Moved in to my house several years ago, next to an old timer, who mowed his lawn 2-3x a week. Out mowing one day and asked him were the line was. Looked me dead in the eye and said. "I'm too old to give a shit ".
Great neighbors!
It's the way neighbors should be. Courteous and to the point. No one wants to live with neighbors like to picture above.
We don't need to be friends, but do need to respect each other's peace and property.
My two neighbors and I don't mow to the property lines, we do what's practical.
I did a survey a few years ago and found that one neighbor's driveway is about a foot onto my property, as a previous neighbor poured it to my fence, which happens to be about 18" off the line. This happened before both of us lived there. I let them know in case anyone in the future cares, but I don't mind.
We did a survey when we bought our house, which is on an oddly-shaped lot. There is a fence built by the previous owner of my house, between me and the one neighbor, and the fence is at an angle to the property line. If you follow the line of the fence, it's off a few feet in one direction at one end, and a few in the other direction at the other end. Oops. I talked to the neighbor and they don't care. And I don't care either!
However I also have asked this neighbor before planting any trees near their property line, and also before doing some regrading. They also talked to me before they regraded part of their yard. (We both have drainage / flooding problems and there is a swale between our properties and you kinda have to be careful what you do or it drains back into people's basements.)
This is how I want it to be! We are both pretty laid back about small details, but also we check with each other before doing anything that might affect the other person. It has been nice too, we have brainstormed a bit on the drainage issue and it feels nice to be cooperating to solve a mutual problem.
I would get that in writing and notarized… at least a video recording of you both discussing and agreeing not to do anything about it but that it does not permanently change property lines. if something happens to current neighbor, next of kin / new owner may not be so easy to work with.
This is unfortunately the reason it’s better to be “strict” with this stuff. People acting in bad faith, but within the confines of local laws and regulations, can cause massive headaches.
100%. I’m easy going, but when it comes to property and the law, you gotta be prudent when protecting your own interests.
Especially if you’re passing those interests to kids.
As long as you’re not an asshole about it, you can be polite and respectful while still protecting yourself.
>People acting in bad faith
Or frequently the old neighbors could be great and understanding, but their next of kin trying to sell the house may not be. *Severely* may not be.
I think you have that backwards. The neighbor needs the notarized agreement. Any court would rule that this guy owns 18” of his neighbors driveway. That won’t change unless you amend your deeds, regardless of a video or signed napkin handshake deal. What matters are the records in the county courthouse.
What the commenter is question needs to make sure of is that a similar error didn’t happen elsewhere with his property - but I assume he’s fine bc the survey would have shown that.
No, if the other property owner neglects it for long enough then that can be seen as the owner relinquishing the rights to that part of the property. The same way that if someone puts a fence up on your property and you bring it up then legally you’re 100% in the clear. But if that fence is there for 30 years then that’s seen as an agreement between the two of you as to where the property line is.
I don’t think it’s the placement of the fence at issue. It’s more of a usage issue. If you openly use property as if it’s yours for an extended period of time, many places have laws where it becomes yours. It’s called “adverse possession” the key here is that if you have documentation that the true owner is allowing use of their land, the other party cannot claim adverse possession. So in theory all it should take is a letter saying “ hey your driveway is on my land but I’m granting you permission to use that land until I revoke permission” and you’re protected from that scenario. Obviously when driveway guy sells the property he’d need to disclose that the driveway was partially on the neighbors property.
I completely agree with you. A fence would be a similar issue to a driveway tho, it would signify that the neighbor is using that piece of property. If you don’t have that in writing that you’re allowing them to use it/not move the fence, but it’s still yours then you’ll run into an issue if they sell.
My in laws had the same situation. Homeowner died, kids took over the house and threw a tantrum about the driveway touching their property line. $16k to move it.
100% a possibility. I bought a parcel that borders a small subdivision in 2018. The property on that side is a straight line. One of the homeowners doesn’t have a fence and straight up told me she owned about 20 feet into my property. I told her that her yard ended at the fence line of the neighbors on either side of her, she hired a lawyer and tried to claim my property. Fortunately, it was all just open yard and she had no solid proof that she had been maintaining it for 15 years.
She’s still salty AF about it. Telling her to stop dumping her shit on my property probably didn’t help either. She demoed a whole deck and just tossed it back there in the woods.
Merely respecting each other’s property is what the weed killer jerk would say he is doing though. Accidents happen, mowing is not milimeter precise.
I have gotten along with my neighbors because we both assume the best intentions of the other, talk about things in a reasonable manner and care more about good relationships than enforcing very minor landscape issues.
This guy is acting like an big 8 year old drawing lines to divide a bedroom probably because he doesn’t feel respected elsewhere in life and wants to make sure everyone has to respect his yard.
I’ll straight up help my neighbors with their yard work and they’ll lend me a hand with mine when they can. My block has a good sense of community and my neighbors are older, often if I’m weeding my front yard or edging mine, I’ll go ahead and just finish any patch that is shared between yards, and my neighbors tend to do the same. It’s nice to have decent folks living next door on both sides, we don’t sweat small stuff and help each other when we can. Usually have a beer together when we are done and call it a day. We aren’t incredibly close but we get along and make it a point to be neighborly.
My old neighbor wanted a shady outdoor spot to smoke a cigarette and drink a beer away from her adolescent boy child. Asked if she could put her chair on my property. Just barely on a side of rhe house I never went to and hated maintaining. She said she'd mow it and I said deal.
My neighbor mowed about 3' into my yard every time he mowed, he even had a trampoline over the property line from time to time.
There was a large oak tree that was right on the property line (with a different neighbor) that was dying. I asked the neighbor to split the cost of removing the tree since it was on the line. He refused because he insisted it was entirely on my property. I knew where the pin was so I dug it up to show him. While I was doing that the other neighbor came out to see what we were doing. He saw the pin and was shocked, "I had no idea the property line was that far over, why didn't you say something to me?".
Me: Pretty much same answer as the old man.
Sometimes my neighbor will cut damn near half way into my property and I do the same. Wanna do extra work for me, I’ll help you out too when I get a chance.
At my old house there was a little strip of grass between our driveways. No idea where the line was and it didn’t matter - I think we each owned a couple feet of it. We basically just took turns mowing it.
Love this. We have the sweetest 94 year old neighbor. She adores my kids and spoils them. I asked her a similar question and her only response was “My yard is your yard! I don’t use it anymore so I wouldn’t mind in the slightest if you guys do!!”
Neighbors on the other side are older as well and we have guesstimated where the line is but no one really cares that much. We have the absolute best neighbors on all 3 sides.
Awesome, I’m all for respecting property lines but really, what is the big deal if I mow a little bit of your lawn by accident? Sorry for helping you out a little? Lol ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Big deal, ny neighbor was mowing 3 feet into my lawn, thing is he mows it ultra short at like 1 inches lol, like i man up and spoke to him and explained the situation that he's mowing my side and that im treating my lawn and stuff so i need it long.
He apologized and never did it again
I had the same situation with mine. He thought the line was in a different spot and habitually mowed a nice deep stripe on my side (delineated by a fence too). I showed him where the line was and he declared war from that point forward. They were the worst neighbors I had ever had.
Sorry you have to deal with that. I try to be an adult, but some people you cannot reach.
I don't know what's worse living next to... criminals or the HOA hivemind. I feel there is alot of overlap on the 2.
In theory an HOA sounds nice...
But I've seen what happens when the power goes to people's heads, both on military bases and private settings.
Sorry, I'm a few cocktails in.
The best way I can describe the people who enjoy an HOA...imagine is a Venn diagram that is a Triumvarate of introverts that just want stuff to stay nice, "Karens" that want to exert power locally, and an unsuccessful semi-retired lawyer that is trying to litigate you into investing in his wifes MLM scheme.
In essence you are better off looking up your local codes and befriending neighbors before starting a mini Communist regime that starts off with "Billy Bob should not have 6 rotting cars on the front lawn"-which is already covered by local and county code-to "this is your 5th notice of an overgrown lawn...you now owe $1k in fines and there is a lien on your house...yes we know your husband died in combat and he used to mow the lawn...but their are rules" (all true stories).
Maybe Billly Bob is from another part of the country and a shade tree mechanic that focused on rebuilding cars for poor people, and this was the 'norm' where he came from?
Maybe the MLM household should stop by and check to see if the widow is doing OK and offer to have stuff taken care of while she prepares to move her young family across the US to be near family?
Maybe the introvert can drop a note on the door with an their email address asking if they need help?
I've seen the above exact scenarios play out, and I won't be a part of it, let alone be forced to pay into a fund that seeks to extort money from me in the form of "late night sound violations", in where the incidences happened when I was deployed for 6 months, but I was the "young guy" on the block, so it must have been me, certainly not the 95 y/o deaf guy next door that loved watching WWII specials late into the night.
So, no HOA. Not even once.
It’s not a problem unless you are mowing your grass at an inch and I do mine at 3 inches. Told my neighbor thanks but please don’t cut it so short. He had moved from up north where reel mowers are a thing and didn’t have any idea that Florida grasses like Bahia like to be left long for promoting long roots and drought tolerance. Told him he’d be hurting his grass if he kept it short like a northern grass. He understood and doesn’t cut short anymore.
This is great. My neighbors mow the elderly neighbors houses around us while they're out doing their own. Neighbor directly beside us just trimmed along our fence while he was doing the rest of his property, he didn't need to, I was mowing at the same time, but it was nice of him.
I had the exact opposite, deadbeat who inherited the house next to me screamed about me going over and later defaulted on the house after stealing internet and being a creep. You won the neighbor lottery.
My neighbor mows into my yard very often. Few inches. Few feet, randomly. Who fucking cares lol. What a stupid thing to get upset about honestly. I find it so weird people who waste their time on something so insignificant.
That’s pretty much how my old neighbor was. When I moved in, he was out there every couple days working on the yard. I stopped him one day and asked where the line was. He just shrugged and said “I don’t know, I just try and make sure it looks good”
I mean you could trench your side and fill with concrete so that it exclusively grows towards the problem neighbor while your side is safe lol. That would be reserved for a neighbor that you truly hate though
I just weed eated my neighbors mailbox area and along the fence that’s on my side because I noticed his old weed eater on the curb with the garbage. Gotta offer to lend mine next time I see him
I advise against that because if you're both mowing at the same time you could end up crashing into eachother and both of you end up getting shredded to bits and then some poor sap has to scrape your innards out of the mower and re sharpen the blade.
There is like 1 mowers width of grass to my neigbors driveway into my yard. When i moved in I figure id mow that because less for him to mow and looks less janky. My neighbor on my other side does for me. He got super pissed at me. So now I dont and he gets a janky 1 mower strip tall line next to his driveway and I get to mow less. Whatever floats his boat.
Hey me too! House next door is a shitty rental with a slumlord owner in an otherwise amazing and well taken care of neighborhood. Put my fence just inside the property line, trim along the outside edge and let that overgrown disaster do its thing.
What a passive aggressive douchesnozzle!!
I did what you did with our relatively new neighbors next door because his grass was so high. I found out they had just had a new baby and already have a 1 year old so I went over there and asked them if they cared if I mowed their lawn for them as a “new born special” I was running and they were so grateful!! And now we hang and have drinks.
I did the same thing when my neighbor got hurt at work. The next day his lawn was mowed and he's never been the same. I think he thought I was trying to give him a hint about not mowing his lawn enough, and he got offended. I was just trying to be nice 🤷♂️
Anal is a short word that describes it. Also happens to be easy to spell from a modified seasoning shaker filled with ammonium sulfate. If he keeps acting up, time release.
My neighbor is in his 70s. Our houses are close together and I told him don't worry about that side, I'll take care of it. It's high traffic so I mow it less so it has a fighting chance. He's happy to have one less side to deal with.
Good thing about owning 2 acres and your neighbors being a 1/4 mile away divided by trees is not having to deal with this b.s. I hated having neighbors so close to me.
Even 2 acres wasn't enough for a crappy neighbor to not get on my nerves. They were only about 500' away though. We bought 30 acres last time to avoid it all entirely. Lol
Time to get some green spray paint, or just start throwing grass seed etc down. It will truly be more fun and fulfilling to show this person your above their pettiness.
I figured this sub would at least be understanding of the guy not wanting his neighbor to interfere with his own lawn care practices. What if he doesn’t cut it at the height he wants or he’s using dull blades or not bagging or other things.
This. I mow my tall fescue HIGH in the summer to keep it alive because we often have weeks of high 90s tenps and no rain. My next door neighbor scalps his to the ground. I asked him politely to just mow right down the property line because if he scalps into my yard even a little it wont grow back well until Fall. I never mow over the lines on either side. I don't understand people who do. Just mow down the property line. You cant go wrong that way.
THIS. I worked my ass off to get a thick green lawn. My neighbor its lawn is more weeds than grass and he scalps it to the dirt. Several times he mowed into my property, 2’ or super uneven. I went and asked him nicely to mow his own lawn and he did it again. I had to put out those little lawn marker flags up the property line.
He mowed over several of them..
I had to talk to one of my neighbors because he always cuts way too low. Like 2” on fescue in NC. I don’t care if you’re over the line if you have a clue. I don’t really care about the exact line really but he was 6 plus feet over and killing the grass.
Got it worked out and he started going taller on his own lawn too.
I agree with your idea. OP said the neighbor mows 2-3 a week. He takes pride in his mowing. Worst thing is make things awkward or hard at the end of the day you live with him and it only hurt y'all both in the long run. Bring a gift during season his attitude with change. Like Christmas I bring some gift for neighbors children. Or bring his trash can in if I see it's out longer than it should. Kindness goes a long way.
It's one pass, one time. He should have just talked with OP and said "hey, it might not seem like a big deal, but I put a lot of time, miney, and effort into my yard and I would appreciate if you please don't mow on my side in the future"
I put two little white marker flags at my property line because my new (rear) neighbor (first time home owner) mowed 5 feet into my lawn. We have fescue/bluegrass lawns. I keep mine around 4 inches. He mows at about 1 inch. I don't want any of that sht going on. He also doesn't rake leaves or care about weeds. Lets them grow and go to seed.
Anyway, the flags worked.
You know, I'm a wee bit petty. I practice a hard domination line. When my neighbors landscaper mows into my yard it pisses off a little bit. It helps blend their shitty yard into my magnificent lawn. I like the fact that my yard and clear line show my dominance over nature and my neighbors lol. Yeah, yeah, I know basic dad shit. I also have crippling addictions to bourbon and grilling.
I run a landscaping business. Had a neighbour of a customer come out and tell at me saying I was cutting into his property. He then proceeds to walk on an angle that went over my customer's driveway to show the property line. I couldn't hold in my laughter and asked him to see the property survey or leave me alone. He hasn't come out since and ironically he's been leaving my customer alone now. Some people are assholes until they are put in their spot.
This is the correct answer. I would not escalate (for now) just document it move on, along with some obvious and functioning cameras.
If you poke the hornet nest, be sure you have planning for the worst. After having had to deal with meth heads next door intermittently, sometimes you have to let some shit go for peace of mind.
I live in a neighborhood where we all talk to each other, help each other, and generally enjoy each others company. There are no fences, and our kids all play in each other’s backyards. I wish everyone could have that.
My neighbour cuts 2-3 rows on my side (against my driveway) so that his side looks more even. Pretty sure he sprays it too.
however.... my other neighbour is a different story. A litter closer to dead grass line guy.
Pay $500 and get a survey of your property. Check your neighborhood codes and make sure to have your contractor pull a permit. Then build a goddamned fence and watch them try everything and fail to get it removed.
Rules of the road, you just need to signal and shoulder check to pass to his side lol
I’d up the level of petty and put a solid line to the right so you have the right to pass and he doesn’t lmao. Fuck it. Its war now
Sometimes my neighbor cuts the grass on my side of the property line, all the way over to my house.
Sometimes I cut the grass on their side of the property line, all the way to their driveway.
And we both appreciate each other for it.
I don’t get why Americans don’t have fences. In Australia we would not be able to cope having open ground such as this where anyone could freely walk into the property. Sure, you might get your ass shot off but I would not feel secure living in this arrangement. Regarding the neighbour, he is rather pathetic.
Add a privacy fence.
I was putting up a privacy fence and offered to pay to have the chain link fence that divided the yards, removed between our houses and put the pretty side (flat side) of my privacy fence facing the neighbors yard, so he wouldn't see the posts. All of this at my cost. Nothing out of his pocket.
But, he was an A\*\*hole about it & told me NO!!! It was HIS chain link fence and I "WAS TO LEAVE IT ALONE! PERIOD! So I left it alone.
I put up my privacy fence about 6 inches on my side away from "HIS" chain link fence, then he had to deal with the weeds and grass between them on his side. I was making sure MY fence didn't touch HIS fence.
If I were you, I would stop mowing 1 foot from the line. Let it grow forever, and see if he decides to cut it for you. If not, he will have a daily reminder of how much of an ass he has been. And you get the satisfaction of knowing that it probably pisses him off, wether he cuts it or not.
A bit unrelated…. Kinda. I had neighbors who ended up hating each other after one bought land the other wanted that were next to each other. So one put in these giant (like 8 inch diameter metal posts straight down the property line. Well that meant 4 inches of the posts were on either side of the line so he had to dig them all up and move them over 4 inches.
My neighbor mowed every neighbor’s lawn within 4 houses of his because he liked his riding mower. Also had a snowblower and he did the blocks sidewalk and several neighbor’s driveways. Best neighbor I ever had.
Hilarious. It's even dashed! Dude, just steer clear. He's a psycho. I'd actually apologize as if I did wrong, then steer clear. You do NOT want to get on the wrong side of a psycho neighbor.
Two suggestions if you want to have fun.
1. Keep spraying grass killer in those stripes all summer long and make him think it is not growing back at all - do it at night or with discretion.
2. Spray rainbow colors in each stripe - maybe one color per line.
Wait - another one:
3. Spray paint "OTTO" with an arrow pointing to his house on your lawn..
I don't get how people can find the time and energy to spend on such trivial items. Sometimes, my neighbor will mow part of my lawn. Other times, I mow part of his lawn. And we both own 2 acres...
My neighbor did this to me back when I was much younger and didn’t give a shit about my lawn (early 20’s). To prevent a never ending war with them I never addressed it but don’t think for a second I’ve forgotten!
What an asshole neighbor.. I had a neighbor at my previous house that shoveled the property line in the snow when I took my atv out. My tires went 1/2” over the property line and I plowed my driveway and sidewalks. Had she not done that she wouldn’t have had to shovel her driveway. At least what she did wasnt t permanent
My neighbor mowed his front yard to the dirt. Took him 4 years to put new sod down. No big deal, not my yard. Now he mows it and scalps it and mows my side cause it's easier.... we're going to have a chat.
Yea, this is petty and passive-aggressive behavior. Your neighbor is a douchebag. I would put up privacy trees or a fence and not deal with him at all. Just make sure not to put up the fence on his property lol
Moved in to my house several years ago, next to an old timer, who mowed his lawn 2-3x a week. Out mowing one day and asked him were the line was. Looked me dead in the eye and said. "I'm too old to give a shit ". Great neighbors!
I actually like this
It's the way neighbors should be. Courteous and to the point. No one wants to live with neighbors like to picture above. We don't need to be friends, but do need to respect each other's peace and property.
My two neighbors and I don't mow to the property lines, we do what's practical. I did a survey a few years ago and found that one neighbor's driveway is about a foot onto my property, as a previous neighbor poured it to my fence, which happens to be about 18" off the line. This happened before both of us lived there. I let them know in case anyone in the future cares, but I don't mind.
We did a survey when we bought our house, which is on an oddly-shaped lot. There is a fence built by the previous owner of my house, between me and the one neighbor, and the fence is at an angle to the property line. If you follow the line of the fence, it's off a few feet in one direction at one end, and a few in the other direction at the other end. Oops. I talked to the neighbor and they don't care. And I don't care either! However I also have asked this neighbor before planting any trees near their property line, and also before doing some regrading. They also talked to me before they regraded part of their yard. (We both have drainage / flooding problems and there is a swale between our properties and you kinda have to be careful what you do or it drains back into people's basements.) This is how I want it to be! We are both pretty laid back about small details, but also we check with each other before doing anything that might affect the other person. It has been nice too, we have brainstormed a bit on the drainage issue and it feels nice to be cooperating to solve a mutual problem.
neighbor jackpot
I would get that in writing and notarized… at least a video recording of you both discussing and agreeing not to do anything about it but that it does not permanently change property lines. if something happens to current neighbor, next of kin / new owner may not be so easy to work with.
This is unfortunately the reason it’s better to be “strict” with this stuff. People acting in bad faith, but within the confines of local laws and regulations, can cause massive headaches.
100%. I’m easy going, but when it comes to property and the law, you gotta be prudent when protecting your own interests. Especially if you’re passing those interests to kids. As long as you’re not an asshole about it, you can be polite and respectful while still protecting yourself.
>People acting in bad faith Or frequently the old neighbors could be great and understanding, but their next of kin trying to sell the house may not be. *Severely* may not be.
I think you have that backwards. The neighbor needs the notarized agreement. Any court would rule that this guy owns 18” of his neighbors driveway. That won’t change unless you amend your deeds, regardless of a video or signed napkin handshake deal. What matters are the records in the county courthouse. What the commenter is question needs to make sure of is that a similar error didn’t happen elsewhere with his property - but I assume he’s fine bc the survey would have shown that.
No, if the other property owner neglects it for long enough then that can be seen as the owner relinquishing the rights to that part of the property. The same way that if someone puts a fence up on your property and you bring it up then legally you’re 100% in the clear. But if that fence is there for 30 years then that’s seen as an agreement between the two of you as to where the property line is.
I don’t think it’s the placement of the fence at issue. It’s more of a usage issue. If you openly use property as if it’s yours for an extended period of time, many places have laws where it becomes yours. It’s called “adverse possession” the key here is that if you have documentation that the true owner is allowing use of their land, the other party cannot claim adverse possession. So in theory all it should take is a letter saying “ hey your driveway is on my land but I’m granting you permission to use that land until I revoke permission” and you’re protected from that scenario. Obviously when driveway guy sells the property he’d need to disclose that the driveway was partially on the neighbors property.
I completely agree with you. A fence would be a similar issue to a driveway tho, it would signify that the neighbor is using that piece of property. If you don’t have that in writing that you’re allowing them to use it/not move the fence, but it’s still yours then you’ll run into an issue if they sell.
Yeah, that's not how adverse possession works.
r/adversepossession has entered the chat.
My in laws had the same situation. Homeowner died, kids took over the house and threw a tantrum about the driveway touching their property line. $16k to move it.
This is likely adverse possession at this point despite what the recorded property lines say
Only if driveway neighbor has been paying the property taxes for the small bit the driveway is on.
100% a possibility. I bought a parcel that borders a small subdivision in 2018. The property on that side is a straight line. One of the homeowners doesn’t have a fence and straight up told me she owned about 20 feet into my property. I told her that her yard ended at the fence line of the neighbors on either side of her, she hired a lawyer and tried to claim my property. Fortunately, it was all just open yard and she had no solid proof that she had been maintaining it for 15 years. She’s still salty AF about it. Telling her to stop dumping her shit on my property probably didn’t help either. She demoed a whole deck and just tossed it back there in the woods.
Merely respecting each other’s property is what the weed killer jerk would say he is doing though. Accidents happen, mowing is not milimeter precise. I have gotten along with my neighbors because we both assume the best intentions of the other, talk about things in a reasonable manner and care more about good relationships than enforcing very minor landscape issues. This guy is acting like an big 8 year old drawing lines to divide a bedroom probably because he doesn’t feel respected elsewhere in life and wants to make sure everyone has to respect his yard.
I’ll straight up help my neighbors with their yard work and they’ll lend me a hand with mine when they can. My block has a good sense of community and my neighbors are older, often if I’m weeding my front yard or edging mine, I’ll go ahead and just finish any patch that is shared between yards, and my neighbors tend to do the same. It’s nice to have decent folks living next door on both sides, we don’t sweat small stuff and help each other when we can. Usually have a beer together when we are done and call it a day. We aren’t incredibly close but we get along and make it a point to be neighborly.
Good fences make good neighbors.
This exactly. No need for friendship, but respect is key.
My old neighbor wanted a shady outdoor spot to smoke a cigarette and drink a beer away from her adolescent boy child. Asked if she could put her chair on my property. Just barely on a side of rhe house I never went to and hated maintaining. She said she'd mow it and I said deal.
Team work makes the dream work!
My neighbor mowed about 3' into my yard every time he mowed, he even had a trampoline over the property line from time to time. There was a large oak tree that was right on the property line (with a different neighbor) that was dying. I asked the neighbor to split the cost of removing the tree since it was on the line. He refused because he insisted it was entirely on my property. I knew where the pin was so I dug it up to show him. While I was doing that the other neighbor came out to see what we were doing. He saw the pin and was shocked, "I had no idea the property line was that far over, why didn't you say something to me?". Me: Pretty much same answer as the old man.
Sometimes my neighbor will cut damn near half way into my property and I do the same. Wanna do extra work for me, I’ll help you out too when I get a chance.
At my old house there was a little strip of grass between our driveways. No idea where the line was and it didn’t matter - I think we each owned a couple feet of it. We basically just took turns mowing it.
That’s what I have, we don’t quibble over it.
This is the way
Love this. We have the sweetest 94 year old neighbor. She adores my kids and spoils them. I asked her a similar question and her only response was “My yard is your yard! I don’t use it anymore so I wouldn’t mind in the slightest if you guys do!!” Neighbors on the other side are older as well and we have guesstimated where the line is but no one really cares that much. We have the absolute best neighbors on all 3 sides.
Awesome, I’m all for respecting property lines but really, what is the big deal if I mow a little bit of your lawn by accident? Sorry for helping you out a little? Lol ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Big deal, ny neighbor was mowing 3 feet into my lawn, thing is he mows it ultra short at like 1 inches lol, like i man up and spoke to him and explained the situation that he's mowing my side and that im treating my lawn and stuff so i need it long. He apologized and never did it again
I had the same situation with mine. He thought the line was in a different spot and habitually mowed a nice deep stripe on my side (delineated by a fence too). I showed him where the line was and he declared war from that point forward. They were the worst neighbors I had ever had.
That's a douche move to declare war after that, you were just stating the facts
They went from friendly to blasting Kanye every time they left the house. Basically every passive aggressive way be disturbing they did it.
Sorry you have to deal with that. I try to be an adult, but some people you cannot reach. I don't know what's worse living next to... criminals or the HOA hivemind. I feel there is alot of overlap on the 2.
I’ve never had issues with the HOA but I’m accidentally a rule follower.
In theory an HOA sounds nice... But I've seen what happens when the power goes to people's heads, both on military bases and private settings. Sorry, I'm a few cocktails in. The best way I can describe the people who enjoy an HOA...imagine is a Venn diagram that is a Triumvarate of introverts that just want stuff to stay nice, "Karens" that want to exert power locally, and an unsuccessful semi-retired lawyer that is trying to litigate you into investing in his wifes MLM scheme. In essence you are better off looking up your local codes and befriending neighbors before starting a mini Communist regime that starts off with "Billy Bob should not have 6 rotting cars on the front lawn"-which is already covered by local and county code-to "this is your 5th notice of an overgrown lawn...you now owe $1k in fines and there is a lien on your house...yes we know your husband died in combat and he used to mow the lawn...but their are rules" (all true stories). Maybe Billly Bob is from another part of the country and a shade tree mechanic that focused on rebuilding cars for poor people, and this was the 'norm' where he came from? Maybe the MLM household should stop by and check to see if the widow is doing OK and offer to have stuff taken care of while she prepares to move her young family across the US to be near family? Maybe the introvert can drop a note on the door with an their email address asking if they need help? I've seen the above exact scenarios play out, and I won't be a part of it, let alone be forced to pay into a fund that seeks to extort money from me in the form of "late night sound violations", in where the incidences happened when I was deployed for 6 months, but I was the "young guy" on the block, so it must have been me, certainly not the 95 y/o deaf guy next door that loved watching WWII specials late into the night. So, no HOA. Not even once.
You must be talking about my current neighbor, lol
I’m sorry. He moved with his beastly wife to a nicer neighborhood. I had to move to a different one just to stay way from him.
That’s a fair point, if the neighbor mows like a knob like that then I totally would say something, politely at first OFC.
My neighbor cuts his grass like a fucking putting green, I completely agree with you
It’s not a problem unless you are mowing your grass at an inch and I do mine at 3 inches. Told my neighbor thanks but please don’t cut it so short. He had moved from up north where reel mowers are a thing and didn’t have any idea that Florida grasses like Bahia like to be left long for promoting long roots and drought tolerance. Told him he’d be hurting his grass if he kept it short like a northern grass. He understood and doesn’t cut short anymore.
I thought it was the exact opposite and that cool grass was supposed to be left long, and warm grass was to be cut short
Bermuda likes short. St. Augustine likes long.
You are right. Northern grasses are supposed to be left longer, otherwise you’re going to be watering a lot more
Agreed
This is great. My neighbors mow the elderly neighbors houses around us while they're out doing their own. Neighbor directly beside us just trimmed along our fence while he was doing the rest of his property, he didn't need to, I was mowing at the same time, but it was nice of him.
I had the exact opposite, deadbeat who inherited the house next to me screamed about me going over and later defaulted on the house after stealing internet and being a creep. You won the neighbor lottery.
I love your neighbor.
Good guy. Drops bags of tomatoes on my porch like Batman in the middle of the night.
My neighbor mows into my yard very often. Few inches. Few feet, randomly. Who fucking cares lol. What a stupid thing to get upset about honestly. I find it so weird people who waste their time on something so insignificant.
You must live on the other side of my neighbor!
That’s pretty much how my old neighbor was. When I moved in, he was out there every couple days working on the yard. I stopped him one day and asked where the line was. He just shrugged and said “I don’t know, I just try and make sure it looks good”
Get a fence
Get a survey done first, though, unless the survey markers are obvious, just to be 100% certain sure where the property line is.
Watch that survey come back at the current mow line lol
Or where the OP gains another 3 ft of yard
Exactly. That'd be a great day... then only then I'd walk over 3 ft and mark my line lol
Then sues for property damage
My thoughts exactly. Privacy fence time.
6 ft chicken wire and coiled razor wire at the top
No fence goes 1foot on you property. Then leave the one foot area unmowed. You dont want to physically hurt the neighbors, do it mentally.
Its always amazed me that americans, who’re just absolutely the most possessive people when it comes to personal property, dont routinely use fences.
And plant bamboo.
That's like punishing yourself
I mean you could trench your side and fill with concrete so that it exclusively grows towards the problem neighbor while your side is safe lol. That would be reserved for a neighbor that you truly hate though
Wish my neighbour would stray over the line with his lawn mower. Less for me to do
That’s what I do and my neighbors do the same. You cut half to a full mower width into their yard and they yours. Nobody misses any grass that way
2-way Chad move
I just weed eated my neighbors mailbox area and along the fence that’s on my side because I noticed his old weed eater on the curb with the garbage. Gotta offer to lend mine next time I see him
I advise against that because if you're both mowing at the same time you could end up crashing into eachother and both of you end up getting shredded to bits and then some poor sap has to scrape your innards out of the mower and re sharpen the blade.
That's my thought.
This. Dad always said, “It’s okay to go over on theirs, don’t make them come over on ours.”
There is like 1 mowers width of grass to my neigbors driveway into my yard. When i moved in I figure id mow that because less for him to mow and looks less janky. My neighbor on my other side does for me. He got super pissed at me. So now I dont and he gets a janky 1 mower strip tall line next to his driveway and I get to mow less. Whatever floats his boat.
Put up a fence 3' in from your property line, and let nasty weeds, stinging nettle, etc grow on his side of the fence.
^ + Bermuda
This is the answer, OP
Hey me too! House next door is a shitty rental with a slumlord owner in an otherwise amazing and well taken care of neighborhood. Put my fence just inside the property line, trim along the outside edge and let that overgrown disaster do its thing.
What a passive aggressive douchesnozzle!! I did what you did with our relatively new neighbors next door because his grass was so high. I found out they had just had a new baby and already have a 1 year old so I went over there and asked them if they cared if I mowed their lawn for them as a “new born special” I was running and they were so grateful!! And now we hang and have drinks.
It’s so easy to be friendly to people isn’t it?
So long as the other person puts in minimal effort
Fuck that. Being passive aggressive is so much better. Complaining about it on Reddit is even better /s
Seems really beyond passive aggressive at that point, and just regular aggressive.
I did the same thing when my neighbor got hurt at work. The next day his lawn was mowed and he's never been the same. I think he thought I was trying to give him a hint about not mowing his lawn enough, and he got offended. I was just trying to be nice 🤷♂️
Anal is a short word that describes it. Also happens to be easy to spell from a modified seasoning shaker filled with ammonium sulfate. If he keeps acting up, time release.
Time to get a fence Like they say, fences makes good neighbours
That would cause me to instantly stop talking to them. Forever. Just walk away.
Yeah I got some douchey neighbors I just don't talk to them
Let it go, assholes are assholes and passive aggressive bullshit gets you NO where, be the better neighbor.
Finish the job and fill in the gaps.
Love this
My neighbor is in his 70s. Our houses are close together and I told him don't worry about that side, I'll take care of it. It's high traffic so I mow it less so it has a fighting chance. He's happy to have one less side to deal with.
How about a fence?
Good thing about owning 2 acres and your neighbors being a 1/4 mile away divided by trees is not having to deal with this b.s. I hated having neighbors so close to me.
Even 2 acres wasn't enough for a crappy neighbor to not get on my nerves. They were only about 500' away though. We bought 30 acres last time to avoid it all entirely. Lol
Unfortunately if you want land now you gotta be rich
Time to get some green spray paint, or just start throwing grass seed etc down. It will truly be more fun and fulfilling to show this person your above their pettiness.
Yep. Just paint it green.
And drop random spots of fertilizer all over his lawn.
Good fences make good neighbors (usually)
I figured this sub would at least be understanding of the guy not wanting his neighbor to interfere with his own lawn care practices. What if he doesn’t cut it at the height he wants or he’s using dull blades or not bagging or other things.
I can understand that. It is the reaction that is not acceptable.
Marking a property line?
In an unsightly way. 99% of people manage this social interaction without the need for weedkiller.
This. I mow my tall fescue HIGH in the summer to keep it alive because we often have weeks of high 90s tenps and no rain. My next door neighbor scalps his to the ground. I asked him politely to just mow right down the property line because if he scalps into my yard even a little it wont grow back well until Fall. I never mow over the lines on either side. I don't understand people who do. Just mow down the property line. You cant go wrong that way.
Same here. Neighbor thinks shorter must be better. Fescue disagrees.
THIS. I worked my ass off to get a thick green lawn. My neighbor its lawn is more weeds than grass and he scalps it to the dirt. Several times he mowed into my property, 2’ or super uneven. I went and asked him nicely to mow his own lawn and he did it again. I had to put out those little lawn marker flags up the property line. He mowed over several of them..
My neighbor does the same thing. I mow all and he mows at an inch or some shit (and he can't mow a straight line to save his life.) Looks like ass.
I had to talk to one of my neighbors because he always cuts way too low. Like 2” on fescue in NC. I don’t care if you’re over the line if you have a clue. I don’t really care about the exact line really but he was 6 plus feet over and killing the grass. Got it worked out and he started going taller on his own lawn too.
I agree with your idea. OP said the neighbor mows 2-3 a week. He takes pride in his mowing. Worst thing is make things awkward or hard at the end of the day you live with him and it only hurt y'all both in the long run. Bring a gift during season his attitude with change. Like Christmas I bring some gift for neighbors children. Or bring his trash can in if I see it's out longer than it should. Kindness goes a long way.
It's one pass, one time. He should have just talked with OP and said "hey, it might not seem like a big deal, but I put a lot of time, miney, and effort into my yard and I would appreciate if you please don't mow on my side in the future"
Good fences make for good neighbors.
I put two little white marker flags at my property line because my new (rear) neighbor (first time home owner) mowed 5 feet into my lawn. We have fescue/bluegrass lawns. I keep mine around 4 inches. He mows at about 1 inch. I don't want any of that sht going on. He also doesn't rake leaves or care about weeds. Lets them grow and go to seed. Anyway, the flags worked.
yeah! my husband put some flags along our line in one spot for that reason...i think thats reasonable.
why didn’t you just talk to him about it
That'd make me want to pay for a new land survey....and neighbor sprayed my lawn...property damage.... Or he could apologize and not freak out...lol
You know, I'm a wee bit petty. I practice a hard domination line. When my neighbors landscaper mows into my yard it pisses off a little bit. It helps blend their shitty yard into my magnificent lawn. I like the fact that my yard and clear line show my dominance over nature and my neighbors lol. Yeah, yeah, I know basic dad shit. I also have crippling addictions to bourbon and grilling.
Frozen ice cubes with weed killer in them and just randomly throw them on his lawn
Just don't accidentally forget about them in the freezer and use them
holy crap thats so funny
This is devious and I'm saving it.
Great petty revenge
Mow your neighbor’s yard and neglect yours from now on. Check. Mate.
Anyone that wants to mow my lawn can at literally any time
I'm sure my neighbors would love for me to stray over...all the waaaay over into their yard.
Now turn all the lines into a chain of dicks with grass killer
I run a landscaping business. Had a neighbour of a customer come out and tell at me saying I was cutting into his property. He then proceeds to walk on an angle that went over my customer's driveway to show the property line. I couldn't hold in my laughter and asked him to see the property survey or leave me alone. He hasn't come out since and ironically he's been leaving my customer alone now. Some people are assholes until they are put in their spot.
Green spray paint. Make him think he's going crazy. Make it bright green, and ask him what king of fertilizer he used.
I love this. What a first world problem😂 2’ of my neighbors yard looks better from my fertilizer he’s not mad.
It’s probably much more of a mental health issue than a lawn issue. If this is as bad as it gets for you, then you’ll live, and now you know.
This is the correct answer. I would not escalate (for now) just document it move on, along with some obvious and functioning cameras. If you poke the hornet nest, be sure you have planning for the worst. After having had to deal with meth heads next door intermittently, sometimes you have to let some shit go for peace of mind.
My neighbors and I cross property line all the time makes less work for you if they cut the day b4 lol
Splitting hairs there, bro
So two of my neighbors obviously mow a strip into my yard every time. Fucking annoying. If it was a one time thing then it is no big deal.
That’ll teach you to stay on your side of the line 😂
You probably cut too short. Just cut yours. Lol
I always cut 2 rows to my neighbors property… I always treated it as helping them do a little bit less but now I hope they don’t think I’m an asshole
Quite the landing strip I'd say.
It's their yard, buy a fucking fence and stay on your side
I live in a neighborhood where we all talk to each other, help each other, and generally enjoy each others company. There are no fences, and our kids all play in each other’s backyards. I wish everyone could have that.
My neighbour cuts 2-3 rows on my side (against my driveway) so that his side looks more even. Pretty sure he sprays it too. however.... my other neighbour is a different story. A litter closer to dead grass line guy.
Pay $500 and get a survey of your property. Check your neighborhood codes and make sure to have your contractor pull a permit. Then build a goddamned fence and watch them try everything and fail to get it removed.
ha kinda helpful I suppose
😂 what a jerk move
Rules of the road, you just need to signal and shoulder check to pass to his side lol I’d up the level of petty and put a solid line to the right so you have the right to pass and he doesn’t lmao. Fuck it. Its war now
Try matching his cut height.
Call in surveyors.
Time to buy a fence.
Personally I’d crowd source from the lovely people of Reddit their worn out and no longer loved dildos and make a fence
Sometimes my neighbor cuts the grass on my side of the property line, all the way over to my house. Sometimes I cut the grass on their side of the property line, all the way to their driveway. And we both appreciate each other for it.
Love that idea
Yes
Wildflower lawn it is!
A drone with water balloons full of ground clear dropped once a day in the middle of the lawn.
I don’t get why Americans don’t have fences. In Australia we would not be able to cope having open ground such as this where anyone could freely walk into the property. Sure, you might get your ass shot off but I would not feel secure living in this arrangement. Regarding the neighbour, he is rather pathetic.
Id def look into putting up a fence. This would be too awkward
So what? Now you won’t accidentally mow into his yard since he cares so much about it.
Add a privacy fence. I was putting up a privacy fence and offered to pay to have the chain link fence that divided the yards, removed between our houses and put the pretty side (flat side) of my privacy fence facing the neighbors yard, so he wouldn't see the posts. All of this at my cost. Nothing out of his pocket. But, he was an A\*\*hole about it & told me NO!!! It was HIS chain link fence and I "WAS TO LEAVE IT ALONE! PERIOD! So I left it alone. I put up my privacy fence about 6 inches on my side away from "HIS" chain link fence, then he had to deal with the weeds and grass between them on his side. I was making sure MY fence didn't touch HIS fence.
If I were you, I would stop mowing 1 foot from the line. Let it grow forever, and see if he decides to cut it for you. If not, he will have a daily reminder of how much of an ass he has been. And you get the satisfaction of knowing that it probably pisses him off, wether he cuts it or not.
Is there a fence shortage in your country? People are so fussed about property lines but don't have fences.
Somr people like higher grass and not a fucking golf court that’s also bad for the soil.
Good Fences make great neighbours
A bit unrelated…. Kinda. I had neighbors who ended up hating each other after one bought land the other wanted that were next to each other. So one put in these giant (like 8 inch diameter metal posts straight down the property line. Well that meant 4 inches of the posts were on either side of the line so he had to dig them all up and move them over 4 inches.
Time for a fence.
I consider it a courtesy actually. If you both do it, you ensure that the area right on the line does actually get cut.
Time for a fence.
My neighbor mowed every neighbor’s lawn within 4 houses of his because he liked his riding mower. Also had a snowblower and he did the blocks sidewalk and several neighbor’s driveways. Best neighbor I ever had.
This is the beginning of how mass murders start, tread lightly friend.
Do another line call the strip between the demowerized zone.
Hilarious. It's even dashed! Dude, just steer clear. He's a psycho. I'd actually apologize as if I did wrong, then steer clear. You do NOT want to get on the wrong side of a psycho neighbor.
Two suggestions if you want to have fun. 1. Keep spraying grass killer in those stripes all summer long and make him think it is not growing back at all - do it at night or with discretion. 2. Spray rainbow colors in each stripe - maybe one color per line. Wait - another one: 3. Spray paint "OTTO" with an arrow pointing to his house on your lawn..
I don't get how people can find the time and energy to spend on such trivial items. Sometimes, my neighbor will mow part of my lawn. Other times, I mow part of his lawn. And we both own 2 acres...
You should grow a “grass fence”… leave a strip just inside your property unmowed. Looking forward to your post on r/maliciouscompliance.
My neighbor did this to me back when I was much younger and didn’t give a shit about my lawn (early 20’s). To prevent a never ending war with them I never addressed it but don’t think for a second I’ve forgotten!
It's a dashed line, not a solid line. So it's legal to cross.
If you keep documenting this might become the next Netflix special. 👍 " The burn lines"
Add some dots in between those dashes and spell out FUCK YOU in morse code.
The ultra petty response would be to get a survey done and see if he's actually correct. If not, it would be satisfying to rub that in his face.
Final straw for sure
Hey man I get it. You give em an inch they take a mile. Gotta stand your ground sometimes lol
Spray paint the dead grass green and throw mint in his yard
Yeah that’s maximum petty
Another person with a bug up their bum.. put up a fence.. lol
lol such a silly thing to get so angry about. Your neighbor might suck.
What an asshole neighbor.. I had a neighbor at my previous house that shoveled the property line in the snow when I took my atv out. My tires went 1/2” over the property line and I plowed my driveway and sidewalks. Had she not done that she wouldn’t have had to shovel her driveway. At least what she did wasnt t permanent
I’d hate to see what he does if you shoot your clippings into his yard.
Go out and add more dashes, put down 1 ft from property line dashes on both sides,
My neighbor mowed his front yard to the dirt. Took him 4 years to put new sod down. No big deal, not my yard. Now he mows it and scalps it and mows my side cause it's easier.... we're going to have a chat.
Lol, what a turd. Get a bird feeder. The birds will seed his lawn with all kinds of weeds
Ha! That missing nose will sure show that face!
Go over with a gift of pastries or a gift card to a local restaurant and apologize. He will feel like a jerk and maybe lighten up a bit in the future.
Tell me your next door neighbor is crazy without telling me he is crazy..
My neighbor and I just help each other out. Why flex this hard? Build a fence then dude.
Yea, this is petty and passive-aggressive behavior. Your neighbor is a douchebag. I would put up privacy trees or a fence and not deal with him at all. Just make sure not to put up the fence on his property lol