The golden rule says “love thy neighbor” but in this modern times where people’s properties are so close to each other, the golden rule may seem so hard to follow. This is the case when a couple moved into their new home, thinking that they were finally getting the life that they wanted until they met their neighbors.
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You can have the dream house that you have always wanted but if your neighbors are crazy and aggressive as the ones in this story, staying in your dream house can easily feel like you are living in a nightmare.
Meet Emily
Emily Swanson and her husband had been saving money for decades to move to Hawaii and buy a house there. They had to live on a tight budget but they were willing to live uncomfortably for a few years as long as they get to live and retire in their dream home.
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As luck would have it, they were able to buy a house with five bedrooms, a large yard, and an ocean view. Emily could not contain her joy as she finally stepped into her dream house. And it seemed like everything was going according to plan.
Living in a duplex
However, Emily did not consider one thing. She may have found her dream home but are her neighbors equally dreamy? Are they the type you could hang out with? Are they people you can trust to look after your property when you are out of town? In this case, they were not prepared for their neighbor.
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You see, the house is actually a huge duplex. They were able to buy their side from the landlord while the neighbors are renting the other side. As a duplex, it would be expected that they would run into their neighbors often.
Meet Tanya
Their first encounter with their neighbor happened when they were trying to get rid of an old playground on their property. Suddenly, an older woman named Tanya started to approach them with a stream of profanities coming out of her mouth. Emily and her husband were shocked.
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Tanya told them that the playground belonged to her children and that they did not have the right to get rid of it. Emily tried to stay calm as she told Tanya that the playset was on their property and when she asked the landlord about it, she was given the go signal to dispose of it.
Upgrading the place
Seeing that there was no division in the lawn, Emily then said that Tanya’s children were free to play in their part of the land but what happens in the land is their decision since they own it. Tanya left disgustingly and Emily could not help but feel a bit of hatred for her neighbor.
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Later on, Emily and her husband decided to add an outdoor kitchen and fire pit to their patio. The renovation was not cheap so even Emily and her husband worked on the renovation along with the workers. Emily had been moving things around the patio when she could hear Tanya over the construction noise.
Tanya’s party
Tanya wanted to know what they were doing. Emily told her they were doing a few upgrades, expecting another maniacal tirade from her crazy neighbor. To Emily’s surprise, Tanya’s face actually lit up as if she was happy about this development. Despite Tanya’s reaction, Emily had a bad feeling about it. She was sure her neighbor was scheming something.
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And Emily was not wrong. Emily and her husband woke up to the sound of loud music a few days after the upgrades were installed. When she looked outside, she saw there were people all over the lawn in front of their property. It looked like Tanya was throwing a huge party. When Tanya spotted Emily looking at the crowd from the door, she added insult to the injury by telling Emily that they should not go out since the party was for family and friends only.
The party extends to their home
Emily and her husband tried to be patient. After all, it was just one party. They decided to hang out in the living room where there was less noise. Suddenly, a partygoer walked into their home! Emily jumped up with a start and told him that the party was in the other house.
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The partygoer said that Tanya had said she owned the whole property and that the guests can use any bathroom available. Emily was shocked then enraged. She informed the stranger that Tanya was wrong and their home was private property. She asked the stranger to leave.
Left speechless
A few minutes later, Tanya came barging on their door, ready to battle. She accused Emily of making her look bad in front of her guests. Tanya also said it was rude to refuse her guest to use the bathroom for just a few minutes. She even went as far as saying that the couple did not even deserve such a big place to themselves.
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Tanya was definitely shameless and bold. Emily was speechless. She wanted to retaliate but she was just overwhelmed by Tanya’s behavior. She could not believe anyone could be this rude and obnoxious. So, Emily was able to do nothing.
Putting up boundaries
The only way to stop Tanya from assuming that they shared the lawn was to put up a fence. Tanya clearly needed to know that there were boundaries and she should stop crossing them. So one morning, they had some workers over to construct the boundary between their property and Tanya’s.
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Emily was having a peaceful morning knowing that the fence will finally get Tanya off their backs when the construction noises stop. An adult tantrum can be heard outside and Emily was not surprised to see Tanya battling it out with one of the construction workers.
The fence stays
Tanya was mad about the fence acting as a barrier through their shared area. Emily corrected her and told her that they could do anything they want within the boundaries of their territory. Tanya left threatening to call the landlord and the authorities. Emily and her husband just shared a look.
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In the end, Emily and her husband won. Not that it had to be questioned in the first place. The landlord and the cops had told Tanya that Emily had all the right to put up a fence on her own property. However, things only got worse from that point.
Meet Billy
Soon enough, Tanya was not only the neighbor they had to worry about. A new person in the form of Billy, Tanya’s boyfriend, came into the picture. Billy had been tossing his cigarette butts and beer cans over the fence into Emily’s yard. When confronted, he said he was doing this because the couple kept on “disrespecting his lady.”
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Aside from that, Billy came with a 30-inch fishing boat. Tanya’s side of the dock only had 15 inches of docking space. This meant that Billy’s boat was already occupying Emily’s docking space too. In fact, she actually paid for more than half of the duplex. She owned 150 inches of the docking space.
A ruined business
Since they had a big house to themselves, Emily and her husband rented out their extra rooms and docking space to tourists. It was a great way to earn additional income. It seemed that Tanya and Billy were irritated with this arrangement.
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One day, Emily got a notification that a review was made for her docking spot rental. She quickly read it and it was bad. According to the reviewer, the couple who owned the docking spot was very rude and disrespectful. Emily and her husband were accused of violating a verbal agreement. The reviewer was supposed to rent the dock for 3 months but the couple who owned it asked him to move his boat.
Finding the truth
Emily tried to contact the reviewer. After a brief phone conversation, she was able to figure out what was going on. The reviewer had met Billy and Tanya, who pretended to be the owners. They had asked the customer to remove his boat so Billy could use the spot for his fishing boat.
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Emily could not believe how obnoxious her neighbors were being. They were out of control! She was furious that they were not only ruining her home, they were also ruining her business. She considered getting the cops involved this time. Billy and Tanya need to know their place.
Putting up a fight
The cops came and told Billy and Tanya that they were trespassing. They warned that if they did not want their boat to be towed away they should remove it from Emily’s property immediately. Instead of being intimidated by the authorities, Tanya and Billy fought back and insisted that the dock was their property too.
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They tried to turn the story around and made it look like Emily was a liar. But the cops informed them Emily had the documents to prove that she owned the docking space. They then tried a frantic desperate alibi – they claimed that no one could own the water.
Suffering for years
Emily was starting to feel helpless. She loved everything about her house except for the fact that she had to deal with neighbors from hell. Their yard was always littered with trash from the neighbors. The neighbors had constant gatherings and parties that were very loud. And even the neighbor’s kids have started to hurl fireworks at her boats.
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And this has been going on for years. The cops have already memorized Tanya’s address because of the number of times Emily had to call them to restrain Tanya and Billy. Emily no longer knew what to do. She knew she was in Hawaii but what she was going through was far from the tropical paradise she has always dreamed of.
An unexpected call
Emily went as far as considering selling the place and moving somewhere else. It seemed that Tanya and Billy had no plans of moving out despite their countless disputes. The neighbors have become unavoidable stress in their lives.
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Suddenly a miracle happened as she was contemplating looking for a different house. The landlord had contacted her. It turned out that the landlord was tired of the property market and no longer wanted to be a landlord. He was also getting tired of Tanya. He was elderly and did not need to listen to a “crazy female” at his age. So he offered a solution that will solve both of their problems.
A surprising solution
Why not buy the remaining half of the duplex? He was sure that he would have a hard time selling it with Tanya residing in it at the moment. So, he thought that Emily and her husband would consider buying it since they already knew the situation.
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Emily and her husband knew that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fix their problems. If being owners of half the land did not mean anything to Tanya and Billy, maybe being their landlord would. They instantly agreed to buy the other half of the duplex from the landlord.
Getting the upper hand
Besides, they had plans to have Emily’s elderly parents come to live with them. Her father just had surgery and she wanted to be the one to take care of them. This would mean a lesser room to rent out. When they become landlords, the rent from the other unit would provide a stable income for them. It was a good move.
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Emily was happy when the paperwork finally was completed. They expected a fight so Emily and her husband made sure they were prepared with all the documents and legalities. They registered an LLC and checked the lease of the duplex. They also prepared notification documents about the change of ownership.
Karma is served
When everything was ready, Emily happily went to the neighbor’s side and gave them the notification that Emily and her husband were now their landlords. Emily then reminded Tanya and Billy that it was about time to pay their rent. The look on their faces was priceless. Tanya’s face had gone red as she realized what was happening.
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To her surprise, Emily saw an elderly woman in the house when she gave Tanya and Billy the notification. It turned out that Tanya’s mother had been living with them this whole time. Tanya’s mother apologized to Emily for Tanya’s behavior. “I did not raise her to be this way.” She told Emily.
An unexpected alliance
Emily’s heart went out to the elderly woman. It seemed that Tanya had no plans of moving out even if Emily is now the landlord. So, Emily befriended Tanya’s mom instead – it was an alliance that irritated Tanya, and Emily and Tanya’s mom found joy in it.
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Every Wednesday night, Tanya’s mother would come over and she and Emily would bake or cook and share a drink. Tanya was unhappy with this relationship but she could not do a thing about it. Emily had bonded with the older woman and she knew it would be difficult to say goodbye when Tanya and Billy moves out.
A welcome change
Emily and her husband were happy with this development though. Now that they were Tanya’s landlords, the chaos has toned down. It seemed like Tanya and Billy were trying their best to behave until they found a new place to live. They knew that Emily can kick them out any time. It took a couple of months but Tanya and Billy finally departed the duplex. Emily watched happily as their things were loaded onto the moving trucks.
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She could finally relax and unwind and live the life that she has always dreamed of! It had taken years but sticking out was worth it for Emily and her husband. She could not believe she almost gave up this wonderful house just because of Tanya! One thing is for sure – they will definitely be careful when choosing their next tenant!