Human beings can sometimes be unpredictable. They cannot be trusted; at least, not 100%. The person that is good to you today, may become your worst nightmare tomorrow.
The fact that someone laughs with you doesn’t mean the person really likes or values you.
If you have a bad neighbor, you don’t need to panic. There are several ways you can protect yourself from such a bad neighbor and that is what this article is all about.
To protect yourself from bad neighbors, you should:
- Talk to the neighbor
- Report the neighbor to the HOA
- Sue the neighbor/talk to a lawyer
- Move to Another Neighborhood
- Don’t Tell Them Your Secret
- Avoid them at all cost
Who is a Bad Neighbor?
A bad neighbor is someone who lives close to you and regularly does something you don’t like or something that is illegal. It is someone that is nosy, messy, and unfriendly, whose actions disturb the peace of the neighborhood.
Therefore, once you notice that the next-door person is always messy, nosy, and unfriendly, there is a chance that he or she might be a bad neighbor.
You may have to watch and follow all the procedures written in this article to protect yourself from such a neighbor especially when the person’s character equals illegality.
Also, if you are a “Karen”, you may be classified as a bad neighbor because your neighbors may see you as someone who is too demanding or someone whose demands are beyond the scope of normal.
Now, the question is, what if you are a bad neighbor? How are you sure that your neighbor has not classified you as a bad neighbor? How sure are you that you are not a bad neighbor?
How to Know if You are a Bad Neighbor
- If you are a “Karen” you may be classified as a bad neighbor
- If your actions disturb the peace of the neighborhood, you are likely to be a bad neighbor.
- If you’re always messy, nosy, and meddling into people’s privacy, you may be considered a bad neighbor.
- If you’re a bully, or if bully people’s children, you’re a bad neighbor
- If people’s happiness and success annoys you, you’re a bad neighbor
- If you are always left out or not invited to parties happening in the neighborhood, you are likely to be a bad neighbor.
- If you are always seeing fault in people’s actions, you may be classified as a bad neighbor.
- If you are a careless pet owner who just lives her pet to disturb other people
- If you are always noisy (like the screaming mons, the always fighting couple)
- if you are the type that lets grass grows too bad and leaves trash cans out days after pickup
How Not to Be a Bad Neighbor
- If you don’t want to be a bad neighbor, just mind your business.
- Stop meddling into people’s private affairs,
- Stop being unhappy anytime something good happens to your neighbor
- Don’t be a “Karen”
- Respect people’s privacy and keep their secret
How to Protect Yourself from Bad Neighbors
To protect yourself from bad neighbors, you have to:
1. Talk to the Neighbor
If possible, call the neighbor and have a one on one conversation with the person. That is if the person is not a weirdo.
There is a probability that the person is not aware that his or her attitude annoys you. Therefore, having a one on one conversation with the person will help trash the problems out.
However, while discussing with your neighbor, remember not to accuse him. Let the conversation flow.
While having the conversation, don’t let it get to a heated argument. Once the conversation gets too heated to a point where it might lead to a fight. Please end the conversation and if possible leave the scene immediately.
2. Report the Neighbor to the HOA
If you live in an area that is managed by the Homeowners Association, you can report your neighbor to them and have them tackle the issue.
Reporting your neighbor to your HOA depends on the type of bad things your neighbors did which you hate.
Remember that every HOA has documents (CCRs) where all the procedures are documented. If your neigbour goes against any of those, you can report the said neigbor to your HOA.
3. Sue the Neighbor/Talk to a Lawyer
Suing your neighbor is another means of protecting yourself from him/her. You can just sue the person and have the court deal with the person for you.
However, sueing your neighbor depends on the type of bad things the person is and has always been doing to you or the neigbourhood.
Morever, you need to have enough evidence to back up your claims and you need to consult a lawyer for legal advice.
4. Move to Another Neighborhood
If your neighbor’s attitude is too bad that you can condone it anymore, you can submit to moving to another neighborhood to protect yourself.
While moving to another neighborhood might sound interesting to some who are on rent, it might not be for homeowners.
As a homeowner, you need to ask yourself some questions, is it better to continue living in the same neighborhood and risk your life, or is it better to move to another neighborhood where you won’t have to put up with your neighbor’s nasty attitude? The decision is yours to make.
5. Don’t Tell Them Your Secret
If you wish to protect yourself from your bad neighbor, please stop telling them your secrets.
Honestly, what do you gain by telling your neighbor whom you’ve already classified as a bad neighbor your secret? It doesn’t make any sense.
The fact that the person is a bad neighbor means that the person no longer has what it takes to keep a secret; which means that there is a probability that other ears may hear the secret.
6. Avoid Them at All Cost
If your neighbor is too bad that he or she is classified as a weirdo, the best way to protect yourself and your family is to avoid such a neighbor at all cost.
Importance of Protecting Yourself from Bad Neighbors
Protecting yourself from bad neighbors will save you from unwanted circumstances. Prevention, as they say, is better than cure.
For example, in a situation where you have a weirdo neighbor who has been convicted before as a rapist.
If you notice anything weird from him, protecting yourself would be better than assuming he’s already a changed person and falling victim.
Conclusion
Since human beings are unpredictable, having a bad neighbor is normal. However, protecting yourself from such a bad neighbor is also very important to avoid stories that touch. Follow the procedures explained in this article to protect yourself from bad neighbors and save yourself from unwanted circumstances.
