Complaining neighbor

[Alex_and_Bodie_s_Mom]

@Red_Barn

She put her arena 15’ (FIFTEEN FEET) from her neighbor’s house, on land that’s actually contested:

@gahorseygal

Also an FYI about the fence since it was brought up a few times…the property was already fenced partially when we bought it. My arena is set about 15 feet off that fence from my neighbors house. So I had no say over that fence and was told my property ran the fence lines. Neighbor is the one who said it was really on his property. Our deed does state our property includes the fence lines.

In all seriousness: imagine how you’d feel if somebody did this to you. Imagine what it would do to your property value, never mind your comfort.

Do you really think this woman is in the right?

Actually, that’s not what the OP (in the quote you provided) says.

She says her arena is “set about 15 feet off that fence from my neighbor’s house.”

That means the arena is 15’ away from the property line/fence (at least, she thinks; since the neighbor moved the marker, who knows?). She does not say where the neighbor’s house is located in relation to the property line.

But if his house was right on the fence line - if it, was in fact, just 15’ feet from her arena, let’s say - then why would he need to drive his car to the fence, sit in it, and watch her give lessons when he could do all that from the comfort of his own home, which in your interpretation is also just 15’ from the arena?

[lenapesadie]

Good thing OPs neighbor doesn’t live next to a row crops. They’re doing whatever it is one does to pick up peanuts after they’ve been turned over to dry. Harvesting them I guess. Now that’s dusty.

[Equibrit]

@gahorseygal

This neighbor has come to my husband and I with a concern before about a tree branch from a tree on my property hanging over his carport. He stated it looked like it could come down soon, I agreed, told him I would get in contact with a tree company. 2 weeks later I had a company out to take care of not only that tree but 2 others that had branches very close to his power lines.

Under Georgia’s Fallen Tree Responsibility laws, if a tree falls on someone’s property, it is the homeowner, and not the owner of the tree , who is responsible. In other words, if a tree is rooted in your neighbor’s yard and crashes down onto your property, it is your problem.

[lorilu]

Is that true even if the tree owner has been warned that the tree is unstable or diseased? COuld be the neighbor was setting up that scenario by “warning” her.

[wsmoak]

@lorilu

Is that true even if the tree owner has been warned that the tree is unstable or diseased? COuld be the neighbor was setting up that scenario by “warning” her.

That’s how I understand it. If it’s in an urban area, and it sounds like the case if the neighbor’s carport is close enough to the property line to be threatened by her tree, then “The urban landowner is liable for injuries caused by a falling tree only if the landowner knew or reasonably should have known that the tree was diseased, decayed, or in an otherwise dangerous condition.”

Here’s an old issue of the Georgia Bar Journal with an article about it. From 2004, possibly things have changed… https://www.gabar.org/newsandpublications/georgiabarjournal/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&pageID=4732

In rural areas it’s far less likely that the land owner is responsible (I don’t have to go check all the trees on the border of my 20+ acres to make sure they’re not going to fall on my neighbor’s property. But if they warn me about one, I probably should do something, if only to avoid having to pay lawyers to figure it out later.)

[Casey09]

@Red_Barn

Having an arena - complete with dust, manure, bright lights, squealing kids and somebody yelling “Heels down!” for 9 hours a day - right under your windows enhances your property’s value?

I’d like to see that data, please.

Because, you know, we’re not talking about a couple of decorative ponies on a green field a thousand yards away. We’re talking about a business involving livestock that’s very much in your face.

Enjoyment of property is one of those difficult things. I’ve known people that had literal kids sports fields erected next to their agricultural property. Lights, dust, shrieking children, crazy amounts of traffic …. But they said it wasn’t the worst thing that could’ve gone on that property. I’ve also known people who purchased a really nice, expansive home in what was supposed to be a planned community - and that plan didn’t end up working out, either. They’re now surrounded by apartment complexes. We don’t always have that much control over what happens on adjacent properties.
That said, if possible I would try to work with him on the dust. It’s easy to mess with people riding horses because horses spook relatively easily. He could start doing all kinds of things near the arena that could make it virtually unusable.
That said, there are people that are just never happy with anything their neighbors do. I’ve known people on both sides.

[Tarlo_Farm]

@Red_Barn

I’ve actually been giving this thread a lot of thought, and I’ve come to the conclusion that most of our differences here are generational.

FYI, I’m over 60 as well and I totally disagree with you.

[jvanrens]

@Jenerationx

If I had an arena next door to me, I’d probably watch as many lessons as I could. I love just watching horses. I would hope nobody would think I was creepy.

I wouldn’t think it was creepy if you weren’t complaining loudly about the nuisance and then parking your vehicle (that you don’t want covered in dust) by the ring to watch.

[Djones]

Someone seems very intent on being clear they are of a certain age, both here and in other threads.

Interesting.

[Red_Barn]

@Djones

Someone seems very intent on being clear they are of a certain age, both here and in other threads.

Interesting.

Good grief. What’s “interesting” about it?

[candyappy]

@Red_Barn

I’m over 60, and I’d never in a million, billion years situate an arena under a neighbor’s windows - party because I believe in good manners and neighborly behavior, and partly because I value my own privacy. Those are old school values, I know, but I’m sure there are plenty of people my age who see the me-first, FU behavior of younger generations as pushy and Karen-ish.

Maybe that’s good and maybe that’s bad, but I’m sure it’s not all that unusual.

I am not over 60 yet, but I would never buy a horse property ( or property to accommodate my horse needs) that is so small ( or restricted by terrain/ woods etc) that your only option is to put your arena or barn on the property line.

If you are that limited you should probably board or wait for a suitable property to come along. It would stop a lot of the aggravation.

[Djones]

Oh dear, I shall have to sell our place complete with custom home and swimming hole since some rando thinks we should board.

[SuzieQNutter]

What do you call small?

We have no woods and 100 acres.

There are other things to take into account. Slope of the land. Existing structures. Electricity wires going overhead, rocks, creeks, flooding, etc, etc, the list goes on.

[candyappy]

@Djones

Oh dear, I shall have to sell our private retreat, complete with custom home and swimming hole since some rando thinks we should board.

A private retreat suggests you are concealed from your neighbors? Big difference in what OP is going through. Why take it personal?

@SuzieQNutter I wouldn’t think you would have a problem on 100 acres. You could clear an appropriate area within your property to house your horses, barn and arena.

I consider anything under 5 acres small. Once you put a house and barn in, it is hard to get away from your neighbors unless you have an open and flat piece of land. Doesn’t sound like OP does.

[Djones]

You flatter yourself that I’m taking this personally, lol. I’m pointing how ridiculous your proclamation is across the board. You know not everyone lives on flat empty land, right?

[SuzieQNutter]

But only one place to put that arena. As I said the paddock nearest the neighbors. They have horse paddocks between the arena and their house.

[Red_Barn]

@candyappy

I am not over 60 yet, but I would never buy a horse property ( or property to accommodate my horse needs) that is so small ( or restricted by terrain/ woods etc) that your only option is to put your arena or barn on the property line.

Wise beyond your years, clearly.

[beowulf]

For those talking about properties being so small they’d never buy if the only place to put a ring was near the fence line… you’d be surprised at the limitations even in larger properties. There’s a lot of considerations to take into play and it’s not really about putting an arena where you feel like it.

We have over 10 acres of land and… the only place we can put an arena is right up against our neighbor’s back yard. Ten acres. Of cleared, usable land.

The wild part is, we’d have an easier time putting six houses on the land than we would putting up a single standard dressage sized arena.

All due to the slope, shape, and substrate of the land.

Something to think about.

[Red_Barn]

@beowulf

We have over 10 acres of land and… the only place we can put an arena is right up against our neighbor’s back yard. Ten acres. Of cleared, usable land.

Then maybe your property just isn’t suitable for an equestrian business.

What I (and I think a few others?) don’t quite understand is this pervasive idea that somehow everybody on earth has a “right” to open such a business anywhere they happen to be at the moment, regardless of whether the property is suitable, or whether it infringes on others’ comfort and property values.

I don’t know why this question is so infuriating to people.

[beowulf]

A property is suitable for whatever the owner intends it for, so long as it falls within building code and ordinances of the town is situated in.

Not up to us to decide, what someone else does (legally) with their property. Best we can do is practice our own good neighborly ways, and put fences up if we don’t like what we see.

I live in the mecca of a sudden, rapid suburbanite sprawl – the four miles of farm I grew up on now houses over 200 new houses, over fifteen new neighborhoods, and counting. I know all about residents trying to control what other people do with their property - especially agricultural properties… because I live on one.

If you want to control what happens on that property, buy it yourself. That’s all I’ll say about that.

I do not agree with any of the antagonistic approaches on this thread, there are lots of crazy people out there who will escalate, feed your horses poison, leave out nails on your road, cut down your fences… best practice if you have a troublesome neighbor is to put up security cameras and a B.F.F (BIG FAT FENCE).