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Harassment and rights violations!

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K9Protector

Junior Member
:eek: What is the name of your state? Missouri


I will briefly recap what has happened to us in the last 2 years... We moved to a home in Dec. 2002... The problems started almost immediately....

We had our first HOA meeting in Jan 2003.... We presented an idea to erect a fence on our property... I asked what all needed to be done based on the restrictions.... Bad confrontation at meeting.... Neighbors adamant about not having a fence on our property even at this first meeting (puzzling since other fences existed in our small neighborhood).

I presented a proposal to Board and it was rejected based on opinion (& not requirements in restriction).... We approached a lawyer whom quickly acted on this (and ran up a large bill)....

Since a fence existed on our property prior to our ownership, the lawyer told us we had a right to reinstall this fence since it was taken down by the City during a street widening project (our property backs to major street)... It was to be replaced but wasn't, per an agreement we find with the prior owners and the city.

The City agreed to reinstalled the fence (we paid half).... The HOA took us to court, we lost, we took down fence, and paid all lawyers fees.

After Court Decision, we submitted over 50 proposals to HOA and even asked for them to put together a proposal that they would find acceptable.... All rejected.

Adjoining neighbor (whom is on Board) has verbally harassed me on several occasions (very careful not to come onto our property). Also, we have had vandalism on our property (The latest was they took our 10' x 20' Dog kennel off of our property and placed it on the busy road behind our home... Police notified us and we were able to get it off of the road prior to damage being done to it.)...

We have also had hedges on our property destroyed (since a fence proposal was constantly rejected, I planted hedges around our property to have a living barrier). We have had paint balls shot at our home, we have had our Christmas Displays tampered with, we have been flipped off, we have been shunned, my cat died mysteriously, dogs (neighborhood dogs, etc) enter our yard and have even caused problems with our dogs, neighbor allows their dog to use our yard as restroom (while on a leash) and right now I can not think what else...

The latest occurrence happened today.... I was putting up a trampoline for my children... The neighbor (wife) came out and accused me a placing a video camera on the side of our home... I told her it was a security light and not a camera... She did not believe me, thus I brought the box out for her to see.... She said she did not like the trampoline since she could see it out her kitchen window.... She wanted to know how I could put up a trampoline with kids since I was so concerned about their safety. I personally do not like trampolines, however, this one has a safety net and is designed for only one person at a time. My daughter has an interest in gymnastics and my son just needs to burn energy... The trampoline I put up was a gift from their uncle and it has a surround netting for protection..... (NOTE: This neighbor has a trampoline and a small child too... Kind of Hypocritical)...

She told me we should move since no one on the street liked us and we only think of ourselves.... She said "if you cleaned up around your place...." I inquired and she said the swing set, the trampoline, the birdhouses and the dog kennel where outrageous... She referred to the security light making our home a compound atmosphere and I told her we needed more security due to the fact that we have had vandalism on our property... She acted puzzled and I told her about the Kennel vandalism... She said that "well I guess someone else doesn't like your kennel". I really do not recall the entire conversation, however, I was nice... until I had an anxiety attack and left.... I called the Sheriff about the continual problems we have had, and they went to talk to her. Later she came back out while I was in the yard and just stared at me....

(Let me point out that her husband has also verbally abused me by calling me a bitch, redneck, stupid, and other things... this has occurred in the past.... This neighbor wife has also has called on the phone accusing me a a running water on their property... I had a soaker hose with the new hedges that I planted and it was not flooding her yard, but I turned it off.)..

Obviously moving would be an easy out but I would prefer not moving..... and the easy thing to do is just ignore them, but that does not solve the problem with protecting my children.

Can I file anything like a restraining order? How about my recourse for getting a fence or some protection along the busy road to the rear of our property (without blowing my bank account again)? I feel threatened by them and fear that they may do more than verbally harass us.

Also, do our children have any rights to make their backyard a safe environment since we have tried and our HOA and neighbors will not listen?

I am open for help and would be happy to fill in any blanks that I left out..... you can email me directly at [email protected]

Thanks!
 


CdwJava

Senior Member
This is just one example of why I will never live in a place governed by a Homeowners Association ever again! Did it once - as a renter (talk about having NO rights!) - and will never do it again.

As for your specific situation, I don't know what more you can do besides enrich another set of attorneys. People have a right to be annoying twits. I don't think you'll be able to get a restraining order or a no harassment order (if MO has these sorts of things) based on what you've written.

But, Seniorjudge is from MO, so maybe he'll wander over here and post something for you.

- Carl
 
S

seniorjudge

Guest
K9Protector said:
:eek: What is the name of your state? Missouri


I will briefly recap what has happened to us in the last 2 years... We moved to a home in Dec. 2002... The problems started almost immediately....

We had our first HOA meeting in Jan 2003.... We presented an idea to erect a fence on our property... I asked what all needed to be done based on the restrictions.... Bad confrontation at meeting.... Neighbors adamant about not having a fence on our property even at this first meeting (puzzling since other fences existed in our small neighborhood).

I presented a proposal to Board and it was rejected based on opinion (& not requirements in restriction).... We approached a lawyer whom quickly acted on this (and ran up a large bill)....

Since a fence existed on our property prior to our ownership, the lawyer told us we had a right to reinstall this fence since it was taken down by the City during a street widening project (our property backs to major street)... It was to be replaced but wasn't, per an agreement we find with the prior owners and the city.

The City agreed to reinstalled the fence (we paid half).... The HOA took us to court, we lost, we took down fence, and paid all lawyers fees.

After Court Decision, we submitted over 50 proposals to HOA and even asked for them to put together a proposal that they would find acceptable.... All rejected.

Adjoining neighbor (whom is on Board) has verbally harassed me on several occasions (very careful not to come onto our property). Also, we have had vandalism on our property (The latest was they took our 10' x 20' Dog kennel off of our property and placed it on the busy road behind our home... Police notified us and we were able to get it off of the road prior to damage being done to it.)...

We have also had hedges on our property destroyed (since a fence proposal was constantly rejected, I planted hedges around our property to have a living barrier). We have had paint balls shot at our home, we have had our Christmas Displays tampered with, we have been flipped off, we have been shunned, my cat died mysteriously, dogs (neighborhood dogs, etc) enter our yard and have even caused problems with our dogs, neighbor allows their dog to use our yard as restroom (while on a leash) and right now I can not think what else...

The latest occurrence happened today.... I was putting up a trampoline for my children... The neighbor (wife) came out and accused me a placing a video camera on the side of our home... I told her it was a security light and not a camera... She did not believe me, thus I brought the box out for her to see.... She said she did not like the trampoline since she could see it out her kitchen window.... She wanted to know how I could put up a trampoline with kids since I was so concerned about their safety. I personally do not like trampolines, however, this one has a safety net and is designed for only one person at a time. My daughter has an interest in gymnastics and my son just needs to burn energy... The trampoline I put up was a gift from their uncle and it has a surround netting for protection..... (NOTE: This neighbor has a trampoline and a small child too... Kind of Hypocritical)...

She told me we should move since no one on the street liked us and we only think of ourselves.... She said "if you cleaned up around your place...." I inquired and she said the swing set, the trampoline, the birdhouses and the dog kennel where outrageous... She referred to the security light making our home a compound atmosphere and I told her we needed more security due to the fact that we have had vandalism on our property... She acted puzzled and I told her about the Kennel vandalism... She said that "well I guess someone else doesn't like your kennel". I really do not recall the entire conversation, however, I was nice... until I had an anxiety attack and left.... I called the Sheriff about the continual problems we have had, and they went to talk to her. Later she came back out while I was in the yard and just stared at me....

(Let me point out that her husband has also verbally abused me by calling me a bitch, redneck, stupid, and other things... this has occurred in the past.... This neighbor wife has also has called on the phone accusing me a a running water on their property... I had a soaker hose with the new hedges that I planted and it was not flooding her yard, but I turned it off.)..

Obviously moving would be an easy out but I would prefer not moving..... and the easy thing to do is just ignore them, but that does not solve the problem with protecting my children.

Can I file anything like a restraining order? How about my recourse for getting a fence or some protection along the busy road to the rear of our property (without blowing my bank account again)? I feel threatened by them and fear that they may do more than verbally harass us.

Also, do our children have any rights to make their backyard a safe environment since we have tried and our HOA and neighbors will not listen?

I am open for help and would be happy to fill in any blanks that I left out..... you can email me directly at [email protected]

Thanks!

I can't see where you have a legal basis for any kind of lawsuit.

You are wanting the courts to tell people how to behave.

That will never happen.

My advice: run for the board; political power is great!
 

K9Protector

Junior Member
running for the board

With only 8 homes and only 3 board members, it is impossible to get on the board.... My husband was going to try last year, but when you have 7 homes that feel that you are worthless, one yes vote will not win the race.

I realize that I can not control someone's behavior, but their behavior is causing emotional and physical strain on my life.

So what you are saying is that they can treat someone however they wish with no recourse for their actions.... And if they say they do not want a fence or a swing set or something, then I have to remove it from my property?

Thanks :confused:
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
K9Protector said:
With only 8 homes and only 3 board members, it is impossible to get on the board.... My husband was going to try last year, but when you have 7 homes that feel that you are worthless, one yes vote will not win the race.

I realize that I can not control someone's behavior, but their behavior is causing emotional and physical strain on my life.

So what you are saying is that they can treat someone however they wish with no recourse for their actions.... And if they say they do not want a fence or a swing set or something, then I have to remove it from my property?

Thanks :confused:
You agreed to those conditions when you moved in there. That's why I hate HOA properties.

Since you have already gone to court and lost, it seems that your HOA has done their homework and has a pretty ironclad rules set in place. Many are not that good and can easily be defeated by a determined suit. This does not seem to be the case here.

I'd say you have a dilemma. Personally, I'd smile and be as nice as possible, and make it my duty to memorize the HOA rules to the letter. Don't give them a reason to be idiots, and try to make nice.

The other options is, of course, you move.

- Carl
 
S

seniorjudge

Guest
CdwJava said:
You agreed to those conditions when you moved in there. That's why I hate HOA properties.

Since you have already gone to court and lost, it seems that your HOA has done their homework and has a pretty ironclad rules set in place. Many are not that good and can easily be defeated by a determined suit. This does not seem to be the case here.

I'd say you have a dilemma. Personally, I'd smile and be as nice as possible, and make it my duty to memorize the HOA rules to the letter. Don't give them a reason to be idiots, and try to make nice.

The other options is, of course, you move.

- Carl

I agree.....
 

K9Protector

Junior Member
Restrictions

I do agree that when we moved in we had restrictions to follow.. however, they pick and choose which ones to enforce and we did follow the restrictions... It seems that we had a bad lawyer and some other outside factors involved... Don't want to seem like the victim or criminal in this part, but we did do our homework... They are not following their own rules except when it benefits them...

Also, while we have lived here (only 2 years), they have come up with new restrictions (that supersede the old restrictions).... Some impose further burdens on the homes.... We did not vote for these because if you read them you would see that they were merely trying to be semi-Gods and that their new rules did not fully make sense.

Thanks
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
Unfortunately, you agreed to abide by the CC&R's when you bought the property.

You can get another attorney, but just how much money do you have to pursue this issue? I know that I would have been tapped after the first go-around.

- Carl
 

K9Protector

Junior Member
you are right... we are tapped out..... But as I said, we have obeyed the restrictions... We have answered or made changes based on what the Board has questioned or said, but they still say forget it.....

I am not saying I do not want to forget the restrictions or not follow them... but in the case of the Board, they should follow them too....

We made a mistake by listening to our lawyer whom said we had a right to reinstall a pre-existing fence... We paid for that mistake.... Now we are following the restrictions to the letter and we still are being rejected.

I realize that they feel that they have the law on their side or the courts on their side because they won against us for our mistake, but what I am trying to say is that now that we are following their rules, they change their rules midstream or that they say, ok we have these rules, but we don't like you or what you propose, thus we are saying no to you no matter if you follow the rules or not....
 

JewelAtWork

Junior Member
Hello K9Protector

Is the busy street close to the backyards (or side or frontyards) of any of the other seven homes? I am wondering how neighbors protect THEIR children, pets, and property, especially with their set of mean-spirited double standards.

The only words of wisdom I can think of to share are these: "People like people who are like themselves." Let me know if you want me to elaborate with my opinions.

I wish I could think of something substantial to encourage you and provide insight so you can be safe.

Even though your neighbors are hostile, there are still many normal people in the world. Stay close to those who care. Keep your chin up - and tucked.

Sincerely,
 
S

seniorjudge

Guest
We made a mistake by listening to our lawyer whom said we had a right to reinstall a pre-existing fence... We paid for that mistake.... Now we are following the restrictions to the letter and we still are being rejected.

Once the old fence came down, any rights to put up a new one evaporated.
 

K9Protector

Junior Member
JewelAtWork said:
Is the busy street close to the backyards (or side or frontyards) of any of the other seven homes? I am wondering how neighbors protect THEIR children, pets, and property, especially with their set of mean-spirited double standards.

The only words of wisdom I can think of to share are these: "People like people who are like themselves." Let me know if you want me to elaborate with my opinions.

I wish I could think of something substantial to encourage you and provide insight so you can be safe.

Even though your neighbors are hostile, there are still many normal people in the world. Stay close to those who care. Keep your chin up - and tucked.

Sincerely,

Actually only one other home backs to the busy road.... A single man.... He has a retaining wall that is approx. 6' to 8' high.... The other homes back to woods or other homes in different neighborhoods.... some have fencing from these other home in different neighborhoods that run along the back of their properties. On the other side is a church that has a huge common field in the back.

We have been told to allow our children to play on the street in front of our home (since that is what they have or had allowed their children to do). Their dogs either or tied up or allowed to run the neighborhood.
 

K9Protector

Junior Member
seniorjudge said:
We made a mistake by listening to our lawyer whom said we had a right to reinstall a pre-existing fence... We paid for that mistake.... Now we are following the restrictions to the letter and we still are being rejected.

Once the old fence came down, any rights to put up a new one evaporated.

That is exactly right and what we learned the hard way.... but I do not see how that justifies never allowing a fence (especially since other fences exist in our neighborhood and we have a privacy fence along our patio).
 

JewelAtWork

Junior Member
Too bad the single gentleman's block wall fence did not extend across your property, too. I wonder how that neighbor's property rated and yours did not. But it isn't of any consequence.

Several years ago, I lived in one planned community with CC&R's at South Lake Tahoe, CA. I never had any problems or bad experiences. My beef is with maliciousness and corruption. The neighbors apparently have what they want and seem like the type who will continue to deny your proposals. Some day the board might slip-up and temporarily change the rules to please one of your neighbors. I would keep abreast of all changes and be ready to jump and install your fence if there is a window of opportunity.
 

BelizeBreeze

Senior Member
I am surprised that no one has suggested you pull out the 'agreement' between the previous owners, take it back to the city, and tell them you want that fence reinstalled, but because of your problems with the board, you want it installed on the CIty setback.

If the city was willing to reinstall it then they should work with you to get it back up on their terms. The HOA doesn't have anything to say about city property.
 
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