AIO for telling my neighbor to stay off my property after he started treating my backyard like his personal extension?
I live in a quiet cul-de-sac with decent sized lots and wooden fences between houses. I bought my place two years ago and i've been slowly fixing it up new deck, some raised garden beds, grill area, the works. mostly keep to myself but i'm friendly wave, chat about weather, that kind of thing.
My neighbor (late 40s, let's call him mark) has lived there forever at first it was small stuff he'd lean over the fence and compliment the yard work no big deal then he asked if he could "borrow" a corner of my yard for his new compost bin because his was full i said sure for a couple weeks. big mistake. A month later the compost bin is still there then he added tomato plants right along the fence line but half the vines are hanging on my side and he's been reaching over to pick them without asking i let it slide once or twice. last weekend i come home and his two kids are in my backyard playing with a soccer ball they kicked over, and mark is just chilling on my deck using my patio furniture like it's community property. he even plugged his phone into my outdoor outlet to charge.
I was polite but firm. told him "hey man, i don't mind the occasional ball, but i'd appreciate you asking before coming into the yard or using my stuff." he laughed it off, said "we're neighbors, what's mine is yours" smiled and kept sitting there.
This week it escalated i installed a small security camera on my shed pointing at the garden (raccoons have been bad). caught mark on video walking through my gate (which i started closing) and saw him sitting back there smoking a cigar on my deck again while i was at work, the annoying part is i don’t smoke and i detest its smell so i confronted him yesterday evening told him straight up the yard isn't shared space, the fence is the boundary, and he needs to stop entering without permission he got defensive, said i'm being territorial and "not very neighborly" and that his family has been using that area for years before i moved in (the previous owner never mentioned anything like this.
Now his wife is giving me dirty looks and the kids seem confused one of my other neighbors even texted me saying mark complained i'm starting drama i'm starting to feel like the bad guy for wanting basic privacy and boundaries on my own damn property. I get being friendly with neighbors but this feels like slow-motion encroachment should i have just kept letting it happen to keep the peace? or am i right to shut it down before it gets worse?