‘We can't enjoy our property’: Elderly neighbor and son begin harassing new homeowners ‘within five minutes of getting the keys’ to their property, then proceed to trespass and surveil them 24/7

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Aug 21, 2025 6:00 PM EDT

Even toward the end of the summer, neighbors know just how to end the busy outdoor season with a bang. Since last December, the neighbor featured in this story has made a new homeowner's life a living nightmare as they try to settle into the neighborhood and feel at peace with their new living space. Some neighbors might bake the new homeowners who just moved in a decadent apple pie, or possibly cut them stems from their rose bush in the front yard, but these neighbors prefer to surveil 24/7 and blame the homeowners for simply existing.

The truth of the matter? You cannot appease people like this. Even if you walk on eggshells for the rest of your time living in the neighborhood—which you should not have to do—they will find a way to accuse you of their washing machine breaking down or when their dog gets excited seeing a stranger. You are their object of degradation, and because of that, you will never get a positive reaction from them. No reaction is pegged as a negative reaction, but any reaction is also a negative reaction. You see what I mean? It's a losing game—so the only way out is to document, document, document.

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  • "If we eat on our patio, she sits on her porch and stares at us. If I play with my son on his swingset, she stands in the driveway to stare at us."
    via Curated Lifestyle For Unsplash+

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • "Old Lady From H**l and Her Guard Dog Son"

    I'll start at the very beginning. Within five minutes of getting the keys to our new home last December, our 70 year old neighbor was walking around our house, looking in windows and
    via heystellamae9023
  • banging on doors to ask us if she could turn around in our driveway because "the previous homeowners let me" (found out that's a lie). We told her we prefer that she didn't because we have a young son and didn't feel comfortable if he were playing outside and she pulled in.
    via heystellamae9023
  • We live at the end of a private drive with a ROW through her property leading to our home. Her parents built the house that we bought. They also built her
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  • home and gave it to her, along with some land. She doesn't work and hasn't in some time. She lives in a double wide with her 40 year old son.
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  • In January we had living room furniture delivered, after rescheduling delivery two times due to snow. When the delivery drivers got here, she started freaking out saying they were
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  • going to hit her tree (they weren't close) and that I was an irresponsible home owner for not being outside the moment they
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  • got there (my toddler son was home sick from daycare with a fever, plus delivery drivers never called to even let me know they were on their way).
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  • For months, every time my husband was outside, she took it as an invitation to follow him around our yard talking to him.
    via heystellamae9023
  • We had a housewarming party in March. She came out and took pictures of the cars in our driveway.
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  • Fast forward to April, I was coming home to grab something to take to my SIL. As I pulled up the driveway, which is gravel and you can't go more than 10 mph
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  • on, the neighbor's large dog pulled her down and her across her yard. Her dog is very aggressive and she told us as much. I stayed in my car until she
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  • had control of the dog and they were both back in the house. I got what I needed and left again. Later that evening, my husband got home before I did and was
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  • outside with our son. As I was coming home for the evening, the neighbor's son grabbed a log from their wood pile and threw it at my car while swearing and
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  • yelling at me to slow down. Again, it's impossible to go fast on our driveway, you would literally smash into our garage if you did.
    via heystellamae9023
  • a large brown dog standing on top of a lush green field
    via Shane Ryan Herilalaina for Unsplash

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Apparently she and her son blamed me for her dog's behavior and her getting pulled to the ground. We called the police to have a record of the events but
    via heystellamae9023
  • did not press charges. We spoke to the police for maybe five minutes, the officer spent nearly an hour speaking to them. That
    via heystellamae9023
  • night we also called the previous homeowners who told us she lied about them letting her use their driveway to turn around.
    via heystellamae9023
  • Every time my husband takes the trash out, she screams at him, sometimes calling him an a hole. She barks at us. Yells and screams constantly. We can't walk down the driveway without being harassed.
    via heystellamae9023
  • She had a yard sale about a month ago, every person that came used our driveway to turn around but we didn't say anything. We had groceries delivered and the driver used her turnaround area once, she came over and berated us for it.
    via heystellamae9023
  • If we eat on our patio, she sits on her porch and stares at us. If I play with my son on his swingset, she stands in the driveway to stare at us. It's gotten to the point where she will mock what we say to our son when outside.
    via heystellamae9023
  • Tonight she got so angry she threw a brick at her own house because my husband asked her to stop harassing us every time we are outside. She started yelling saying "I can say anything I want on my property, just ask your police officer." Her son then came out on their porch and started swearing at my husband and son.
    via heystellamae9023
  • Not sure if we have any legal recourse. We can't enjoy our property. We plan to sell as soon as we get some remodeling done. I would love to tell her what I think of her, but her son scares me. Every time we say anything to her, he starts screaming at us.
    via heystellamae9023
  • We've been told by other neighbors that he has mental health issues and an arsenal of I work from home so I'm always here and I honestly fear for my safety if I were to give her a taste of her own medicine. Any advice?
    via heystellamae9023
  • EvenSteph Document with cams & video. Write dates down. Go to a magistrate and tell him you have no quiet enjoyment of your property.If a neighbor is harassing you, you can seek a Civil Harassment Restraining Order from the court, which can legally prohibit them from contacting or approaching you. It's advisable to document the harassment and consult with a legal professional (lawyer) for assistance in the process
    via EvenSteph
  • Something_McGee She sounds very entitled and attached to your home. She's likely bitter that she wasn't able to get it. I'm so sorry. She sounds like a tyrant. That's gotta be stressful living there.
    via Something_McGee
  • heystellamae9023 That's exactly what I've thought, she's bitter because she wanted the house. She helped take care of the parents as they got older, I think she expected to get the house and give her son the double wide.
    via heystellamae9023

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neighbors neighborhood neighborhood-drama bad neighbors neighborhood-stories reddit story terrible neighbors entitled reddit thread Bad Neighbor r-entitled Reddit strange behavior entitled people neighbor
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