Anyone dealt with "those" neighbors?

My kids and my ex live in a typical HOA community. The house was built 8 years ago when we were still married.  The neighbors house is directly across the street.  Ever since we moved in, they have been absolutely nasty.  No clue why.  They call the HOA at every opportunity, even when unwarranted.  Their home security camera is pointed directly at her house.  Every time they see the dogs they call animal control.... over and over and over.  Granted they are not always on a leash, however they don't leave the yard or pose any threats.  Neighbors kids are not little and they have a dog.  They are doing it simply for spite.  They called today because my 14 year old nearly blind and disabled black lab was just standing in the front yard.  They literally record the house and then watch the film to try to find something.  

To my knowledge there's no law against pointing the camera towards our house, but at what point does it bec

In reply to SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) :

Did you stroke out mid typing?   Become what?  Harassment? 

My mom had an across the river neighbor who ran an illegal campground, she called on him quite a bit but he deserved it.   

In your case I would be tempted to taunt them within the rules of the HOA and laws.   Do they ever confront your ex or just call the HOA, definitely contact the HOA yourself if you haven't and explain yourself.   For sure get a large camera pointed directly at their house.

They clearly have a hobby, at your expense.

Walk across the street with a dozen bagels, a bottle of wine, I dunno.   Be polite and very calm.  Perhaps record the conversation with a phone that never leaves your shirt pocket, and just ask.  "Good morning, can we chat a minute?  Has my family wronged you in some way?"

You may get tossed out, but you may find out.  Do any other neighbors have issues with them?

Infrared spotlights pointed at their cameras? Mounted turret gun?

If you can see their house, they live to close.

Some people are just shiny happy people. Nothing you do will appease them.

Check the HOA rules about excessive complaint filings by a member.  If there is not a rule go to the next HOA meeting with a list of dates and reasons for the neighbor's complaints.  A HOA works both ways, so try it.

I don't generally advocate eye for an eye, but...eye for an eye. You said they have a dog and kids. Use it.

I would come up with far worse things to do that aren't necessarily traceable, but this is a family friendly venue. 

I dislike other people. 

In reply to SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) :

It's not your problem.

Having been in a situation like this, I'd try 914Driver's suggestion first. If that fails, the fastest, easy path of relief is to get a spot on the HOA board at the next election.

Noddaz said:

In reply to SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) :

It's not your problem.

Yeah. I get that your kids are there, but I wouldn't be in any hurry to interject myself into drama with my Ex and her neighbors.

LASERS!

Seriously. I'd mount a laser pointer and point it at their camera. 

We are not married anymore, but I still love her dearly and she is part of my family. Of course, I also want to protect the kids. We tried talking to them years ago and they're just nasty. They are the kind of people who never left their high School clique.  The only other people that like them are the same type of people. Everybody else does not like them. The neighbor to our right also hates them.

Is there a rule or law that says dogs must be on a leash?  If there is, even if the neighbors are being dicks about it your ex needs to follow the law.  If there isn't, then she should bring it up with the HOA or animal control or whoever is in charge.

Any sort of passive-agressive retaliation is just going to escalate the problem, so she shouldn't go down that route.

Just leave.

It's my opinion and you certainly don't have to take it but buying in an HOA community is simply giving people like this a reason to ruin things for you.

There's an ever-growing element of society that is looking for people who have a live-and-let-live attitude and are trying to make  your life as miserable as their own.

They won't stop because the rules are on their side and if, by some miracle, they leave. The next group of people is likely to be as bad as they are.

These people were the hall monitors in school. 

Ask a lawyer about filing a restraining order against the neighbor.  HOAs are cute and all but you want to get someone's attention, use the real legal system.

Or loosen their valve stems, but that's just petty.

Send them a Bag of Richards every time they complain? Anonymously, of course, and see if they eventually make the connection.

Seriously though, it seems like it's time to review the HOA rules to make sure they have nothing to complain about and get involved with the board.

As a board member you can work to get the rules reworded to only required dogs leashed when off their property. The reason can be to enable owners to use of modern, technology like radio fences and gps collars instead of leashes. 

You could also work to raise privacy concerns with the influx of cameras to create rules about their use and where they can be directed. 

In reply to SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) :

I like Rev's idea of blocking their camera images with a wash of IR spot lights.   A quick search makes it look plausible and the jungle site has dedicated IR floodlight fixtures for about $45.  Sorry you're having to deal with this, I'd be pissed.

If I chose to live in an HOA neighborhood, my goal would be to figure out how to work within the HOA rules and use them to my advantage as much as possible.

First I would know all of the HOA rules, to know how they can be applied to my situation.

Second I would be ready to petition the HOA (and neighbors for support) to institute new or updated rules as applicable to my situation.

In this case, I would be looking at anti harassment and nuisance complaint rules with fines.

I'd also probably talk to a lawyer to see what, if anything, may be legally actionable here as well.

After you aim that laser pointer at their camera, write shiny happy person in their front yard using grass seed. Make sure you use a grass that contrasts with their yard. 

Whatever you do, DO NOT set foot on their property to do it.

If you are going the "nice gesture" route, maximum acceptable would be to walk up their walkway, ring the doorbell, and retreat to the street until they opened the door.  Then offer the gift.

The only way to defeat shiny happy people like this - if they can be defeated - is to play entirely by the rules so that everyone else has to be on your side.

Revenge is pointless: It sounds like they already have all their neighbors hate them, an HOA who hates them, and cops who hate them. Adding to their misery sounds like a tall order. Just don't give them legitimate reasons to complain. 

Going out of your way to be nice to them may bring them around, but if not, it will remind them of what horrible people they are being. Either way could be a win 

Do you have any sense of where the HOA and animal control stand on this subject?

I'm sure neither group is pleased to be pestered constantly by nuisance complaints. I'm not sure where to go from there, but I'd be very curious about whether, taking animal control as the example, they're showing up saying "sorry your neighbors are jerks, but I have to respond" or whether they're showing up thinking "my day sucks; I get to play go-between for a household of petty jerks and a household who just won't play HOA rules in an HOA."

I think a central point here is that if you choose to live in an HOA, you have chosen to be bound by all the rules thereof. There's no "just being reasonable" because the very nature of an HOA is a neighborhood with a critical mass of people who've already decided that "just be reasonable and work it out" is no way to live, and that's why there's an HOA in the first place. I'm sure there are exceptions, and I'm sure there are places where there are no good non-HOA options, but it seems to me that there's a kernel of this to the core of the HOA.

Large amounts of salt on their grass and complain when it turns brown. 

In reply to Steve_Jones :

Pumpkin seeds. Once they start growing, all Hell can't stop them.

In reply to Appleseed :

I see your pumpkin seeds, and raise you bamboo shoots.