The other day, I caught the guy next door brushing the snow off his car into my driveway. Our driveways are next to each other. I told him not to do that, but he totally ignored me. I shoveled my own driveway, then I left for work. When I came home it looked like not only did he just dump the snow from his cars in my yard, but also blew the snow there from his blower into where I had shoveled. If this wasn't bad enough, the apartment house across the street looked (if I can read tire tracks and scrape marks) like their snow removal service plowed the snow from their parking lot over onto my property. I'm a middle-aged woman alone and they know that. What can I do about these people without coming off at too bitchy?
2007-12-18 07:55:16 · 19 answers · asked by flustered_homeowner 2 in Home & Garden ➔ Other - Home & Garden
As far as the apartment building across the street, contact the landlord and explain what appears to be happening and ask him to speak with his plowing contractor.
As for your neighbor, ask them if they could be a little more careful when clearing THEIR snow and keep on THEIR property.
If you have a camera, take pictures (before/after) and let them see you doing so (good back-up).
Sometimes acting "bitchy" is the only way to get a message across, unfortunately.
2007-12-18 08:14:29 · answer #1 · answered by DIANE V 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
First off your neighbor is an ***. What man would do that? I would go to both of their doors and kinda ask them one more time to stop and to come clean up there previous mess before you have to bring the authorities into it. And let them know you have every intention of doing so. If you can find out the name of the snow removal service i would call ther customer service line and explain and I would be willing to bet to save face they will come out and do your entire driveway and side walks. Generally the idle threat works the best
2007-12-18 08:06:45 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
If you are talking about major amounts of snow on your driveway, then you have a legit complaint. If a minor amt of snow from his car landed on your yard then I would let it be. You don't want to obviously be at odds with the people living around you but if it happens again, I would make sure he sees you taking pictures of what he's done (so that he KNOWS he's on your s*** list) and contact your city's municipal dept-some of them will take reports of these kind of things or give you advice on what to do. Too bad he doesn't take care of your sidewalk at least; he's the one with a snowblower and you live alone. And its the holiday season!!
2007-12-18 08:37:51 · answer #3 · answered by jl2829 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I would start the conversation out something like " Looks like it going to snow soon. I could really use help with cleaning my driveway but I just can't afford to pay someone to clean it. And even when I use all my energy to clean it off, there is always someone putting snow right back there." Say it conversationally and see what the neighbor says. Maybe he'll feel guilty and help you out to boot and help you. I know I am always willing to help a neighbor.
2007-12-18 08:29:02 · answer #4 · answered by myanjill 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like you've already tried the non-bitchy approach. You may have to get nasty with him. Let him know that you don't appreciate it and if he wants to blow the snow in your direction, then he should be kind enought to get it off your driveway, too. It wouldn't be that much of a hassle for him, especially since he has a snow blower.
2007-12-18 07:59:06 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Offer him a tank of gas in exchange for clearing your property. Then you can shovel his stairs and brush off his car while he's plowing your driveway. If he sees you trying to play nice, maybe he will too.
The apartment complex is a professional situation. Call the management company or landlord and have them discuss it with their contractor. Or video tape it when it happens again and contact the contrator yourself and have them plow you for free.
2007-12-18 09:13:13 · answer #6 · answered by AlongthePemi 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'd start by nicely asking him not to do that, explaining that it's difficult for you to remove the snow and you have no help doing it.
Always address these situations first in a nice, low-key manner. If that doesn't work, you can then take it up a notch and get tougher and nastier as necessary. If you start out nasty at first, you have nowhere to go with it.
Look into whether you have any legal options if your neighbor doesn't cooperate.
2007-12-18 08:01:39 · answer #7 · answered by Carol M 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Look just tell them how much you love snow tell them to shovel all they want to just go out side and take a few pictures of the snow make a few snow angle,s and they will get the message and think you love it and quit.
2007-12-18 08:00:12 · answer #8 · answered by BOB 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
You might make a citizen's report to the police about both incidences. You need to be calm and apologetic to the police officer. See if you can get a "peace officer" to go with you to talk to the neighbor and the management company of the apartment complex. I don't know why neighbors do this type of harassment; it's beyond me. If worse comes to worse, you might have to move rather than enduring this type of harassment for the rest of your life!!!
2007-12-18 08:05:38 · answer #9 · answered by cindy abc 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Unfortunately, you can't prove they did this. The next time you see it happening, try to video tape them in action, or at least get some digital camera images. Then you will have a stronger case if you need to pursue it legally.
2007-12-18 08:13:51 · answer #10 · answered by debodun 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋