THE STUPID NEIGHBOUR BLOG

Michelle writes:

I came across your blog when I was searching the Internet for information on what recourse I may have regarding my completely obnoxious neighbors (who happen to be renters) whom I really, really, really can't stand.

They are truly negatively impacting my quality of life along with lowering my property value. Unfortunately I haven't found the 'easy' answer I've been looking for, but at least I have a place I can vent and blow off some steam.

My husband and I purchased our home two years ago in the Bay Area. This was NOT an easy task given the crazy housing market and it was something we saved for and worked towards for so very long. We made many, many sacrifices and were elated to move it to our home. One of the big selling points was the deck in the backyard, we love to sit out there drinking cocktails, enjoying the views of the East Bay foothills and the bay itself.

For the first year we had pretty decent neighbors, though we were sandwiched between two renters. One neighbor treats her home as if she owns it. It's beautifully landscaped and she is extremely considerate (she has two teenage boys, both of whom have really never created any type of disturbance). The tenants in the house on the other side of us were three men, ranging from the ages of early 30s to late 50s, who shared the house. They were easy enough to live next to. They worked all day, usually played poker in their garage until about 10 pm after work, and then retired for the night. Occasionally on the weekend they would have a party, no big deal, as we like to do the same.

Well, after a year of blissful living and many times openly declaring to each other that we were lucky to have such good neighbors, we found out that all but one of the men were going to move out because the oldest man wanted his family from the Appalacian Mountains to move in. This constituted his mother, wife, two young boys, teenage daughter, two dogs, and some cats. All moving into a home that's about 1000 sq. ft. These folks are white trailer park trash of all white trailer park trash. How in gods name can such losers afford to live in the Bay Area which is one of the most expensive places to live in the US, even for renters?

Not only are the dogs not housebroken but they crap all over the backyard and never clean it up so the stench is unbearable on warm days. They also bark CONSTANTLY! I have never in my life wanted to hurt an animal until now.

The two boys (7 and 9 and both illiterate and look inbred or are at least crack babies) are the loudest human beings I have had the misfortune to come across. I've never heard anyone scream the way they do. There is only four feet between our homes, and I can hear the boys in the morning when they get up and I can hear them when I'm trying to go to sleep. The parents and grandmother don't seem to know how to communicate without screaming, usually obscenities, at the young children.

The teenage daughter is complete trash as well. She's about 15, does not go to school, does not work, and appears to not do anything at all other than watch tv inside all day long. The parents claim they had to pull the kid out of school because it was too dangerous. Anyone who is above the poverty level sends their kids to private schools because the public school systems are so bad in the Bay Area. (While I feel for your neighbour problems not being able to afford private education isn't a crime and is a symbol of the failure of our government to maintain a heathly public school system, the failure of citizens to demand it, and our collective failure to recognize that some things are worth higher taxes - Ca1v1n)

The dogs have never ever been walked. The children have never been taken to a park or playground even though there are three within walking distance of our home. The children aren't involved in any community oriented sports, arts, or music programs. They all just stay cooped up in their dilapidated shithole shack of a house screaming at each other.

Why spend the kind of money it requires to live in the Bay Area if you're just going to stay cooped up in a crappy rental? You can do that anywhere. It makes no sense to me. They don't go to the bay, they don't wine taste, they don't go to Lake Tahoe, they don't go into San Francisco, they don't go hiking. (I make good $$$ and wouldn't be caught dead at a wine tasting. It is a shame however these kids don't get taken to the California Academy of Sciences or The Exploratorium - Ca1v1n) They do nothing. Absolutely nothing

On many occasions I have written letters to the landlord complaining about them and asking that she evict them. I think she has an obligation to the property owners of our neighborhood to rent to decent people who respect their neighbors and maintain the standards of the neighborhood. But I never end up sending them. I doubt she would do anything even if I did. After putting up with this for over a year, I think the time has come to take action.

Thanks for reading my rant,
Michelle