helpful because this is our first experience with the suburbs AND we had moved to a new state. We realized pretty quickly that she just likes telling people what to do.
    via u/StevenAndLindaStotch
  • 03
    Font - We moved to a new city three years ago and we specifically told our realtor we would not buy a property that was subject to an HOA. She came through. No HOA. Apparently someone forgot to tell our neighbor. Either that, or our realtor didn't notice our house is in a two-member HOA controlled by our neighbor. She called the city because we got a dog. She called the city because we were in our back yard at night. She called me because
    via u/StevenAndLindaStotch
  • 04
    Font - I gave her kid s'mores. She lost it on my kid and then called my daughter a liar when she was like "I don't need this, I have math homework." She also told us the property line is about three feet closer to our house than it actually is. I'm sorry, what? We had a boundary survey done before getting a privacy fence. I forgot to tell her and the contractors are out there now loudly installing the posts.
    via u/StevenAndLindaStotch
  • 05
    Font - Oh, and I think their sprinklers are in our yard. Bummer. EDIT: There isn't actually a two-property HOA. We say that as a joke because she is constantly trying to tell her what to do. When we first moved here, we thought she was being helpful because this is our first experience with the suburbs AND we had moved to a new state. We realized pretty quickly that she just likes telling people what to do.
    via u/StevenAndLindaStotch
  • 06
    Font - Beneficial-Nimitz68 You should also get a copy of the survey for when she goes down there and tries to take down your fence and she has to replace it... just saying.. LOL.. sprinklers hahahahhaha 1.9k Reply Share
    via u/StevenAndLindaStotch
  • 07
    Font - (D StevenAndLindaStotch OP. I have the original, which I got from the city, and the boundary survey we had done recently. We also have an abstract (which is not very exciting since we're the second owners of our house) because we are big nerds. 1.2k Reply Share
    via u/StevenAndLindaStotch
  • 08
    Font - Beneficial-Nimitz68 Have a copy laminated and hang from your side of the fence. If she comes down to complain, just say.. hang one sec, and bring it out to show her. See, see here.. thiiiis is MYYYY line.. this this here.. now follow me.. is YOURRRRR line... Do you need me to draw a better picture for you.. oh, I am going to remove that sprinkler from my lawn btw... 613 Reply Share
    via u/StevenAndLindaStotch
  • 09
    Font - philipb63 LOL - we had a neighbor who bought the house to do a high-end flip. Since the boundary fence needed replacing we asked them if they'd want to spit the cost, of course they refused. Come fencing time the contractors discovered that the original fence was 12" too far into our property so of course we had them place the fence correctly (they found the survey stakes so no arguments). Which meant kiss kiss bye bye to the neighbors newly planted shrubs! 634 Reply Share
    via u/StevenAndLindaStotch
  • 10
    Font - Peet_Pann Lol!!! Updates please!!! 1.9k Status-Ebb8784 I second this! Reply Share 856 ●●● Just as a personal note, I'm currently involved in a fence war with a neighbor, his fence and his three giant dogs who are trying to break the fence down to get at my 16 pound dog. It's getting very interesting! Reply Share
    via u/StevenAndLindaStotch
  • 11
    Font - Kay-Knox "I don't need this, I have math homework." I'm gonna start using this at work. Reply Share 298
    via u/StevenAndLindaStotch
  • 12
    Font - Bahn-Burner I had something similar, was putting up a simple fence for my dog, 3' high split rail with cattle wire. It's subtle, and fits the historical farm land area. I get 3/4 of the way around my property, laying it out and neighbor comes out saying he doesn't want a fence, the property line is not where it is showing me google earth lines and threatens to call the town, cursing,
    via u/StevenAndLindaStotch
  • 13
    Font - even claimed eminent domain (lol!) etc... (Google earth... ridiculous) Walked away and a month later surveyors came back and verified the line and put permanent pins every 50'. I knew this all already from existing corners and moved the fence much closer to the certified line. I was being conservative only placing the fence where I needed it originally but now I have room for future plant screenings and more yard space for my boy. Oh well! 239 Reply Share
    via u/StevenAndLindaStotch
  • 14
    Font - itsmeagain42664 Fences make the best neighbors! Reply Share 472 IMAGINARIAN_photos I had a cemetery behind my backyard once. Best neighbors ever. 424 Reply Share
    via u/StevenAndLindaStotch
  • 15
    Font - Duchessof Marin Always down for a good spite fence story! Followup, please!! 201 rnov8tr Reply Share Our last house had a pool. And a neighbor from ha. We had a fence roughly 5 feet high and met code in our area for a pool. This was a courtesy given his house was only maybe 40" from the property line and was a bungalow (he was on a corner infill house)
    via u/StevenAndLindaStotch
  • 16
    Font - One Saturday morning this idiot decides our fence is on his property (it was not) and he rips it down and then calls bylaw on us for not having our pool fenced in. Bylaw and police show up (we called police). He ends up getting a warning and we are given and exemption to only have lightweight snow fencing until we can replace the fence. That week I built the tallest fence I was allowed to have (8 feet) right up against the property line.
    via u/StevenAndLindaStotch
  • 17
    Font - It was so tall that it blocked sunlight from ever going in the windows on the back of his house. We never talked again. Revenge is best served cold AF 541 Reply Share
    via u/StevenAndLindaStotch
  • 18
    Font - LiechsWonder Did he have to pay any damages for tearing down your fence? 187 rnov8tr Reply Share Guy was a complete dirtbag...not worth pursuing for the few grand in enjoyment it gave me to have total control over the new fence 50 Reply Share
    via u/StevenAndLindaStotch
  • 19
    Rectangle - BoomerDad420 You are living the dream of being in a non-HOA house. My next one is going to be a non-HOA one. I am tired of these clowns running the HOA. 56 Reply Share
    via u/StevenAndLindaStotch
  • 20
    Font - Brave_Beo Lol! Good job! We have a neighbour, two down from us, who is forever reporting others to the municipality, especially the next- door neighbour. When the municipality stopped responding, they tried the RCMP. One visit by the RCMP to the next-door neighbour and the arsehat has been flagged by the RCMP as a nuisance! 35 Reply Share ●●●
    via u/StevenAndLindaStotch
  • 21
    Font - Quick-Possession-245. please update when she notices she lost her sprinklers! Reply Share 40 ●●●
    via u/StevenAndLindaStotch
  • 22
    Font - thedudeabides OG Stop being nice to her and tell her to mind her own business. Also, don't give her kid food because she'll make up some dietary restrictions in order to make you look bad. If you do have one last round with her, be petty and tell her you wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt but you guess the other neighbors were right. She is an annoying pain in the a. If you say that, it'll pher off and will make her paranoid to the point of making her question herself. 39 Reply S
    via u/StevenAndLindaStotch
  • 23
    Font - Next-Education4270 Had the same problem. Neighbor was loitering at night in front of my house watching me. He came home one day and 7' tall privacy gates were installed to block his view. He went ballistic, but there was nothing he could do. Reply Share 13 ●●●
    via u/StevenAndLindaStotch
  • 24
    Font - pigsfly-fishoink Can anyone tell me what the hall an "HOA" is. I scrolled to the bottom of the comments and nothing. House on America? Housewives on alcohol? Hovering over airplanes? Havana over Atlanta? Hugs on Arrival? Hamster opera alliance? Hotdog overload association? Hypnotic origami artists? Was I right with any of them? Okay it's a home owners association... which honestly sounds like a karen overlord even when you own your own house. Upon further investigation; it's exactly that.
    via u/StevenAndLindaStotch
  • 25
    Font - iamatwork24 My god, you humored this woman far more than me and my spouse would have. Would have gone off far before you did. Bravo on the restraint. 9 Reply Share
    via u/StevenAndLindaStotch

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karens hoa neighbors neighborhood homeowner neighborhood-drama bad neighbors neighborhood-stories terrible neighbors Bad Neighbor karen neighbor
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