r/BadNeighbors

Another neighbor to these bad neighbors is putting up a privacy fence. Same crew that did ours. When the BN went out to question the crew as to why, the foreman said “Maybe it’s you”.

These people harass everyone around them but have no clue why we would put up taller fences to block them out.

The foreman of the crew sent me a text explaining their conversation. He also mentioned that the house on the other side was planning to do the same.

It’s ridiculous that 3 houses are spending thousands of dollars just to get a little peace.

One of my neighbors is a stay at home mom and I made the mistake of trying to have a normal relationship with her. While I stay home as well I have a teen that keeps me busy and volunteer around my community a lot so I am quite busy.

When we first started talking she told me she can talk to ghosts and that Native Americans sacrificed people and chickens in the basement of her home. Because of this her house is haunted and she has bones in her walls and basement. I didn't want to feed into these delusions so I would change the subject and she would always send me videos of bugs and dust, claiming they were ghosts. I decided to cut contact after she sent me a video of her tearing down a brick wall in her basement at midnight, she stayed up for hours ripping the entire wall down because she was convinced there were human remains in the walls. She even injured her back doing this but that didn't stop her. The next week she called the police and told them she has bones in her walls and they actually came out and tore into her wall, only to find rebar that had a wad of plaster or drywall on the end.

During this period she was also running background checks on all of the neighbors, went to the county clerk to get the deed to people's houses so she could do a deeper dive into their backgrounds insisting they were committing fraud and all sorts of other wild claims.

At this point I completely stopped talking to her. Instead of accepting this she started following me in her car daily while I was walking my dogs and would sit in her car outside of my house for hours. After a few months of this she finally stopped and I figured she had moved on.

She recently got back in contact with me and apologized. She also said she is on medication and realizes she was wrong about everything - she didn't have ghosts in her house, no, it was aliens trying to communicate with her and through her. She also asked me to pet sit for her which I didn't mind but she had amped her behavior back up to 3000 again. She sends me videos of airplanes and says the aliens told her they would fly over at a specific time, and this is irrefutable proof they are communicating with her.

I once again told her I need to take a break from my phone after she texted me 14 times at 7am saying we should ride the city bus around town and interview people for a newspaper she wants to start. I only responded to tell her I need a break from my phone. I guess she could tell I was pulling away because she started dropping random stuff off on my porch like old shoes, empty boxes she thought I would like, just odd stuff. I threw everything away and didn't respond to her so she started waiting for me to come outside and would ambush me and try to force a conversation so I started taking a different route on my walks. Since I was completely avoiding her she would get in her car and again follow me on walks and try to force contact that way. She was also sending angry texts about me ignoring her, you know the drill by now.

I'm not sure what happened but I haven't heard or seen her for a few days. I know she has a therapist and I am really hoping the therapist told her this is intrusive behavior.

Has anyone dealt with something like this before? When I stopped talking to her the first time she told people I killed my husband lol, my neighbors were texting me saying they haven't seen us in a while but it was winter time! She told them I murdered him.

Here is the original, didn't get much traction, but had some closure. https://www.reddit.com/r/BadNeighbors/comments/1qb7agc/turns_out_i_am_the_bad_neighbor_because_of_bbq/

Well, turns out I have a new friend now.

Flash forward to now, my fence was being crowded by a large amount of shrubbery and trees on my neighbors property. I had been trimming what has been creeping over my side, but it hit critical mass and it had to be addressed on the other side.

So I went over to talk to him, I also brought fresh BBQ from that weekend. I had a good amount of wings, ribs, pulled pork and hot dog burnt ends as a peace offering.

I knocked on his door and he opened it up and got a funny look. I reintroduced myself, offered up the BBQ and told him about the fence and issues with the vegetation. I told him I have been trimming it back but tried to not damage the trees and what not, but they would be presenting a problem at some later point. I would totally understand if they did not want to do anything and I was not trying to be a Karen and apologized how the last interaction went. I gave my pitch and he and his wife who came over listened.

Well, when they replied, he was more interesting in the BBQ and her the landscaping. We walked over the overgrowth and I told him what the various plants were and what should be cut back and where. I also said when he was ready I would come over and help. I have the chainsaw and other brush clearing tools and would take it over to the transfer station with him. That surprised him a bit and we chatted some more and he seemed appreciative and was a surprised at how things went. We swapped numbers and I went back home.

I got a text from him later that evening, they had the BBQ and really really enjoyed it, especially the hot dog burnt ends which they were not too sure about. The kids basically decimated those after they got a taste.

So a happy ending.

I smoke weed for medical and personal reasons. My neighbor’s porch is right next to mine, and one night I was sitting on my porch smoking a joint when he came out and told me he can smell it inside his bedroom every night. I was sitting in the furthest corner of my porch away from his house. I honestly think it’s crazy that he can smell it inside (with windows closed) from me smoking outside, because I’ve never experienced that with outside smells in my own home.
I obviously want to be respectful, so I gave him my number and stopped smoking for about a week after that.
Last night I smoked again for maybe 5 minutes, but had a fan blowing to try to redirect the smoke away from their house. He texted me today saying that the smell woke them up. He asked me to figure out a solution, like smoking inside (really?!), getting a fan, a smoke extractor, etc.
I genuinely don’t know what else I’m supposed to do. I’m already as far away from their porch as I can get, and the fan clearly didn’t solve it. I’m looking into air purifiers/smoke extractors, but I don’t know if those would actually work outside.
I want to be a respectful neighbor, especially if the smell is actually waking them up, but I also pay to live here and this is my only accessible outdoor space. I feel like the only other option is just not smoking at all, which doesn’t really seem fair either.
Has anyone dealt with something like this? Is there actually a solution for smoking on a porch without the smell traveling into a neighbor’s house, or am I basically out of options?

UPDATE! Just texted my neighbor back letting him know I would be looking into other solutions to minimize the smell. Then I got a text from my landlord saying the neighbor called him to let him know about the issue. My landlord basically said don’t smoke inside and he doesn’t want to make it a thing. It’s not a violation of our lease but I’m worried he’s not going to leave my landlord alone about it and that’s going to cause problems. Should I confront the neighbor?

She's just a lonely old woman so my wife tells me to be patient. But its the same little things every single day.

1. The minute I try working in my yard she is right there. Telling me what I am doing wrong, telling me how she would do it, etc.
2. If I go anywhere she is right there asking "where are you going". I have to make up stories because she will invite herself along. "Oh, you are going to Costco, let me get ready and I will come too"
3. She is always in her backyard on the phone using the speaker. If I go outback in my yard all I hear is her gossip.
4. She is a gossip. Mention anything do her and every neighbor knows your business within a day.

About 5+ years ago, my neighbours moved into the house next to me (unfortunately sharing a wall). They are really inconsiderate and noisy to name some things; constant banging and shouting, the dog barking at all hours, parties during the week and the one that’ll put me in a padded room, guitar playing.

It’s now just a mum and 4 boys and they have all switched rooms. The eldest is now in the room beside me and for months all I’ve heard is that stupid guitar, it was an acoustic but when I was outside I saw an electric guitar box and I knew it was his. The thing is, he plays this at all hours and it’s the same exact riff or whatever you call it and he plays it over and over again. I genuinely hate being in my room now since I can’t seem to relax without pausing whatever I’m doing cause I heard a noise that sounds like a guitar, I’ve got autism and my room was my safe space since it used to be the quietest and I could go in there for peace and quiet. I’ve tried putting in those loop earplugs or turning my headphones up louder and I can still hear it. And just as I’m writing this, he’s just started playing yet again… anyways, it’s so loud doesn’t matter if it’s electric or acoustic. It’s like he knows I’m in my room cause he never plays it when I’m out but when I get into my room and sit down, he starts playing. He knows I hate it since I’ve banged on the wall, shouted through the wall (at night mostly) and my mum has texted his mum.

The whole family is inconsiderate, they have parties during the week when everyone has work, they let their dog out like a cat and it shits in everyone’s garden. Even people in the neighbourhood are annoyed with them with the noise and having to pick up after a dog that isn’t theirs. They shout and be loud after midnight without having consideration that the neighbours next door are trying to sleep.

There’s nothing I can do about it. My gran will be getting a new house soon so I could move in with her but I don’t think that’ll happen. I can’t move rooms and I don’t think anyone would want to be in the nosiest room anyway. I genuinely don’t know what I can do to make it quiet again.

In my apartment complex, there is an older looking couple who has 2 boys (kiddos look to be ages 8 and 12 or so). Initially, I thought the adults were possibly grandma and grandpa, but heard the kiddos refer to the adults as “Mom and Dad.” When I first moved in, (2 1/2 months ago), the family and I were both on the ground floor waiting on the elevator to go up to our floor (we live on the same floor). I’m very sociable, so I made conversation. I asked things like “how’s your day going?”, “how long have you guys lived here?”, things like that. The discussion was brief, but seemed to go okay-ish?
Last weekend, I was coming out of the elevator on my floor as they were getting into the elevator to go to the ground floor. The youngest child wasn’t paying attention and was horse playing, and charged into me as the elevator door opened and I was stepping out. The older child says, “(younger kid’s name)! Watch what you’re doing… you ran into that poor lady!!” I smiled and said “it’s okay, buddy…” and exited the elevator to head to my apartment. I hear the mom yelling at the older son and telling him to “shut the hell up!” The older kid said, “…he needs to watch where he’s going, he ran into that lady!” His mom smacked him in the back of the head, and he started crying. [I admire him for at least acknowledging and apologizing because mom sure didn’t care]. The elevator doors closed and I got to my apartment for the evening.
This evening as I was heading to the elevator from my vehicle, I see the parents sitting outside smoking. I looked their way and smiled, and proceeded to the elevator. The mom (in a crappy tone) says, “HI! HOW ARE YOU?” [you know when someone says something super loud to be sarcastic and condescending, and you know they’re just being a dick?! Yea, it was like that] I said, “good, thanks… how about you?”. She didn’t answer. She just started chuckling.
Tonight, I started a load of laundry, and the washer was almost done, so I headed down to our community laundromat. The parents were in there gathering items from the dryer. [I always place my laundry basket on top of the washer that my clothes are in to remember where to gather them from, and use the basket to switch the clothes from the washer to the dryer]. The dad had just set my laundry basket back on my washer. I said, “excuse me sir, that’s my laundry basket.” He said, “I was just moving it a little to set some of my stuff on top.” I said, “oh okay, no worries, I just wasn’t sure what was going on” and gave a small chuckle. [Things were fine, just a misunderstanding]. I had 4 minutes left on the washer, so I stood there waiting on the cycle to be done, to put my clothes into my basket to take over to the dryer. About a minute later, the woman says to her husband, “move your shit to the empty chair, that way it’s not in HER space.” I said, “it’s okay, the washer is almost finished. I’m just waiting to get my clothes into the dryer” [He kind of looks at her weirdly and she walks over, picks up his stuff and tosses it into the chair] and says, “all better!”. I wanted to roll my eyes and say, “you’re ridiculous!!”, but I didn’t, I jut continued to wait on the washer quietly. As they’re separating clothes to fold them, he asks her, “are these socks stretched out? The ankles look stretched out.” She says, “I don’t fucking know, just fold the shit!” I felt so bad for him, but said nothing.
I don’t know what I ever did that upset her, but she clearly doesn’t like me, and I have no clue why.

As I’m researching more I am realizing that they should have split the costs with me at least since it was a healthy tree and an “act of god”. The tree mostly fell in their yard. What would you guys have done? We’re talking a huge tree. We had one quote for 1800 to clean up the tree. They just assumed that since it was my tree my problem. In this situation would you guys do the “neighborly” thing and pay for the whole clean up? Just curious. I did tell her that after we got quotes the tree people stated that technically this is her problem and insurance companies if there was major damage would have to go through her own insurance. But we’re stilling being “nice” and paying for everything. She got weird went inside because she didn’t know they were technically responsible. But now this whole thing is going to cost us 4k because we have to remove the other half of the tree as well that is still standing.

After browsing this sub, I feel bad for even complaining about my bully neighbor; he's a major jerk, but not like what other unfortunate people have to deal with. This guy has been a pain in the butt for decades; he bullied my grandparents when they lived in the house and were alive, and he tried to bully me, but I stood my ground. I think that drove him crazy.

I'll try to give a brief description of what I'm dealing with. The neighbor, let's refer to him as Tod, is uptight about his lawn, but the exterior of his house looks awful. His front porch is falling apart, the siding is chipping, and mold is growing on the backside of his garage, but all he cares about is his grass. If you step on his property, he throws a fit and will come out yelling at you. Yet, Tod can walk over other people's property. He found out that when my grandmother stopped driving, he started parking his car in her driveway. I guess he asked to park one of his cars in the driveway during the winter, and it turned into an ongoing issue, even in the summer. When I moved into the home, not even a full month in, after I was done mowing, he came banging on my door and demanded that I blow the cut grass out of his driveway. No pieces of grass or dirt got into his driveway from me. Tod has a second wife that he spends a lot of time outside with; her name is Ryobi. Tod and Ryobi will walk up and down his driveway, sidewalk, and all around the house, blowing away invisible leaves and blades of grass. They'll do this multiple times a day, too. It's much worse during the fall season.

Now, getting to the main topic. When I used to mow my own lawn, Tod would be right out there with Ryobi, blowing at my lawn, his driveway, and sidewalk. A few years ago, I didn't have the time or energy to mow anymore, so I hired a professional lawn care company to do it. They're great. I warned the owner about my neighbor, and no problems until this year. Tod bought a new car, and every time the landscapers came by, he or his son would move the car down the block, then drive it back when the mowers were gone. Now, Tod doesn't move the car; instead, he stands in the driveway and watches the landscapers. He'll sweep away any tiny pieces of grass with his hand and continue to glare at the guys. Some days he'll bring out a snack to watch them, or a pile of recycling to break down. I don't know what Tod's problem is. I do know he's retired and has zero hobbies, so he's probably losing his mind.

Today was the day I had to tell Tod to back off. While the workers were out, he demanded that one of the workers with the leaf blower clear out his driveway. I saw and heard the guy say that there was nothing to blow, and I saw Tod get mad at the guy. This was one of those moments where I just bolted outside. I scolded Tod to leave the men alone and to stop harassing them. I don't know why; I felt weird saying this, but I kept repeating myself to Tod, "They work for me! Not for you!" I'm not going to stand by and let that dick boss my workers around and then bully them. Tod's reason: "I wanted them to put the driveway back to the way it was." WHAT? His driveway looks just as bad as his house. It's old concrete, cracked in many areas; how in the hell are you going to notice one little blade of grass on it? At that point, I didn't care if people labeled me as a crazy person. I checked on the workers to see if they were okay. They're aware of Tod's craziness; even one of the workers stated that Tod is "not right".

The sad part is, I know Tod will be outside next week and watching the workers like a hawk again.

I just needed to vent.

My neighbor called the cops because the water from my sprinkler got the sidewalk wet. I do not live in an HOA. Would it be petty to put a “wet floor” sign the next time I water? LOL

For context, I’m 40 years old (f) and live in a retirement community. It wasn’t converted into one until after I bought my home. My partner (m40), let’s call him Bert, briefly worked in our small town grocery store with our neighbour (m65) let’s call him Ernie, and they got along great. I myself knew him for ten years before this, and got along fine as well.

Ernie’s history: he’s a veteran who has seen combat, has been widowed twice, and hasn’t had a sober day in at least the decade that I’ve known him. I myself am widowed, so like my neighbours, took pity on him when he was black out intoxicated in our shared spaces like our community pool.

He had a history of intoxicated driving. In April of this year (2026) he was arrested for drunk driving when he entered our gated community and the wheel literally fell off of his vehicle. Witnesses said when he got out, he couldn’t walk straight or talk property. He was later arrested, keeping in mind I did not witness this or had seen him at all in the week leading up to this incident.

Someone told him that I was the one who reported him.

In the following weeks, he made my life hell. All of a sudden, he’s walking past my mother’s home (she lives there too) where I spend my early mornings before work having a coffee in her gazebo, uttering awful threats to my life and my mothers.

Finally after four weeks, I was able to catch it on video and brought it straight to police. He was then charged with criminal harassment and uttering death threats on top of his existing charges and we (both my mom and I) were issued restraining orders against him.

We just received word that he attempted to self eliminate last night and is in the ICU not expected to survive. Some of my neighbours think it’s my fault for having him charged.

Additional context: my daughter
And her partner were killed about eight years ago because they were hit my a car, if I had witnessed him intoxicated while driving, I most certainly would have called the police myself.

Hi everyone, first time posting on Reddit so excuse any errors. I'm currently in a strange situation I'm not sure what to make of, and someone suggested making a post here to see if anyone else had any suggestions. Fair warning that this may be a little long because I'm trying to include all the details I can.

I moved into a new apartment about 5 months ago. I like the area, it's close to my work, and the amenities are nice. However, there's one major issue: my downstairs neighbors will, at least once a week, blare the same shitty techno song on a loop. It's always the same song, no breaks, and has lasted for over 48 hours on more than one occasion.

I first noticed it the day I moved in. It was so loud it could be heard from the parking lot, and when I got into my new apartment the floors were shaking from it and I could feel the bassline through my furniture. I went to the ground floor to confirm it was coming from the unit directly below mine. I noticed a few people moving in or out that same day and the music stopped that night, so I figured they were just having a moving party and shrugged it off as a weird one-off event.

However, the music kept coming back. Again. And again. At least once a week but often more. It was always the same song (and before anyone asks no, I don't know what song it is. The beat goes OONTZ OONTZ OONTZ OONTZOONTZOONTZ OONTZ OONTZ and there are no lyrics. Sorry but it's just another piece of the mystery.) It would start at 5am on a Sunday, 11pm on a Wednesday, there was no regularity to it. It lasted for either minutes or hours, also no pattern that I could decipher. This complex is reasonably priced for where it's located but I live in what's considered an affluent area and the rest of the residents are families and/or business people, so this type of noise doesn't fit with what you'd expect to find here. I never saw or heard any guests coming and leaving downstairs, so it wasn't that there were parties going on. I also noticed an extremely potent weed smell when I went out onto my apartment balcony, and sometimes it would be so strong it would leak into my own apartment, even with all the doors and windows closed. Both of these were huge problems for obvious reasons, but made even worse by the fact that I have a hybrid job with long stretches of being fully remote, so I was hearing and smelling them all day while working. I was hesitant to go confront them myself because I'm a woman living alone and was worried about the situation turning ugly, since I had no idea who was living in that apartment or what their response would be. I did catch a glimpse here and there of the people I believed to be living in the unit. There was a man who appeared to be in his mid-20s and I heard a woman's voice coming from the balcony often enough that I assumed she lived there as well.

After a few weeks of this, I couldn't take it anymore and decided to go complain to the leasing office. I hated getting off to a bad start in my first month of living there, but this felt justified. They were sympathetic to the noise issue and agreed it was super weird that it was the same song on repeat, but they told me that since this was the first complaint the standard procedure was only to send the residents a letter. I'm pretty sure the units directly next to that one as well as the one across the hall were vacant at that time, so figured it made sense this was the first thing on file about them, especially if they were also new to the complex. The office took my alert about the smoking much more seriously and said a citation would be issued since no smoking is allowed anywhere in the complex. I walked away feeling more or less satisfied that management had been made aware and action would be taken. Over the following week I noticed the smell went away, but the music continued. I described it as water torture, since I had no idea when the next round was coming or when it would end. I went to the office to complain again (still feel a little Karen-y, but I think anyone might go a little crazy in this situation) and the desk there gave me the contact info for the senior business manager, since apparently the next step is that she'll reach out herself and give the neighbors a warning. I emailed her and we had a short conversation where she told me she'd speak to them, but nothing seemed to come of that either.

Shortly after, I met my next door neighbor as well as the neighbor one door down. They're both lovely people around my age, and we all made friends immediately. They invited me to hang out with them by the complex pool, and when I joined them there I asked if they'd been hearing the music. They told me no, that it hadn't reached them, but they'd definitely noticed the weed smell. After getting back to my apartment from the pool the music started up again, so I texted them both to come through my front door just to see. They did so and immediately understood what I'd been talking about, they felt the floors shaking and heard every beat. They offered to go down with me to knock on the neighbor's door and confront them, and I told them yes.

We all headed downstairs, I had to knock several times to be heard over the music, and a woman I'd also place in her mid-20s opened the door. I introduced myself and told her that I lived in the unit directly above her, and could she please turn the music down. She seemed shocked that it was loud enough to be heard, and deeply embarrassed when I told her it had been shaking my furniture and I couldn't sleep. She was very apologetic and seemed quite nice, and turned the music down right away. My neighbors and I headed back up, glad that the conversation had gone well. Just before I was about to go back inside she came running up, and told me she and her partner are DJs and were practicing a set. We exchanged numbers, she told me her name is Andrea (fake name for Reddit purposes) and to just text her if it ever got too loud again. My next door neighbors and I discussed it a bit later and we all concluded that something about her explanation had seemed fishy, but I was so thankful to see the situation resolved that I decided to leave it at that.

Since then it's been a slight improvement, but not by much and I still have questions. The music has gotten less frequent, but still starts at all hours at a volume loud enough to wake me out of a dead sleep. I've heard knocking on the door down there and the volume gets turned down afterward so I have reason to believe other neighbors have confronted them. Andrea remains very polite when I text her about it and will even occasionally give me a heads-up when she plans on starting it, but I'm still sick of hearing it and it disrupts my days and nights.

Once after she lowered it I requested they simply keep the music at that volume, which is still audible but doesn't shake my floor and I can play my own music or shows over it to drown it out, but that received no response. I've also asked since they're both DJs if perhaps they have headphones they can use, but that didn't get acknowledged either. It's also been 5 months and it's still the same song, I don't know much about DJing but wouldn't you rotate sets or have multiple songs you practice? The music has also played on weekend evenings/nights before which is when I'd assume they'd be at work? It all seems like the DJ story is made up to cover something else but I'm struggling to find any other explanation.

Last night I emailed the leasing agent that I couldn't take it anymore and asked if I could be moved to a different unit. I'll even pay a fee or sign a new lease if I have to, this is driving me crazy. While I wait for a response, does anyone here have any ideas on what the reason for their playing the same song on repeat could be? I'm just so baffled and haven't broached the question with Andrea yet, but I might. The only things I can think of are 1. She was telling the truth about her and her partner being DJs, but they're incredibly shitty ones. 2. Listening to the same song on repeat is a self-soothing tactic for neurodivergence, and she came up with a cover story since she didn't want to disclose that info to me. 3. This is drug-related and they play the music while they get high on whatever substance it is they're doing.

Any input here would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

We have a Karen next door that can’t mind her own business.
We moved in this house two years ago new construction that was a nightmare that ended up in us suing the builder. We won btw. Anyway enough of that and onto my Karen.

Karen was nice enough at first. Then it came time to plant some trees or build a fence. We decided to plant trees. We planted 75 trees 8 inch’s inside the property line she tried to tell us prior to planting the trees that we were wrong about the property line but I got the county involved the original survey markers where still there.

About a month after planting trees Karen hired a man to do some tree trimming and weed eating around her property. He started trimming around our trees this caused some damage to a few trees.

I confronted her and him about this, she said she told him to not get near the trees. I don’t believe she did.

Fast forward to yesterday while we were at work she had the same idiot weedeat again this time he damaged 48 of our trees. When my wife confronted her she was like I will spray them with pruning spray. ( this will not save a girdled tree) and tell him not to do it again. She also tried to talk to me about it as soon as I got home. I was not as nice about it and told Karen that she owned us for 48 damaged trees that will not make through our Virginia winter.

She also accused me of yelling at her ect when I didn’t not. She also told me I should shoot myself yesterday.

I want to call the police and have a report made. Then if she doesn’t pay for the damages we should see her in small claims court. What says Reddit?

Edit: I am being told to add the fact that we discussed this with her and her wife prior to planting the trees they agreed to the location of the trees and welcomed them as they wanted the privacy also. I agreed that I would maintain the area around the trees

I’m looking for an outside perspective because I’m feeling conflicted about something that happened with my neighbors.

My neighbors began a major construction project involving excavation and a large retaining wall. Our homes are not especially close together, but the properties are elevated one above another, so changes to grading, drainage, or water flow could potentially affect the property below.

Before the larger construction began, the contractor told me he planned to install a French drain that would direct water toward my property. In my city, directing drainage onto another person's property in that manner is not permitted. I told the contractor that I believed it was illegal and that if he proceeded that way, I would report it to the City.

There is also some history between me and this neighbor that influenced my decision not to confront them directly. They have generally been decent neighbors, and I recognize that they have helped me at times. However, I've had previous problems that weren't resolved even when I tried to address them politely. Balls from their property have repeatedly come into my yard and hit my equipment and cargo trailer. I spoke with the father about it, but the behavior continued. A section of our fence was also damaged, and about three years ago I gave him the broken section so it could be repaired. It still has not been repaired.

Because of those experiences, I didn't believe that approaching them personally about a potentially serious drainage issue would accomplish anything. I am also a single woman, and I have sometimes felt that my concerns were not taken seriously when I tried to address problems directly. So I chose to use the City's established process rather than create a personal confrontation.

After I told the contractor I would report the proposed drainage arrangement, the project became much more extensive. The property was excavated and a large retaining wall was being constructed, apparently without the required permit. I reported my concerns to the City because I believed this work could potentially alter the grading and drainage of the property and therefore affect my property below.

The City halted the project, and it has now been stopped for more than 60 days. I understand that an engineer may need to review the work and determine whether the changes have altered the scope of the land or could create drainage problems for my property.

Today, my neighbor walked past while I was outside talking with a tree-trimming contractor. I said “Good morning” three times. On the third time, she finally responded, “Joyce, I’m not happy with you right now.” I had no idea she knew I was the person who reported the situation. I didn't ask her what she meant, didn't argue, and didn't confirm or deny anything. I simply turned back to the person I was talking to and continued my conversation.

I honestly feel terrible that she is angry with me because, despite the problems I've had, they have been decent neighbors overall. I understand why she would be upset if she believes I caused the project to be stopped. At the same time, I don't apologize for protecting my property. If construction could potentially redirect water onto my property or alter the drainage or stability of the land, I believe I had every right to ask the City to investigate.

What bothers me almost as much is that I don't know how she found out that I was the person who reported it. The contractor knew I had said I would contact the City if he directed drainage toward my property, so it's possible he told them. It's also possible someone else told them, including someone connected with the City. I simply don't know.

I’m considering asking the City how my identity became known because I deliberately used the City's process rather than confronting my neighbors myself. I didn't want to create tension between us, and now there is tension anyway.

So, honestly: Did I do something wrong by reporting the situation instead of confronting my neighbors myself? And how would you handle the situation now that there is tension between you and a neighbor you still have to live near?

My wife and I share a long, tandem parking spot right next to our house that fits two cars bumper-to-bumper. If one of us needs to leave, we just swap spots easily.

Recently, a neighbor from a completely different building got jealous of our spot. Whenever I left for work, he would immediately drive over and block my wife's car in, claiming it is "public parking."

To stop this, I started moving my wife's car to the very front of the spot when I left. In response, this guy deliberately parked a completely broken down, rusty "burner" car right behind her. Now she is permanently trapped, and I am forced to park elsewhere.

The Catch: We are expats living in a country with extremely strict laws. If we call the police, the typical resolution for any expat dispute is immediate deportation for everyone involved. Going to the authorities is not an option. I need to handle this quietly.

I tried listing his car for sale online to spam his phone, but it didn't work. I need your absolute best safe, legal, but highly annoying or "devilish" solutions to make him move or make his life miserable. What can I do to his rusty car or his routine that won't leave any legal evidence or get me deported

My neighbor is drying his clothes and not using the washer. I throw my clothes into the washer and wait for his dryer time to be finished. After his dryer time is finished he goes and puts another load into the dryer. My clothes have been sitting in the washing machine while he uses the dryer for 3 hours. What should I do? The office is closed and I don’t think maintenance will do anything

We recently moved to a new house with a beautiful view of a lake & horse farm, and we put in a pool. We want to sit outside & enjoy nature but our neighbor won’t shut up.

Our neighbors are nice people, but their adult child lives with them (estimate mid 40’s; works very part time) and is a problem.

They sit on the side porch facing our house and yell into their phone, on speaker, for hours. At least 5 days a week, no exaggeration. Some days it starts at 10 am and is still going when we go to bed at 10 pm. Today I got home around 3 and they were at it- it’s now 10 and they are still out there. Some nights they are screaming profanity and straight abusing the person on the other end of the phone.

We don’t want music but we tried bringing out a Bluetooth speaker, they yelled over “Great Song”. I would talk to the parents but I’m fairly certain they banished them outside because they didn’t want to hear it.
The other night we thought we had some peace, then they walked out, turned on their Harley and left it to idle for over an hour.

My husband and I have stressful jobs, we worked really hard to get here. We spent a lot of money for this house and would like to be able to enjoy our home. I am not unreasonable, neighbors have kids and parties and dogs, but screaming for 7+ hours a day is too much.

How do I get this person to realize their behavior is not appropriate?