ignorance, judgment, neighbors
SO my wife and I bought our first MH finally! But first lets rewind. About a year and a half ago, we bought our first home, 2000 square ft absolutely beautiful in a quite dead end neighborhood. I k...
Forum Discussion
As a builder, and frequent buyer and seller of rural property, I have stumbled down this exact road, a time or two.
Bottom line, (assuming that all info. is correctly, and fully disclosed), is that you are being harassed by a neighbor who is trying to enforce deed restrictions that were placed by the developer. These restrictions are probably filed with your title, in the courthouse, and are "technically" legally binding, and "run with the land". Which is to say that they come with the property and can only be changed by the courts. Odds are that the developer has little concern about their validity once he was free of the project, which raises the question, who is the emperor here, and how much power does he have?
In my experience, the first move by a disgruntled neighbor is to contact the developer/ builder to demand that they show up immediately to enforce THEIR rules. This it typically a waste of time, particularly if the developer no longer has any skin in the game. The second move is making a copy of the restrictions and marching into the local township office, awash in righteous indignation, and demanding that they make it right! This usually results in the zoning officer politely telling the enraged citizen that the township has no dog in the fight, and doesn't get involved in civil disputes between neighbors. The next step is huffing out the door, threatening to get " my lawyer involved".
Now it's off to see the lawyer, and a reality check. You can call a lawyer anything you would like, but most small town lawyers are savvy enough to get to the bottom of things like this pretty quickly. After a quick initial visit the neighbor, who wants to rule the world, learns a few things. #1, if the rules have been previously ignored, and only apply to some of the property owners, the outcome of the fight is far from certain, and may be a real waste of time and effort. #2 This can become a civil matter, that can be litigated once the lawyer gets a $5000 retainer, and a signed contract to cover additional expenses, hours, research, etc..... No guarantees as to the outcome. It may take years, and it may not only end up unfavorable, but it could irritate the opposition enough that they counter sue for harassment and damages.
IMHO, that's usually when the story dies a slow, quiet death. Good luck.
BTW, a couple of times, over the years as a builder, I have looked the neighborhood busybody right in the eye, as they ranted, and raved about, "you don't know exactly who you are dealing with here, it doesn't matter who did what, before I took charge. We follow my rules" I then politely smile, give them my card, and tell them I have no issues following the same rules as everybody else does, however it's pretty evident that rules and rulers come and go in these parts, and they only apply to some of us. I then end the discussion by recommending that they contact their lawyer.
The most ludicrous example of this was being told to "report" to the HOA presidents house while I was framing a two story home, down the street from her's. As I'm standing in her foyer, she tells me (correctly) that the restrictive covenants forbid homes taller than 1-1/2 stories. I asked home many of the homes built in the last few years were two story models? She acknowledges that a significant percentage were new two story homes. I asked if I was in fact, standing in the foyer of HER two story home? Once again, she agreed. I told her that she should probably make sure that the HOA's lawyer was informed of this, if she choses to continue engaging in selective persecution. Last I heard from her.
The term "drunk on power" is a very real condition.
Bottom line, (assuming that all info. is correctly, and fully disclosed), is that you are being harassed by a neighbor who is trying to enforce deed restrictions that were placed by the developer. These restrictions are probably filed with your title, in the courthouse, and are "technically" legally binding, and "run with the land". Which is to say that they come with the property and can only be changed by the courts. Odds are that the developer has little concern about their validity once he was free of the project, which raises the question, who is the emperor here, and how much power does he have?
In my experience, the first move by a disgruntled neighbor is to contact the developer/ builder to demand that they show up immediately to enforce THEIR rules. This it typically a waste of time, particularly if the developer no longer has any skin in the game. The second move is making a copy of the restrictions and marching into the local township office, awash in righteous indignation, and demanding that they make it right! This usually results in the zoning officer politely telling the enraged citizen that the township has no dog in the fight, and doesn't get involved in civil disputes between neighbors. The next step is huffing out the door, threatening to get " my lawyer involved".
Now it's off to see the lawyer, and a reality check. You can call a lawyer anything you would like, but most small town lawyers are savvy enough to get to the bottom of things like this pretty quickly. After a quick initial visit the neighbor, who wants to rule the world, learns a few things. #1, if the rules have been previously ignored, and only apply to some of the property owners, the outcome of the fight is far from certain, and may be a real waste of time and effort. #2 This can become a civil matter, that can be litigated once the lawyer gets a $5000 retainer, and a signed contract to cover additional expenses, hours, research, etc..... No guarantees as to the outcome. It may take years, and it may not only end up unfavorable, but it could irritate the opposition enough that they counter sue for harassment and damages.
IMHO, that's usually when the story dies a slow, quiet death. Good luck.
BTW, a couple of times, over the years as a builder, I have looked the neighborhood busybody right in the eye, as they ranted, and raved about, "you don't know exactly who you are dealing with here, it doesn't matter who did what, before I took charge. We follow my rules" I then politely smile, give them my card, and tell them I have no issues following the same rules as everybody else does, however it's pretty evident that rules and rulers come and go in these parts, and they only apply to some of us. I then end the discussion by recommending that they contact their lawyer.
The most ludicrous example of this was being told to "report" to the HOA presidents house while I was framing a two story home, down the street from her's. As I'm standing in her foyer, she tells me (correctly) that the restrictive covenants forbid homes taller than 1-1/2 stories. I asked home many of the homes built in the last few years were two story models? She acknowledges that a significant percentage were new two story homes. I asked if I was in fact, standing in the foyer of HER two story home? Once again, she agreed. I told her that she should probably make sure that the HOA's lawyer was informed of this, if she choses to continue engaging in selective persecution. Last I heard from her.
The term "drunk on power" is a very real condition.
