WHETHER it’s just a friendly nod in the street or invites to barbecues, having nice neighbours can make a world of difference.
Unfortunately for one homeowner, this was not her experience in her new home.
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Posting on the Reddit forum Neighborsfromhell, one woman shared the uncomfortable situation she found herself in.
Aged in her 30s, the poster explained that she lives alone with her “reactive dog”.
She purchased a home in a nice neighbourhood where the “houses are close together”.
Her 100-year-old house included “two massive hedge rows along the property lines”.
Read More On Neighbour Rows
The Reddit user explained that she suffered from allergies which made yardwork difficult for her so she decided to hire a lawn care service.
She also clarified that the gaps in the hedges of the back garden meant it wasn’t ideal for her dog.
So she decided to begin the project of removing the hedges to build a fence.
“The cost is high [between] hedge removal, stump grinding, fence materials, and labour,” she wrote.
After removing one hedge row she planned to tackle the rest when her job situation “became uncertain”.
The homeowner informed her neighbours on either side that the project would be on hold and said they “seemed to understand”.
Rude remarks
However, a short time later one of her neighbours texted her photos of her garden, critcising how it looked.
The woman said the original poster was “destroying her paradise” and lowering her property value, and demanded she “get a fence”.
Accoding to the Reddit user, she was left “devastated, shaking, and crying” by the rude messages.
Shortly after, the neighbour confronted the woman’s brother as he was helping with yardwork.
She even posted on the neighborhood’s Facebook group, linking to Google searches about how “unkempt yards ruin home values”.
The Top Five Reasons Neighbours Squabble
One study by Compare the Market revealed the top reason British neighbour’s argue
- Broken fences – top of the board was broken fences and whose responsibility it was to fix it
- Parking: one of the leading drivers of neighbour disputes, with 54.1 per cent of people having issues with people parking in front of their house, parking bay or driveway
- Trees – complaints about a neighbour’s tree cracking your garden path was also common with nearly half of participants finding it frustrating
- Bin wars – outdoor bin etiquette continues to ignite the most furious debates between neighbours
- Nosy Neighbours – some people have their eyes and ears at the ready to have a peek causing problems for others
The neighbour on the other side “seemed sympathetic” and even helped the woman to trim the hedges between their properties.
However, after the other neighbours Facebook rant, the man took a different approach, leaving the OP shocked.
Savage act
“I saw him in my yard and he had ripped out an entire 15-foot garden bed, perennials and all, right down to the dirt,” she explained.
When she confronted him, the woman recalled how he casually told her “I’ll rake it in the spring”.
“[It was] as if he was taking over my landscaping. I was too stunned to respond,” she said.
While the woman acknowledged her garden isn’t perfect and still needed work, she pointed out that it is “nowhere near an eyesore or blight”.
Reddit users shared their shock in the comments section of the viral post.
“Tell them to mind their own business stay off your property,” advised one person.
“The corner neighbour can put up her own fence since she is so desperate for one,” agreed another reader.
“I would call the police and report the vandalism to the yard,” commented a third Reddit user.
More on neighbour rows
Another homeowner received a savage note after telling a child off for littering.
And one woman was greeted with a threatening note from her neighbour shortly after moving in.
One homeowner was left worried after their neighbour’s “petty” reaction to a parking issue.
And another person got revenge on her “entitled” neighbour after a parking dispute.
Meanwhile, one woman had the police arrive to her door after an “eyesore” was reported in her garden.
