Thursday, May 27, 2010

Finally Had Enough

Well I've finally had enough of my neighbor's mess. I know I have mentioned my neighbor in previous blogs but I don't know if I have really talked about what is going on with him.

My neighbors to the South seem like nice but weird people. The wife is always nice and says hi but the husband is a little on the weird side. He says hi but he always has something weird to say. We started having problems on New Years Eve. I was outside in the dark by my pool and a little dog comes over my pool. I had no idea whos dog it was so naturally I tried to scare it off. That is when my neighbor not only came in my back yard but around the corner and over to my pool looking for his dog. What a stupid mistake. Let's say I hadn't been outside. Let's say I was inside with my patio lights off watching tv and out of nowhere in the dark someone shows up on my patio. I would have pulled a gun before trying to figure out who it is. Now lucky for him I was outside with the lights turned on but he didn't get the hint that I don't want his dog in my yard. So a week later I'm in my own backyard and I stepped in his dog's poop. Needless to say I wasn't happy. Then I caught his dog running through my tomato plants. Then his dog ran inside our house one day. Natalie was fuming so she went over there and told him that I don't want dogs in my house and we are going to have a baby crawling around soon. This idiot replied with "the last guy that lived there didn't mind". What an idiot. So this rudeness, ignorance, and just flat out stupidity really got us mad. And it kept up.

Now I kept trying to just be nice. I'd talk to him when I'm in the yard and he would always have something stupid to say. I was cutting down a bush that was growing over into his yard and he asked why I'm cutting it down. Starts asking a billion questions like he's an expert and then when I turn it on him and ask a rhetorical question he says "I don't know, I'm not a landscaper". Obviously, so maybe he should just shut up (rolling eyes). Then I replaced those bushes with Gardenias and he asked me the stupid question if I'm putting in the same thing I spent a whole day tearing out. Because that would make sense right? I tell him it's a Gardenia and then he says "o so that is going to attract bees". Now something that really pisses me off is when people try to tell me what I should do with MY HOUSE. Then he brought up that my mango trees will attract rats and he has seen rats running down his downspout. Now if you look at the pictures below you can see what really attracts rats, his dirty yard. I told him if I start getting rats I'll get a dog. He said I wouldn't want my dog chasing rabie infested rats. Um isn't that why dogs are required to get rabie shots?

Anyways then about 6 weeks ago I was firing up the bbq and his dog into my yard and almost into the house again. I started yelling at the dog and at Natalie to get me the hose and finally I grabbed my watering pail for the plants and was able to splash a little water at the dog (now I keep a big bucket ready on my patio). So Natalie, again pissed off goes over and starts telling the neighbor to keep his dog in his own yard. She has allergies and doesn't want the dog in the house. Then he starts up about how it's a hypoallergenic dog and all this crap, being a real jerk and trying to tell us what we need to accept instead of apologizing like he should of. Then he mouthed off about "maybe if your husband keeps throwing water on the dog he'll stop coming over". Natalie said "maybe" and walked away. Well since then I have only had one other incident and the neighbor on the other side's gardener had to bring the dog over to the bad neighbor after I chased it down with the hose. Needless to say I've had enough of that and next time I am going to have him fined by the city. I already called and the police said to call them everytime it happens and they will fine him. So enough is enough.

So speaking of fines.... We moved to Coral Springs for a lot of reasons. The best schools, lowest crime in South Florida, and very strict codes. We could have bought a house for half the price and 1/4 the commute in Miami or Southern Broward but after living in East Miramar for 3 years I've had enough of seeing messy people that don't care about their community. Well this guy is breaking all the rules. His dog is one. His mess is another. Our neighborhood is very clean and all the houses are nearly perfect. I happen to live next to the one and only slob in the whole neighborhood. I'm sick of seeing chlorine on his driveway. He has had a ladder on his driveway for 2 months, goes to show how good the neighborhood is because it hasn't been stolen. On the side of his house is a rusty propane tank in the bushes along with a popped basketball that is growing colonies and has been there since I moved in. Other items: empty bucket of paint, fridge drawers with dirty towels on it, old screens, street sign that has probably been there since Wilma(Oct 2005), pool acid and other chemicals, trash, etc.. His hose is always on my side of the yard and I'm sick of looking at his mess.

The picture below is actually after he cleaned up a lot of his palm fronds. I didn't take pictures of the rest of his backyard because that is his private space but this is the mess I get to look at on the side of his house. His trash is usually knocked over and trash everywhere. His lawn is dead (in Coral Springs it is law that you have to fertilize and keep up your lawn). And I have to cut his bushes back because they grew 4 feet into my yard and he wouldn't cut them. Finally one day I busted out the pruner and cut them back to the property line. Three days later he cuts a hedge that is against his house, far from my property, and leaves the branches on the ground. I was just left thinking what the heck is this about? Anyways enjoy some ghetto pictures. I'm calling the city today, he's going to get fined, and hopefully soon I won't have to look at this crap anymore. He makes it too easy for me to call and pretend that I never called because the chlorine on his driveway is within street view. I pay too much to live next to a slob. It's to be expected in the ghetto, but we live far from the ghetto.

Also I had to put my baby guard back up around my pool last night so I don't get fined. I think it's ridiculous, I'll keep this complaint short and to the point. Any smart child can open the gate, we have a canal just 100 feet away and most neighborhoods have canals or lakes. It's not my responsibility to keep other people's kids safe. I'm sick of the stupidity and lawsuits in this country. You can no longer have a nice open view around your pool because you have to take precautions for other people's kids. There goes my freedom to have a house that looks the way I want it to. Maybe they should force people to put child safety locks on all their doors, alarms, etc... People should be responsible for keeping their own kids in, I shouldn't be responsible for keeping their kids out. I could go on all day about this one, it's ridiculous. So now my baby guard is back up until I can afford a 4,000 pound rated pool cover which requires drilling in the deck to anchor it down. Someday.....











5 comments:

Cassandra said...

This is why people have gates around their yard. You may want to consider having one. Though I agree the guy sounds very inconsiderate. Hate to say but that's why you live in an HOA, then you don't get the slobs like that because they get fined all the time. I do agree with the pool gate, but we'll leave it at that because it's sure to be an argument. You will learn soon enough once you have kids that you can't have a leash on them 24/7, accidents happen.

Joe Alves said...

No when I have kids Im going to have locks at the top of all my doors. They do make kiddie locks so kids cant get out. The gate is pointless, its easy to open. Cody could figure it out. Plus there is a canal not far so its peoples job to keep their kids in. Who they gonna sue if the kid falls in a canal? People are just always trying to pass the blame and sue. And having a fence around the yard isnt good enough, it has to be around the pool. Its just so ridiculous on so many levels. Its always someone else is responsible. BTW its already Florida law that you have to have 85 decibel alarms on all doors leading to the pool and there are other rules to keep your kids inside. So the gate rule isnt for your own kids, its to keep out other peoples kids. Not my responsibility!

An HOA is pointless in Coral Springs. That is why we live here. Im willing to bet that our city has stricter laws than your HOA, and Im not joking. HOA is CS is about $160 a month average and the only extra thing they get that we dont is a rent a cop and a gated community. I called the city this morning and they said by next week it will be handled and he will be getting fines.

If you dont believe me about how strict they are just look for yourself. They make you plant a native tree every 40 feet on the street, you cant have certain cars in your driveway overnight, they dont allow certain paint colors, you must fertilize and keep your lawn green, you cant have a dirty roof or gutters, trash cans are not allowed to be visable from the street, etc... This is the reason that Coral Springs home values havent dropped so much with the bad ecomony while Miami's houses are worth half what they were a couple years ago.
http://library8.municode.com/default-test/home.htm?infobase=10537&doc_action=whatsnew

Joe Alves said...

And a gate requires a permit and will cost a few Gs.
Again not my responsibilty. He is the one that has the dog, he is the one to lazy to put it on a leash and take it out to poop in his own yard. Im not paying for something he is responsible for. If I had a dog I would put up my own fence, not demand that everyone else put up one to keep my dog out. I should just feed that thing to the gators.

Joe Alves said...

I meant a yard fence, not a gate. Everything including an AC unit and a water heater requires a permit. No one has fences in my neighborhood. Its all open and I like it that way.

Joe Alves said...

Well the city came out and took care of my neighbor. In my opinion they gave him too much time. They gave him until June 21st to clean up his mess. He took the ladder and chlorine off his driveway and put that away but hasn't cleaned up the side of his house. Why it takes him so long? I dont know. How long does it take to pick up a couple bottles and trash and throw in a trash can. He could have had that done in under a minute but he just like being a slob.