I bought my dream house with a pool but my neighbours’ kids think it’s THEIRS – now we’re rowing over my fence changes
A WOMAN has revealed she’s having problems with her neighbours thanks to their kids constantly using her swimming pool.
In a post on Reddit, she explained that she was able to get her “dream” home after receiving inheritance from a family member.
“But the most important part is the pool,” she wrote.
“I love it, I’d swim every day if the weather let me.
“It has helped me get in great shape.”
However, the woman’s issues are with the people next door – a couple and their children, a 16-year-old boy, a 14-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl.
They “started out friendly enough”, but around a week after she moved in, the mum told her that “the prior owners of the house were an older couple who let her kids use the pool whenever they wanted”.
She said that was “because their kids were out of the house and they didn’t like quiet”.
But the woman was somewhat worried about the situation given that she’s “introverted” and “love my privacy”.
She told the mum that she was “uncomfortable with that arrangement”, but added that “perhaps they could come over OCCASIONALLY if they don’t abuse the privilege”.
“Cue the children abusing the privilege all summer,” she continued.
“Every time I was out swimming, it would not be long before Chad and Brad would run over and jump in, followed by Lea with her floaties.”
What made things even worse was that the teenage boys would always “gape at me or my friends when we’d get out of the pool and make gross comments”.
And they came over to use the pool more than once a week – sometimes even bringing friends.
So the homeowner has now decided to put up a fence around her property – because she wants her privacy, and also because she’s getting a dog.
But when builders started putting the fence in place, the neighbour mum “ran out of their house” and “said if I put up a fence it’d be harder for her kids to come over and play”.
She then asked if the woman was planning to put a gate up between their two gardens, to which she said no, and the neighbour then asked if she was “depriving her kids of our pool”.
“‘OUR’ POOL??” she raged.
“I told her how in the beginning I had said they could use the pool as long as they did not abuse the privilege, and they did.
“I said now they can only come over if invited.”
When the neighbour said that her kids were going to be “crushed and saw me as a big sister”, the woman had a biting response, telling her “no teenage boy looks at their sister the way those boys looked at me and my friends”.
“She took huge offense to that, and it might have been gross to hear, but so were the comments on my bikini from her boys,” she continued.
“It’s too much. I’m not their babysitter, and I have every right to my privacy.”
However, she has faced some criticism from some who have said “the fence is too much and I’m going to hurt the kids’ feelings”.
But the comments section was almost immediately filled with people insisting she was perfectly within her rights to put up a fence.
“Also, the kids using the pool unsupervised is a MASSIVE liability for you,” one pointed out.
The Top Five Reasons Neighbours Squabble
One study by Compare the Market revealed the top reason British neighbour's argue
- Broken fences – top of the board was broken fences and whose responsibility it was to fix it
- Parking: one of the leading drivers of neighbour disputes, with 54.1 per cent of people having issues with people parking in front of their house, parking bay or driveway
- Trees – complaints about a neighbour’s tree cracking your garden path was also common with nearly half of participants finding it frustrating
- Bin wars – outdoor bin etiquette continues to ignite the most furious debates between neighbours
- Nosy Neighbours – some people have their eyes and ears at the ready to have a peek causing problems for others
“If something were to happen to them while in your yard/your pool, their parents could sue you because it was your property.
“Put up the fence and put up ‘private property/no trespassing’ signs.
“The kids can only come over if they are invited AND if their parents are there to watch and be responsible.”
“Even if the kids were perfect little angels, it’s your frigging house and your frigging pool!” another added.
“It’s not your job to entertain this entitled woman’s children. They can buy their own pool, join a gym or swim at school, or get bent.
“There is nothing wrong with being an introvert or wanting to enjoy your house by yourself or with the friends and family you invite only.”
“Get some cameras set up outside just in case they try to sneak in, and keep an eye on your dog when you get it,” a third advised.
“People can be nasty.”