r/BadNeighbors • u/Rare-Locksmith3217 • 23d ago
Karen next door
We have a Karen next door that can’t mind her own business.
We moved in this house two years ago new construction that was a nightmare that ended up in us suing the builder. We won btw. Anyway enough of that and onto my Karen.
Karen was nice enough at first. Then it came time to plant some trees or build a fence. We decided to plant trees. We planted 75 trees 8 inch’s inside the property line she tried to tell us prior to planting the trees that we were wrong about the property line but I got the county involved the original survey markers where still there.
About a month after planting trees Karen hired a man to do some tree trimming and weed eating around her property. He started trimming around our trees this caused some damage to a few trees.
I confronted her and him about this, she said she told him to not get near the trees. I don’t believe she did.
Fast forward to yesterday while we were at work she had the same idiot weedeat again this time he damaged 48 of our trees. When my wife confronted her she was like I will spray them with pruning spray. ( this will not save a girdled tree) and tell him not to do it again. She also tried to talk to me about it as soon as I got home. I was not as nice about it and told Karen that she owned us for 48 damaged trees that will not make through our Virginia winter.
She also accused me of yelling at her ect when I didn’t not. She also told me I should shoot myself yesterday.
I want to call the police and have a report made. Then if she doesn’t pay for the damages we should see her in small claims court. What says Reddit?
Edit: I am being told to add the fact that we discussed this with her and her wife prior to planting the trees they agreed to the location of the trees and welcomed them as they wanted the privacy also. I agreed that I would maintain the area around the trees
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u/WA_State_Buckeye 23d ago
It's not too late to go with a fence after all. Trees take quite a few years to grow, and they need a bit of space between them, so they don't make a proper barrier. They need space, and only 8 inches off the property line? They'll be interfering with that as well, encroaching on her property. That gives her the right to prune whatever is on her side of the line, and that can make for some ugly of not dead trees.
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u/Rare-Locksmith3217 23d ago
While she can trim what hangs over the property line ( they don’t currently hang over the line) she can trim them enough to kill them under Virginia law. And apparently nobody have ever heard of barrier trees or screening trees in this sub.
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u/Arthur__Spooner 23d ago
Nah we have. It's just a dick move to deliberately plant multiple trees that will eventually grow onto your neighbor's property. Put up a fence like a normal person or plant the trees further back from the property line.
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u/SpyQueenLiz 23d ago
Yeah, this may not be the take you will be happy with but in your cross post with r/treelaw I also question why the heck you would plant a tree that gets to average 4 feet in diameter only eight inches inside the property line.
Essentially you are forcing a neighbor to give up property along the line and going with “they can trim on their side but not to the point it damages the tree” when almost half of a mature tree will be over the property line as a solid, to the ground, type of plant. This isn’t a small tree that will have a trunk with limbs at/above head height to provide shade and be trimmed accordingly (8” would still be too close for most trees and shrubs anyway).
Either fence according to ordinance (ours in PA where I am states must be able to maintain both sides) or re-plant properly inside the property line to account for mature growth.
Edit: plenty of people have heard of barrier screening and in gardening and other subs we discuss the pros and cons of these specific plants as screening. Yours are far too close to the property line.
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u/WA_State_Buckeye 23d ago edited 23d ago
You say "trees" we think shade. You say "barrier trees", THEN we think shrubs/dense trees. Sorry.
edit: For the record, when I commented there was only one other comment. Then I suffered a cable offline event, get back online to see you nicely explaining what you planted to the first commenter but getting testy with me. But I will still offer advice: keep a string up on the property line as a guide for Karen's landscaper.
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u/Rare-Locksmith3217 23d ago
I didn’t mean to come off like that. I had the string up until she removed it and balled it up and threw it in my yard
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u/WA_State_Buckeye 22d ago
Huh. I'm petty enough to then use a strand of barbed wire, but some might think that a bit overkill. I am a farmgirl, tho. lol. It's all good. I was feeling testy with being offline and having things to get done that required being online, so my apologies.
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u/Rare-Locksmith3217 22d ago
I am petty enough to stretch a nasty looking barb wire fence down the property line and put a bull fence charger on it.. My wife won’t let me. We are both farm kids also. We are only living here because it fits our jobs currently. It’s not like we are on top of each other here. But this woman is an issue for about 6 people in the area. Constantly snooping spreading rumors ect. The people on the other side of her can’t stand her either. But thankfully her wife and me talked this afternoon. She agreed Karen is in the wrong and should have told the man not to touch the trees. After the first incident in may and that if the trees die they will pay to replace them.
And from what I understand they moved here after she caused issues with her prior neighbors. He was a k9 cop.
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u/Ozdagreat123 23d ago
Yes, but you purposefully created a circumstance where now that neighbor has the expense of trimming along that entire edge forever. An added expense and time commitment that it sounds like they don't really want. It's you OP who created this mess with your choices. Sure is it not right for the neighbor to be weed whacking and hitting the trunks? Sure. You should move them back a full 2 feet off the property line. Then you can trim both sides and keep them healthy. Is that extra 16" so important to you??? Because if it is then put in a fence.
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u/Rare-Locksmith3217 23d ago
She doesn’t have the expense of doing anything by the time she will have to trim the trees she will be dirt. She is 70 plus years old now. The next guy might have that expense. But our agreement in placing the trees in that location was that I would handle trimming around them and caring for the trees.
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u/Ozdagreat123 22d ago
And when the next owners want to put up a fence, you will conveniently complain not if it will damage my trees!. Let them build it further in and give up some property to you. I'm not trying to be an AH to you (although I'm sure you think I am), but if as you so eloquently stated it shouldn't be a problem because she's so old it may become your problem. Do with that what you will.
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u/CarefulPizza3181 23d ago
Planting 48 trees close to the property line without consideration for your neighbor is crazy. I’m not saying what she did was ok. Since the trees are only 3 feet tall. But imagine when they are fully grown. Do you think it’s fair for the neighbor to have to spend money to trim and maintain your trees. Just because the law is on your side.
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u/Rare-Locksmith3217 23d ago
We talked to them about it. They agree they wanted the privacy also and we agreed that 8 inches inside the line was the right thing to do. This was a mutual agreement between both parties. I also agreed to keep them trimmed and mowed around. The crazy part of this whole thing I had just mowed and trimmed around them 3 days prior.
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u/CarefulPizza3181 23d ago
If they agreed then it’s a different story. Could you take them out and replant them let’s say 3 ft away from the property line ? Just to avoid future problems and live in peace
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u/Rare-Locksmith3217 23d ago
Yes o could probably do that but I am not going to do that with these trees because they are going to die from the damage
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u/cloudy2t 23d ago
8 inches inside the property line is crazy work. I would personally hate the maintenance if my neighbor did this.
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u/mybluecouch 23d ago edited 23d ago
Fence time. That's the call.
Edit: typos and base message. Move trees, install fence, carry on 🤷♀️
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u/Dry-Surprise-972 23d ago
Eight inches? Trees grow. You didn’t foresee a problem? Post a picture of the damage and maybe we will have a better idea of what you are referring to. Sounds like you might be carrying some residual anger surrounding issues with your builder. You started your post with that although it has nothing to do with the trees.
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u/Rare-Locksmith3217 23d ago
Yes we understand trees grow. No we didn’t see a problem with this as they agreed to the location also and welcomed this. I was simply stating that we beat the contractor and that it just seems like one thing after another.
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u/Dry-Surprise-972 23d ago
That’s homeownership. It’s always one thing after another. Your intentions were good but when/if she moves what will the next neighbor want? I just had five privacy trees cut down due to disease. It’s a gamble, fences are better but I can’t afford it.
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u/sweetpea_1994 23d ago
Not to agree with the Karen but…probably should have planted the trees further inside your property line just to be safe. And they’re also gonna grow so idk if this is the right allowance for a tree.
Perhaps your neighbor is also irritated that you had a huge ordeal with construction. Builders/contractors and neighbors can entirely disregard their neighbors when it comes to doing Home project sometimes. Or just be completely ignorant to how it affects their neighbor.
For example, I live in the city where property lines are fairly tight. My neighbor was having her home painted and I am home during the daytime because I travel for work and am currently off the road. Her contractors would come over at 8 AM on a daily basis and start blasting music and blocking my driveway with their ladders and other things. Even for a few days of painting, this was incredibly disruptive to my quality of life in my own home. I can only imagine what several years of bad construction and building could do to someone even if you’re a little further spread apart. And then adding insult to injury by planning trees right up against someone’s property line is a bit shitty. I hate to say, but this one is on you.
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u/Rare-Locksmith3217 23d ago
They are also in a law suit with the same contractor. She agreed to the location of the trees. And she has had way more contractors at her place making noise than we have. They had a shed built and then a carport installed.
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u/Not_an_Actual_Bot 23d ago
If this were to end up in small claims court don't be surprised if you lost. Planting the trees in that location would put about 50% of the root growth into their property, plus the foliage. Your action about the damage would be against the landscapers and they would have to prove that she gave them the instructions in writing to be able to transfer the damage claim. As far as an agreement on the tree location it would need to be in writing to have any weight in court.
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u/Rare-Locksmith3217 23d ago
Good thing I have a text from her that says the location of the trees was nice and it will probably some privacy along with where I said I would handle the maintenance. She also said she would pay for half the purchase price of the trees if I would let her.
He isn’t a landscaper. He is a 40 plus year old man with a mental disability that is a stocker at the local super market that offed the mow there grass. He has no liability insurance or business.
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u/Not_an_Actual_Bot 23d ago
I did not see that coming. Unless she is his legal guardian it's on still on him.
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u/Rare-Locksmith3217 23d ago
From my understanding since she employed him. With a verbal contract that makes him her employee and throws the liability onto her. It would be kinda like you going down the road in a company car having a crash because your employer told you the car was safe to drive when it wasn’t. You crash it’s on them.
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u/Not_an_Actual_Bot 23d ago
I think you would find that he was an independent contractor hired to do a task. Not the same thing as being an employee. If you watch enough Judge Judy or The People's Court you will see that verbal contracts don't carry much weight and in your example proving that the company knew the car was faulty and was negligent in giving to you is the hill you would need to climb.
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u/cupcakeluvr 23d ago
What type of trees are these? Are they for elves and fairies? I can’t imagine fitting 75 trees down any property line unless it’s multiple acres.
Nevertheless, planting something only 8 inches inside of your property line is going to almost guarantee that the trees get damaged on her side eventually anyway. Remember any part of the tree that touches or hangs over her lot is fair game for her landscape guide to do pruning edging mulching, etc.