The neighbors are trying to prevent me from selling my house!!!(blackmail/extortion?)

[FreshTressa]

We are selling our house FSBO and have had a LOT of interest....But, this morning we were going to run an open house and we come to find the neighbors put a sign in their yard telling people not to buy the house because of the trees. They don't like how the trees dump leaves on their property every fall and want them gone.

We went over there and they threatened to spray paint their house, anything that they had to do to get us to cut the trees down.

Well, the city only lets you cut 1-2 trees down a year so he is demanding that we get the buyers to promise in writing to cut the trees down each year until they are gone.

So, now I'm trying to sell my house with this giant sign in my yard and dont know what to do!

I might even have to move back into the house if it does not sell because of this.

I don't think there is anything I can do legally to stop this.

Does this fall under blackmail/extortion? (I will hurt your property value unless you do x)

I just want to cry!!! Any ideas?

 

[JerseyJanice]

Wow! Your neighbor sounds like a loon!

Is there a town ordinance against what he is doing to you? Maybe there's something on the books about posting offensive signs in plain view? I'd investigate that angle first.

Good luck to you!

 

[smilingmouse]

first of all, here's a ((hug)). Second, have you spoken w/ the police about this to see if they are doing anything illegal. If the neighbor's actions aren't illegal, try to schedule an open house when the neighbors aren't home. If that's not possible, try to do everything you can to annoy the neighbors with the sign...play loud music, throw a party, etc. (note, the last comment was made in jest, though I bet it is very tempting thought )

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Didn't you get an offer on the house? If so, can you go ahead and accept that offer and be done with it?

Your neighbor sounds as crazy as mine--actually even more so. I have a name for mine, but I'd better not post it right now.

 

[MAKmom]

I'm sorry but this is funny. Cut the trees down. I hope it works out.

 

[sajetto]

GOOD LORD!!!!!!

That guy is out of his mind

If I ever had a neighbor start that kind of junk with me I'd give him one heck of a piece of my mind.

 

[MorganLeFey]

call a lawyer and have him go to court to get a restraining order. what they;re doing constitutes nuisance and harassment.

 

[EthansMom]

I agree with the PP who recommended calling the police (not on 911, but on the regular line) and filing a report the next time the neighbor does something like this. If your neighbor continues pull stuff like this, I would think it would be considered harrassment. Now, harrassment is a civil matter, with proper documentation (ie. police reports, real estate comps), you might stand a chance of suing your neighbor in small claims for the value you've lost on selling your house. And, after you've called the police a couple times, the threat of civil litigation could really shut your neighbor up.

In fact, it might be a good idea to call the police today and get them to come document the neighbors antics.

Edited to add: DH said TAKE PICTURES of the sign, what it says, and how close it is to your house/property to document this harrassment.

Good Luck!

 

[RitaZ.]

That's crazy! What a jerk! I would put up a sign in your lawn stating the city's ordinance regarding trees. Ok, so that's not the best solution, but what the heck are you supposed to do? The thing that would concern me, if I was a potential buyer, is that if I bought your house, then your neighbor would become my problem. Honestly, the whole scenario would probably deter me from buying the house. Do you have a code enforcement department in your city? If so, give them a call and explain your situation.

Our city has regulations on the number of trees that a homeowner must have on his/her property. If you cut them down and you don't replace them, you get fined. One of our friends cut down some trees and opted to be fined instead of replacing them. He had to pay for the cost of removing the trees (pricey around here) and a $2500 fine from the city. Since our city lost so many trees during the last hurricane, we have until the end of the year to replace what we lost.

Good luck!

 

[D L and K's Mom]

Get it in writing. I know even if you explained the situation to me as a perspective buyer I would not buy the house. I don't need that kind of a neighbor. Good luck. Hugs for you I know how stressful it is trying to sell your house.

 

[AZKathy]

You can tell your dear neighbor that if he does not take down the sign, you will lower the price of your home drastically, so the value of his home will lessen? They always value the other homes around by previous sales. I hate it when neighbors want out of their home so much, they sell their house very low for a quick sale which always will lower the value of my own home.

 

[sptddog]

wow.

I'd tell your neighbor that his signage could come back to bite him. If you never sell the house the trees may never get cut down. Tell him you'll live there forever as will the trees.

It's amazing to me that they'd try to prevent you from selling in order to get you to cut the trees. That's just wrong on all levels. So is being inconvenienced by leaves. Don't they understand how much those trees likely help to cool their house? Don't they understand that there are places on this earth where people are trying to save trees?

Hugs to you....sounds like a lot of stress you don't need.

 

[rayelias]

Threaten to plant more trees.

 

[AZKathy]

Threaten to plant more trees.

 

[DisneyPhD]

Are you trying to sell the house yourself? I could contact an agent. They would know how to handel this better. It would be worth the commisson to get it over with fast and handeled well.

Best of luck. What a nut job!

 

[D L and K's Mom]

That is so funny

 

[Tigger&Belle]

That is so funny

Me, too!

 

[RitaZ.]

Threaten to plant more trees.

This could work!

I would buy a couple of small trees (nothing expensive) and position them as close as you can to his property. Move them around, step back and look at their position, have someone else with you and ask for their opinion. Just make sure you do it when they're home. When they come out to ask what you're doing, tell them that you think the property needs more landscaping, especially trees.

 

[rparmfamily]

Take a pic and post here so we can all see what a nut-case your neighbor is!!

Anyway, some other people had some great suggestions, I just wanted to see the nutty sign. LOL

 

[aprilgail2]

wow, wish I would have thought of that when my neighbor was selling! (just kidding, I would never do something like that) but their tree drives me nuts! It hangs over my side of the fence and drops all kinds of junk into my pool! Next year I am going to bite the buttel and pay 350.00 to hav ethe whole thing pruned off my side. I can cut it straight up from where my fence is so they will end up with a tree with a big flat side....but they will still have their half of the tree and my pool will not be filled with leaves!