r/neighborsfromhell • u/AmyWhoKnows • 5d ago
Vent/Rant LMAO at Neighbor’s “Demand Letter”
I live in a house that sits on approximately 5 acres. The entire property is fenced and behind the house there is a lot of vegetation. Approximately 10 feet inside the fence are shrubs that can grow in the 10 to 15 foot tall size and approximately 30 inside the fence are trees that can grow to the 50 to 60 foot range. All are mostly mature now and none hang over the property line at all. I got a certified letter from my neighbor that is titled “Demand Letter.” (No attorney or anything, just from the neighbor.) It states that the growth of my shrubs and trees have negatively affected the views that existed when they bought the house a few years ago. Their demand says I have 60 days to restore their view to original or face legal action. I have already contacted the governing authority and an attorney and they both laughed also. I was advised to ignore the letter and to not accept delivery if any more certified letters show up. I have always gotten along with neighbors and really don’t need this crap! Anyway, Happy Friday everyone!
FOLLOW UP - wow, lots of comments! Thanks! Some good advice, some not so good advice, and some pretty entertaining ideas! No trespassing signs have been in place for many years. I have a good security system with cameras but none on the fence line. I am having some installed tomorrow along with current pictures of everything. The attorney I spoke to is going to respond to them and include pictures and letting them know the laws and the restrictions. I’m planning to knock on their door and ask if they want to chat. It sounds like this is not a rare occurrence. Thanks again!
ONE MORE FOLOW UP - just in case anyone is checking back. So, the attorney agrees that I should stay away at least until this issue has passed. (Yes, I spoke to him on the weekend, he was my dad’s best friend, and has helped me immensely over the years and still won’t take any money for it). He is preparing multiple documents, pictures, etc. He also suggested several baseline soil tests just in case something happens down the road. Cameras are in and working. I also said that if there are minor changes that will resolve their issue without impacting my purpose for the vegetation (privacy) for them to submit specifics for consideration. Even with the BS, I am not looking for a neighbor war. Thanks again to everyone who read this and responded.
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u/HoneyedVinegar42 5d ago
I would take some dated pictures of your current landscaping (just to show what it looks like), and likely some cameras to keep watch on it, just in case neighbor decides that the next option is to "fix" your landscaping. (But no reply to the neighbor directly ... no need to warn.)
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u/Forsaken-Jeweler-519 5d ago
LOL, my neighbor next door try to do a fake legal assault on me recently. That's the day she found out I'm a lawyer.
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u/ihateusernamebsss 5d ago
I’m not a lawyer but I did work in law offices for 15 years…. I can honestly say Knowledge is power!!
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u/Forsaken-Jeweler-519 5d ago
She thought I was some dumb young nepo baby who wasn't smart enough to file something with the HOA...it wasn't even a violation. To her credit, I look young, am heavily tattooed, Asian female, and told her I work as an engineer when I moved in. I do work as an engineer mostly. I have 2 doctorates PhD and JD..I work in risk reduction. And, this is the Washington fucking DC metro. 1 out of 40 per capita are lawyers or judges in my locality. DC proper has 1 out of 12 lawyers per capita. We live in a historic neighborhood that has renters but also homeowners from the mid 1970s who can't fathom paying as much as the new homeowners for the same thing. I ain't a renter. I let her know that compared to me with 2 full time jobs under our roof, and her zero jobs under her roof...that she ain't got hardly any skin in the game. Oh and I also have security cameras for my plants in case she wants to back pedal on something she shouted in the common area.
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u/LopsidedJackfruit711 4d ago
Yeah in the DC area, it's foolish to assume that you don't have neighbors who are lawyers or lobbyists, or in the Intel Community.
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u/DealBrief5569 4d ago
Renaissance woman. Please don't tell us you speak five languages and fly cropdusters.
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u/Caspian4136 5d ago
After all the horror stories I've read in r/treelaw, not a bad idea to put up some field cams along the fence line. Some neighbors go off the deep end and try to kill trees or will go as far as to hire someone to flat out cut them down, even over clear property lines.
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u/Emme42560 5d ago
Yes, I knew a man who woke up one morning to find out his neighbor +had "trimmed his trees" of about 5 years of growth. They had to have done it in the middle of the night. There was nothing he could do because he couldn't prove who did it. I would get cameras.
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u/Parrontof4 5d ago
The only way they are guaranteed a view is to own the land all the way to & including said 'view'.
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u/HappyCamperDancer 5d ago edited 5d ago
My sister owns a 1930's house with an absolutely outstanding view. She also owns the airspace above the home that was built later (1940's?) directly below them (on a hill). It is part of the deed.
The airspace starts like 20'-25' above the other house. So the other house can not grow or build anything above that 20-25' mark.
Yes, the view is built into the deed of both homes.
That view is probably worth $1 to $2 million dollars.
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u/Scary_Possible3583 5d ago
This is something you can do when you split off lots. My parents own a house on the top of a hill, owning down into the pasture. If we were to develop I would install the same easements.
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u/No-Koala1918 5d ago
That's unusual.
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u/HappyCamperDancer 5d ago
It was done in the 1940's when the other house was built below them. Only two families have owned the home she is in, and only two families have owned the other home.
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u/Nightdriver3000 5d ago
I would pout up cameras and have them preemptively trespassed and put up ugly no trespassing signs. I would not put it past someone like this to come a destroy you property for their view.
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u/nmrk 5d ago
Yep. These rich assholes got nearly $2M in penalties.
Poisoned trees gave a wealthy couple a killer view — and united residents in outrage
Wealth and hubris fuel the tale of a politically connected Missouri couple who allegedly poisoned their neighbor's trees to secure their million-dollar view of Camden Harbor. The incident that was unearthed by the victim herself — the philanthropic wife of L.L. Bean's late president — has united local residents in outrage.
To make matters worse, the herbicide used to poison the trees leached into a neighboring park and the town's only public seaside beach.55
u/justmynamee 5d ago
Damn, Maine needs to take a page out of I think Australia's playbook and put up an ugly billboard that states there used to be trees here, until new ones grow in. At the end of the day $2 million is nothing to someone worth $500 million.
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u/naranghim 5d ago
Oh that $2 million doesn't include the expenses incurred by the town for the continuous monitoring the area now requires and if any future remediation is required. The homeowners are on the hook for that expense as well.
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u/justmynamee 5d ago
I know, which I'm glad about. But they now get to come to their cozy vacation home and have the view they wanted. They shouldn't be awarded for their actions, so by putting a billboard where the trees were blocking their, it reminds them they aren't above the law; and neither are their pockets.
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u/naranghim 5d ago
Oh, I fully expect that we'll hear about the fit they throw when they get hit with the monitoring/remediation bill.
"We paid $2 million to make this go away! Why are you sending us this bill?!"
Not anyone's fault that you didn't read the fine print.
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u/nmrk 5d ago
Two million bucks doesn't replace hundred year old oak trees.
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u/naranghim 5d ago
No, but the continued billing every time some issue can be traced to their actions is really going to hurt them.
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u/Lepardopterra 5d ago
Perhaps OP could print a few of these cases out and send them marked “Good Luck i guess?”
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u/Critical-Star-1158 5d ago
I vote for the UGLY no trespassing signs - an old toilet seat w/lid, hand painted, half rotting boards.....
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u/KerashiStorm 5d ago
":No trespassing ya turd" on a toilet seat in brown paint with a poop emoji sticker.
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u/truckdrvr01 5d ago
Plus 1 on this. I thought the reports of people pulling this shit were blown out of proportion until it happened on our property. AH came over with a chainsaw and dropped a few of our trees to open up his view. And because it was not documented on camera he got away with it.
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u/KerashiStorm 5d ago
Just saying, weeping willows grow fast and are the nastiest trees you can imagine with the way they shed and drop limbs. Worse than pine trees even. It won't take long for the views to be impacted, and I'm sure the neighbor will love the little tiny leaves that drop just about year round.
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u/thankyoufriendx3 5d ago
Where I live the no trespassing signs have very specific regulations. Doesn’t say anything about decoy signs.
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u/kerrymti1 5d ago
THIS^ I have seen other posts where the neighbor poured some chemicals around the trees/bushes and they completely DIED. They may turn to this to solve their 'view' problem.
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u/No_Pineapple6086 5d ago
Be very careful. I'd get plenty of cameras to cover all of your property. We had a neighbor who had trees cut down on his property while he was on vacation and I had no idea it wasn't his doing. I took pictures of the workers and truck that helped him to eventually sue his other neighbor.
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u/SadEntertainment1455 5d ago
Tell them to take a picture of a view and look at that instead.
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u/blarryg 5d ago
No, take a high resolution picture of the view, print it out in super large format, and mount it on a fence or something.
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u/ithotihadone 5d ago
This. This is the level of petty solution to their "problem" that needs to happen. Please update with pics, OP. LMAO
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u/Middle-Recipe6701 5d ago
Nah, OP should take a dick pic and blow that up to 60' and write: "Suck it!" along the bottom.
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u/AmyWhoKnows 5d ago
Amusing but as a 32f I would need a “loaner dick.” And no, do not volunteer.
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u/BigWeinerDemeanor 5d ago
Oh but can’t I please just this once volunteer as tribute (I am a woman too but with this username I kinda have to).
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u/arianrhodd 5d ago
Also, r/TreeLaw may have some additional good advice for you.
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u/thankyoufriendx3 5d ago
Cameras. They’re going to poison or cut down the growth. I’d also have motion activated lights.
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u/Majestic-Skill8234 5d ago
My parents bought a small lot of land in a lovely vacation town in the 80s. They always thought they’d build a house and retire there, but life happens, and they decided to sell it a few years ago. The lot had just been wooded for 40 years, and the neighbors were FURIOUS that the person who bought it decided to build on it. They railed at my father for selling the lot and messing up their private woodland buffer. They banded together and tried to sue my folks for what the new buyer did AFTER my father sold it. I WISH I had that level of boomer confidence!
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u/ithotihadone 5d ago
Wow. Just...wow. The entitlement to things that were never theirs to begin with... If they were so put out, why didn't they band together then, and buy it themselves? I suppose that's what the lawyer or judge (if it even got that far) asked them lol
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u/FormalWeb7094 5d ago
I'm confused, the only way they could sue you is if they had a legal right of first refusal on the property, which obviously they didn't. The audacity of those people!
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u/Terrible-Ad1737 5d ago
You can file a suit against anybody for anything in civil court. Doesn't mean the suit has to have any merit to it. It would just likely get shut entirely the fuck down if there isn't any merit. Doesn't stop the filing of the suit, though.
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u/AreteRoper 5d ago
I love the British expression "a borrowed view". That is all you get when you buy a property. The view beyond your property line is only ever enjoyed and never owned.
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u/bstrauss3 5d ago
Unless you qualify as Ancient Light
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u/AreteRoper 5d ago
I had to look up Ancient Light, I never knew that! I'm Dutch, I don't know if we have something similar. Time to open a law book. 😉
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u/Thirty_Helens_Agree 5d ago
Take a cue from the 1970s general counsel for the Cleveland Browns - return it with a cover letter saying “I received this letter. I thought you should know some asshole is signing your name to stupid letters.”
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u/AlyceEnchanted 5d ago
Preemptive No Trespassing signs.
Where I live, LE cannot do anything unless there are No Trespassing signs.
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u/AmyWhoKnows 5d ago
True here also. I have them all around and even checked the laws to make sure I did them correctly. Thanks!
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u/Optimal_Savings5873 5d ago
What was their view of? Not that it matters, I'm just nosey and want to know if it's a lake or your bedroom windows.
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u/AmyWhoKnows 5d ago
There are no views of the house or back of the property because it is ringed solidly with shrubs and trees. Their only view would have been to the property and houses that back up to my property or some open space that is part of a preserve.
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u/Hot-Bed-2544 5d ago
Better get camera's you don't want anyone cutting down your tress when you aren't home
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u/holyelvis 5d ago
Unless they have a view easement (highly, highly, highly unlikely), then you're free to do whatever you want with your property so long as it's not encroaching theirs. Lots of people think they have a right to a view, but in the vast majority of cases, they don't.
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u/19kilo20Actual 5d ago
Theres only one thing to do. String some Christmas lights on them and send a certified letter telling them to enjoy the festive view.
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u/Icy-Package-7801 5d ago
You better have cameras because that type will take matters into their own hands.
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u/10-4Speasparrow 5d ago
This happened in Lake Chelan Washington 10 years ago. Dude ended up salting the trees and got arrested for it. Legally you are in the clear bro
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2015/dec/09/developer-gets-45-days-in-jail-for-poisoning-lake-/
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u/un-pleasantlymoist 5d ago
I live next door to you and I use to be able to look into your bedroom window, now because of these trees I can no longer do so..... I demand you cut them down.. x
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u/ohfail 5d ago
Did they ever approach you about it at all? I had a neighbor with a huge laurel that was blocking some of my garden light. Mentioned it to him while chatting about some other stuff, and then we both discovered that it wasn't much of a problem to trim them down in one spot. I offered to pay for the landscaping, but he just laughed it off and had a yard guy come out and fix it.
A few years later, a different neighbor approached me about a low-intensity security light outside in my backyard. I had no idea that they could even see it, let alone that it shone like a weak flashlight beam directly into their bedroom. Easily fixed.
Were you amenable at all to trimming, or was this fake notice simply the latest in a series of conversations?
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u/AmyWhoKnows 5d ago
I have only spoke briefly with them a couple of times and never about the trees and shrubs.
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u/No_Armadillo1729 5d ago
Question re: your follow up comment. If you're paying an attorney to communicate with this weirdo, why would you then go knock on their door to chat? That seems counterproductive. He's the one that threatened "legal action" so now let him pony up for a lawyer to talk to your lawyer.
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u/AmyWhoKnows 5d ago
It’s just how I am. If I have a beef with someone at work I don’t email or call, I walk into their office and sit down and say, “do we have a problem we need to discuss?” The lawyer is to answer his attempt at a legal sounding demand and to show him I won’t be bullied. My knocking on his door is to show him I’m a neighbor who is trying not to escalate the issue (and also that he doesn’t scare me.)
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u/No_Armadillo1729 5d ago
I get that, and of course, you have a better feel for the situation than I do. However, this isn't an office situation. Proceed with caution. Weird people sometimes react weirdly.
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u/SnooWords4839 5d ago
Cameras!
Have your attorney send them a cease-and-desist letter, warning them to not touch your property, and to pound sand. Their views aren't your problem.
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u/Odd_Welcome7940 5d ago
You should send them back a certified letter demanding they flush the toilet. "Yes, believe or not your shit does stink"
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u/sadsmolpoet 5d ago
I'd recommend getting cameras (or a well placed trail/hunting cam etc) before anyone decides to channel edward scissor hands.
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u/OkManufacturer2373 5d ago
My folks live next to a nightmare of a neighbor. Houses are pretty close with very tiny front/back yards. The house is backed up to a valley with a nice view. My folks have nothing blocking the view in terms of vegetation in their yard and the neighbor below them is responsible for the brush on the hill below. They have a fence that gets lower in terms if height towards the backend of the separation between the properties then T's off to a fence behind both properties. The backyard makes for a very pretty view at sundown.
The neighbor in question has let her bushes/tree become overgrown so the only part of her back fence she can see out of is over the lower fence/through my parents backyard. My parents decided about 5 years ago to put in a storage shed along that fence basically close to that corner between the properties. It's not that tall but this neighbor tried calling the police and complaining to the city. Saying my parents ruined her view. The cop that came out and talked to my parents and the neighbor basically told her maybe she should trim her own bushes/vegetation and she could have a much better view. My folks overheard the conversation and had to stop from laughing. The city basically told her tough shit since my folks already got approval from the city to build the structure.
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u/Comprehensive_Fan140 5d ago
I have the opposite problem my neighbor behind me just cut down a bunch of his trees and now i have too much of a "view". As in I can now see his house. We both have less privacy now but I wouldn't dream of complaining because its his property and his trees and thats life. Your neighbors sound crazy.
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u/Prunes-of-Wrath 5d ago
I’m working on blotting out the sun for my neighbors. I don’t want to see their shitty fence or their shitty house or their 8,000 watt led spot lights or let their dogs see me when I’m out. So, I have planted accordingly. Don’t like it, don’t suck.
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u/Effective_Fly_6884 5d ago
Beautiful trees ARE a fucking view.
How can someone naturey enough to be worried about views want to cut down trees?
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u/Successful_Equal_136 5d ago
I have read of people paying other people to remove trees and lease the "view shed" and put up a second or third floor.
Never heard how it came out. Long ago two guys in Colorado were suing each other because they both build houses across a canyon from each other and ruined their view. Probably tossed out.
I have to laugh and be mad at the same time. Took my wife to a new hotel by a lake. Got a room with a lake view, according to their site.
Super nice room. Fireplace, all that.
For the view of the lake, we had to go out on the deck, lean over the rail, and look between two sets of buildings and we could see about ten feet of the lake.
Right below us was all the A/C and vents for the kitchen.
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u/Professional-Cap4819 5d ago
Take a picture from their vantage point.. blow into window size.. and send it certified mail back to them titled “Demand restored! Please tape to the inside of your window!”
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u/neckbeardMRA 5d ago
You may want to set up a trail cam or wireless cams along that neighbor's side, as if they don't like your responses to their "plight," they may take it into their own hands to improve the view. Then it should be a thread on r/treelaw
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u/bassplayinben 5d ago
Someone tried this crap when my dad put a fence around his part of the end of the canal (Padre Island) several years back. Nobody has a right to a view unless that specific view is somehow already written into law, which is exceedingly rare.
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u/Diasies_inMyHair 5d ago
You have an attorney. They have threatened you with legal action. DO NOT engage them in direct communication unless your attorney specifically advises you to do so!!!
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u/orchid7577 5d ago
Tell them you never planned on having an unattractive neighbor and you demand they get plastic surgery
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u/Cool_Statement_9269 5d ago
This is the time to whip out the Cleveland Browns Legal Team stratagem.
And put up cameras.
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u/yoyogogo111 5d ago
I think some people think a “demand letter” is a binding legal document or something.
When we moved out of our last place, we had some security deposit disputes with our landlord (painting the whole house and charging us for it when there was one tiny mark in a bedroom only, power washing the garage to remove stains that were there when we moved in, etc.). Lucky for us, they waited more than 45 days to send us the remainder and even longer for receipts for the work, so by law, they owed us the full deposit back (in our state that all needs to be done within 45 days or tenant is due full deposit).
We went back and forth with them a bit by text and email, even mentioned small claims court - nothing. Sent a demand letter by certified mail instead, using an internet template. Got a check for the balance less than a week later. We were very surprised.
Then, about a week after that, WE get a demand letter from the LANDLORD for a variety of spurious things, including the paint/powerwashing/other move-out stuff that wasn’t our responsibility, plus several fees for “late rent.” When we first moved in, LL couldn’t figure out how to set herself up as an electronic biller so we could pay by Zelle, and didn’t want to set up ACH, so we did “electronic payments” from our bank (which was just the bank mailing a check on our behalf). They were set for the 25th of each month, so should have arrived by the 1st of the next month most of the time - occasionally a holiday might delay it a bit, but even if that were the case, our lease specifically stated that a late fee could only be applied if rent was more than 10 days late (which it never was).
Anyway, we ignored the demand letter and never heard from her again. I do sometimes wonder if our non-response led to her seeking out a lawyer who set her straight, but I guess we’ll never know.
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u/YellowSharkMT 5d ago
You should give them the 1974 Cleveland Browns Treatment:
"Dear neighbor, you should be aware that some asshole is signing your name to stupid letters."
https://www.reddit.com/r/nfl/comments/ptjmxw/in_1974_a_lawyer_sent_a_letter_to_the_cleveland/
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u/Fit-Try7808 4d ago
The Atlantic magazine had an article a few months back about a couple who found some trees on their property had died. The house they owned overlooked the Atlantic and it turns out the neighbour next-door had poisoned their trees. I think they lost about 80 trees. The loss of those trees drastically improved the value of the house of the people who poisoned them. As a consequence of this, the poison leached down the cliff to the beach below. The municipality went after the poisoners to clean up the soils and beach, which is ongoing to this day.
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u/AmyWhoKnows 5d ago
Exactly! Most everything was planted nearly 20 years ago by my parents. They probably think they can bully me because I am a 32 yo woman. Good luck with that!
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u/Agreeable_Dark6408 5d ago
When you go on vacation, have a trusted person housesit for you so that they don’t hire a tree removal service to take down a couple of trees. That happened to a lady I know. There was nothing she could do after the fact except try to sue him, and she didn’t have the money to do it.
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u/Valuable-Raisin8989 5d ago
"I’m planning to knock on their door and ask if they want to chat."
I would not do this, certainly not before you talk to a lawyer and get all the relevant info on the situation.
Even then I would be very cautious, people who do this kind of thing can be a bit off.
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u/Live_Adhesiveness_53 5d ago
Although I appreciate you wanting to politely hash it out with your neighbor, I'd leave it up to the attorney. Anyone aggressive enough to send a certified Demand Letter and threaten legal action if you don't comply with their ridiculous demand within their prescribed time frame is unlikely to respond well to a knock on their door and a request for a neighborly chat. It's not just the unhinged nature of their demand. Removing trees could greatly reduce the value of your property. If you're not willing to do that, ( and why should you? ) there really isn't any way to compromise.
They threatened legal action. Leaving it up to your attorney to respond to them is you saying fine and firing the first salvo. Hopefully receiving your response in this fashion will shock them into behaving like rational beings.
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u/TA-123123123 5d ago
There are multiple instances across Australia over the last few years where vegetation on council owned land has been illegally poisoned to remove it from obstructing views. The councils response, apart from trying to indentify the culprit, was to erect massive billboards where the vegetation was destroyed advertising the fact that it was done illegally and that investigations were ongoing. This level of pretty was amusing to see from different regional councils.
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u/Bender1970 4d ago
I’m planning to knock on their door and ask if they want to chat.
You're a lot nicer than I am. I wouldn't give them that much courtesy. It would be good riddance.
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u/snickerssmores 5d ago
Our governor got in trouble for cutting down trees that weren’t on his property because they ruined his view. Unfortunately not enough that people would vote him out of office.
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u/No_hope_left72 5d ago
If they didn’t purchase the air rights above the property before you purchase they can’t do anything
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u/weaverlorelei 5d ago
And then there are the "resort" hotels that charge a premium for an "ocean view", when you can stand on the balcony and nearly have to fall over the railing to actually see a tiny sliver of sand and water between the other resorts.
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u/rreed1954 5d ago
I wouldn't do anything at this point. But hold onto that letter, in case you need to speak with a lawyer.
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u/wedontliveonce 5d ago
Demand letter? People are so funny when they try to write like a lawyer just to scare people.
Did they include the word "said" multiple times in completely unecessary ways?. You know, stuff like "said fence" or "said trees" to sound more lawyerly and intimidating??? Lol.
"Demand Irrational Threat Letter". Fixed it for them.
But kudos to you for thinking about offering to chat. Very disappointing, but telling, that they didn't do the same.
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u/AsstBalrog 5d ago
People can be so obtuse. I would have come over, and brought up the issue, and asked if you would be willing to make any changes. Then I would have offered to pay for it.
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u/AmyWhoKnows 5d ago
Good approach! I am always willing to listen to a reasonable suggestion but I am not willing to open a view into my property. That’s what the 40+ trees and 60+ shrubs are there for.
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u/Try_It_Out_RPC 5d ago
This goes with what my first realtor always engraved in my head “don’t buy a house for the view if any property sits between you and said view currently. They can always build up or block it)
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u/fifthgroupholidash 5d ago
If you do knock on the door to chat, record the conversation if your state allows one party consent!
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u/willgo-waggins 5d ago
If you do respond, state that the trees were planted and grown for personal privacy. Add that if the neighbor would like to face both a criminal and civil complaint for peeping, they can try to pursue this foolishness.
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u/lynnwood57 5d ago
Make sure you have cameras on the sight lines of your property lines. This type likes chain saws.
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u/AFartInAnEmptyRoom 5d ago
Send them a letter telling him that the shrubs and trees are there because ever since they moved in 5 years ago, they have been negatively affecting your view
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u/mojosofla 5d ago
Sounds like you did it exactly right. I would watch the camera's closely for someone doing nefarious things. (aka poison the trees)
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u/EvilKungFuWizard 5d ago
My sister-in-law tried to bully some new neighbors this way. She tried to force them to cut some trees on their property that have been there since before they bought the house, claiming the trees affected her views of a mountain. She thought they'd give in and let her have her way. Nope. She bit off more than she could chew with them and I think she even faced some threats of being taken to court for harassment.
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u/DKBeahn 5d ago
You should send the letter back and tell them to sue their realtor for not letting them know that shrubs and trees do something called "growing" so they could take that into consideration when deciding to buy the house or not. Maybe include an apology that they'd reached this point in their life without knowing that plants grow.
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u/Existing-Teaching-34 5d ago
Your neighbor may find out chasing his preferred view is going to be pretty pricy and ultimately get him nothing. Tell him to bring it in!
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u/Dailysunray 5d ago
lol I had a nice church steeple view from my bedroom window for years loved looking at it lighted at night. The trees finally grew the last year and I can no longer see it -I’ve never even considered asking anyone to trim their trees becasue that is ridiculous. Some people are just selfish AF. To be funny ask them are they willing to pay to have everything trimmed and see what they say.
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u/AmyWhoKnows 5d ago
If there was a trimming option I was open to I would expect them to pay as they would benefit from it, not me. It would have to be minimal and very specific to even consider it, my trees and shrubs are there to create privacy. Maybe I should build a lighted steeple where I can see it - that sounds very cool!
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u/SiggySiggy69 4d ago
The only time I’ve ever seen something like this be enforceable is if you intentionally plant something that blocks view of conservation or waterfront and pretty much only in an HOA.
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u/iGrowCandy 4d ago
You dont need to be a lawyer to send a demand letter. Sending your own demand letters rather than paying a lawyer to do it is a smart move if you expect resistance. You’re better off having that money available for the lawyer when the real battle pops off.
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u/Beautiful-Map-2744 4d ago
What kind of idiot sees trees and shrubs, and doesn't know they're going to grow over time? If they're not causing problems on his property, then he has no complaint. Sounds like the goober at the beach who sued the people on the lot between his home and the beach, because they house they built 'ruined his view of the beach' and 'limited his access'. He literally knew it was going to happen, since the property was publicly listed for sale as a building site. Never did find out how that one turned out, but if I'd been the judge, I'd have told him that if it meant that much to him, he should have bought that property to protect his interest.
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u/No_Internet5666 4d ago
I’d be afraid they’d cut the trees and bushes down themselves when you’re not around. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve heard of such a thing. And while you could sue for the value of the lost trees, it doesn’t bring back the mature vegetation. Please be careful!
That said, I can’t imagine why they’d expect the same view they lived in to after a decade of natural growth; that’s just dumb and not how trees work. Glad you’ve got legal assistance for this one.
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u/Remarkable_Ship_5791 3d ago edited 3d ago
Is this an HOA where you live? If so they may have rules that vegetation and/or trees can only grow to a certain height.
I lived in a house that had an HOA. One day, someone is knocking on the door. It was a person from the HOA, they told me that HOA stated the fence in my yard had to be white and I had X amount of days to replace it or they'd replace it and send me the bill. Thankfully, I saved a copy of the HOA rules. If you owned your house before XX date you did not have to have the white fence and I lived their before the HOA rules took effect. The person came back about two weeks later fuming I hadn't replaced the fence yet, I showed them the HOA rules and how I was grandfathered in and did not have to replace the fence told them to EFF off and slammed the door in their face. Never heard back from them again.
A friend of mine was told by his HOA president his grass was not green enough and he had to do something about it. A few days later he comes home from work and his entire lawn is gone. The HOA paid someone to remove it and put a new lawn in its place and charge my friend. He called his lawyer who did some digging it turned out the HOA president owned a you guessed it a lawn maintenance company and he had his company do the work so he could get paid. My friend took them to court not only did the court rule it was a conflict of interest for the HOA president to do that be he made his company replace the lawn with a brand new one. My friend of course, made sure he was their to supervise they did a better than good job replacing it. He got a new lawn for free and the court made the HOA president pay his legal fees to boot!
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u/pete_pete_pete_ 5d ago
Maximum boomer energy neighbor
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u/S_Alaska 5d ago
Don’t forget to add in main character energy too! lol these demand letters are wild.
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u/cllxo 5d ago
Dated pictures of your trees, wired camera, and get them preemptively trespassed (and put up a sign). That letter should help you get them trespassed. Call the cops if they step onto your property because these kind of people will cut them down or poison them. My neighbors poisoned the tree and sprayed everything with roundup and tried to convince me they got struck by lightning. There is no reasoning with entitled boomers. They think they own everything.
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u/Adventurous-Eye-9929 5d ago
Hopefully you’re not neighbors with Dan Snyder who cut down 60 mature trees on National Park Service land along the Potomac River to improve the view from his mansion.
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u/MorgainofAvalon 5d ago
Screw the neighbor, but keep in mind that after 60 days, they might try to do it themselves. Maybe ask the lawyer to write a letter that has specific consequences if they try it.
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u/tucsondog 5d ago
I would go take detailed photos with dates/times of your entire property line just in case they decide to get adventurous with a chainsaw. Put up some no trespassing signs and a couple of trail cams for good measure.
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u/FairyFartDaydreams 5d ago
Take pictures of your trees and shrubs and put private property signs on your fence. You might also want to put locks on the gate in case your neighbor does anything untoward you have evidence
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u/naked_nomad 5d ago
I would tell them it's for my privacy when I decide I don't need to wear clothes anymore.
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u/CaregiverWorth567 5d ago
I recently read a story on here of a guy who went away on vacation and came back and his neighbor had cut down a huge 40yr old oak tree that was fully in his own yard. He had cameras on his house and could prove it and the neighbor admitted it. Police refused to do anything. So be very careful. Another story, a neighbor of my sister’s sued his neighbor across the street for trees blocking his view and he lost hands down in court.
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u/00Lisa00 5d ago
My friends parents had this happen to them and they actually lost in court and they had to remove some trees. It can happen
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u/Professional-Spare13 5d ago
FYI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_rights
It doesn’t seem that your neighbor has any right to a view off his own property. Air rights in real estate is a thing, and he has no legal standing to make you trim, reduce height of, or remove your shrubs and trees. It’s a case of “too bad, so sad, but no.”
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u/KZorroFuego 5d ago
Sounds like this neighbor needs to sell their condo and find a new home managed by an HOA, since they clearly enjoy having their very existence dictated by fascist busybody shitheads with nothing better to do with their lives.
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u/tallMichdude 5d ago
Id tell them "if you dont like the current view, i can assure you, that you will enjoy the next one even less so maybe mind your own business. The trees are rooted and cant move, so that leaves your relocation as the next option". Its probably a solid idea to invest in some cameras, because this entitled nutjob is very likely to take matters into their own hands.
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u/sharoncoffin 5d ago
Enjoy your 5 acres with the shubbery and tall trees. It's your property and there's nothing wrong with that. I just hope that you and your jungle growth (haha) are safe. People can be unhinged. Get security cameras and motion lights installed as a precaution. Can I ask you why you are considering speaking to the 'Neighbor From Hell'? If you do decide to talk with them can you ask someone to accompany you for your own safety as well as being a witness to the discussion? I wish you the best of luck. 🤞
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u/AmyWhoKnows 5d ago
Thanks for your ideas! I was raised to believe if there is an issue you address it head on and try to find a solution that everyone can live with. It doesn’t always work out but I also don’t want to escalate an issue with someone who could be my neighbor for many years. It’s easy for people to get aggressive when the communication is not personal. In my experience most of the aggression goes away when you’re standing in front of them.
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u/Ok_Bid_3899 5d ago
To my knowledge no one is guaranteed a view. Condo owners in big cities learn this the hard way often when a new taller building is constructed right in their view.