Naughty neighbor - window shaped like middle finger

[thelittlebabu]

Somebody builds a house that blocks the view of their neighbor. The neighbor complains to the city. The builder gets even by installing a window shaped like a hand flipping the bird. Check out the article and picture at:

Middle-finger to neighbor (http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_4188445#)

[greenbunny]

What an ass! I'd want to burn that guy's house down. Our neighbors built a two-story garage with dormers right up against our property and ruined our view after we'd only lived here a few months, so this just gets me steamed up all over again.

[SingleWhiteFemale]

If the house being built is to code, plans approved by the city/county/whomever, the people with their view ruined need to deal and stop harrassing the neighbor. If the view was that important, he should have bought that land himself so that there was no chance of it being ruined. It is not his property, it is therefore not his decision.

Seeing the vent, I didn't really interpret it as giving the middle finger. Maybe the neighbor needs to get his mind out of the gutter, or stop looking so deeply into it to have another grievance with his neighbor. If I saw that without being told what the neighbor thinks it is, I would have never guessed it is that gesture.

ETA: Looking at the photo in the article, I can still see a whole lot of mountains. This man just strikes me as extremely whiney.

[greenbunny]

If the view was that important, he should have bought that land himself so that there was no chance of it being ruined.

So, do you feel that only those who are wealthy enough to afford multiple properties deserve to enjoy the view of wherever their home happens to be?

[SingleWhiteFemale]

So, do you feel that only those who are wealthy enough to afford multiple properties deserve to enjoy the view of wherever their home happens to be?So, do you feel that people shouldn't be able to build--a structure that is completely within local requirements/codes--on their own property?

There is a housing development that overlooks a golf course where I live. It is a lovely, well manicured golf course. But for more privacy, the course put up huge trees, hence these homes no longer overlook this lovely peice of property. Should they get all in a tizzy over it and force the course to take down their perfectly legal trees so they can have their view back?

There's a small horse arena next that my neighborhood is built around (the arens was there before the development). The people whose back yard faces the arena put up high shrubs at the back of their property to obstruct the view/gain privacy. The neighbors, who had an unobstructed view of the rink no longer do because of these huge new plants. Should they be forced to cut down these perfectly legal shrubs so the neighbors don't have to leave their home to watch the shows? Whose rights trumps whose? Those who own the property on which the structure is built.

Where one's property line ends is where their say ends. Period. This man does not have a real right to complain.

I think it is most telling in the second picture--there is still a HUGE view of the mountains that is not obstructed. So, the man does have a "view" to enjoy.

If you want to preserve the view, buy the property so that it cannot be developed. Have it rezoned. Act like the biggest asshole of a neighbor to scare away potential buyers. I honestly don't care however it is done. But to say there is a "right" to that view, when there technically is NOT, is unfair. One doesn't have to be wealthy.

[tenofcups]

Seeing the vent, I didn't really interpret it as giving the middle finger. Maybe the neighbor needs to get his mind out of the gutter, or stop looking so deeply into it to have another grievance with his neighbor. If I saw that without being told what the neighbor thinks it is, I would have never guessed it is that gesture.

ETA: Looking at the photo in the article, I can still see a whole lot of mountains. This man just strikes me as extremely whiney.

I have no clue who's right or wrong in terms of the codes, but I can't see anything BUT a gesture of giving the finger in that vent. And that's inappropriate regardless of the rest of the issues.

[keska]

Generally speaking, there's no legal right to a view unless someone has entered into some sort of agreement with their neighbors on a restriction from blocking their view. Some cities or housing developments may have particular ordinances or CC&Rs about it, though. Also, there are sometimes laws for exceptions for things like "spite fences," where neighbors build exceptionally tall fences just to annoy their neighbors.

FWIW, the same thing goes with light. You don't generally have a legal leg to stand on if your neighbor plants tall trees and your backyard suddenly no longer gets sun.

That said, it would naturally upset me to lose my view. My neighbor recently put up lattice around the top of his deck, which basically blocks most of my view of dowtown from my deck, and it did irk me at first. Luckily, we rent.

[greenbunny]

So, do you feel that people shouldn't be able to build--a structure that is completely within local requirements/codes--on their own property?

I don't think it's necessarily that simple. I think a lot of codes are inappropriate, and are set up in ways that are unfair. And I think that just because something is legal doesn't mean it's a neighborly thing to do.

For example, my neighbor's garage is insane. It's as tall as his two-story house. It is more square footage than the house I grew up in. In my area, you basically can get a permit for anything as long as you can pay for it. They only reason he could afford the permit is because of his wife's inheritance. So it certainly isn't something anyone could have legally done, he had to have the cash lying around.

As far as the golf course or horse arena example, I don't expect any sympathy from a business. I do expect individual neighbors to take into account the people they have to live next to when choosing how to develop their property.

You seem to have a very black and white view of things. Do you really believe that as long as you're protected by the law, you're always automatically right? Maybe in a courtroom, but that's not the only rule by which to measure. Being considerate goes a long way considering you could end up living next to people for years on end.

As far as the exact angle and the guy's view of the mountains, I don't think you can really tell from only that one picture. I can see over my neighbor's garage if I stand on the hill in the very back corner of my yard. If you'd take a picture from that angle, you'd ask what I could possibly be complaining about. It's only when you come down to the rest of the yard, or in my house and look through my windows, that you realize all I can see is shingles.

[Tanya]

I agree with greenbunny that you really should be considerate of your neighbors. The way it worked when I lived in a TH is that you could do stuff in your backyard as long as your neighbor OKs it. My neighbor built a taller fence (by 6") since he added a deck that raised the level to where he could peer into his neighbors' yards. It was fine, I guess, but wasn't aesthetically pleasing since it was an extra fence butting up against mine.

The home we just sold had ~2 acres of land with absolutely no restrictions since we were outside city limits. The couple that bought it is apparently building this huge garage thingy at the end of the driveway--not even in the back of the property like I would expect. I'm sure the neighbors aren't pleased, but there's no view to be lost, at least. Now, they best be glad the previous crazy-lady neighbor who was a member of the "drainage commitee" isn't living there anymore. I wasn't sad to see her go, and it made me chuckle hard that it took them 8 months to sell since they built a freakin' retention pond on 1/3 of their land that's even smaller than ours, but we sold in 2 weeks for almost the same and their house was bigger:D.

On another note, an ex-bf's gm was in a lawsuit with her neighbor for obstructing his view. I don't remember the details but the best part was, the wife brought the suit on behalf of her husband, who was, by the way, *blind*. She didn't mind, but it bothered him immensely.

[ee_chick]

There are instances where a view is protected. We have friends whose title company sued a nasty neighbor because he worked to obstruct their ocean views during the sale of the house. Nasty Neighbor had to remove his enormous sign.

As for the middle finger guy - there's a huge difference between having the law on your side and being a decent guy. He may be legally right, but he sure seems like an ass.

[Kimberland30]

I'm going to agree with SWF on this one, at least when it somes to the Torgersen's. From what I see of the picture, he is at the corner of his deck and the neighbor's house is to the right of that. So he could very well have a full view of the mountains coming right out his deck and to the left. At least that's what I got out of it.

It seems like the Wood's have done everything to comply with the city when an argument comes up. They are not being unreasonable here.

This confuses me though...

Worried that the excavation would disrupt his foundation, Stan Torgersen said he and his neighbors, the Eastons, asked the city to intervene. Riverton City then required the Woods to test the soil - something Darren Wood said had been done by the previous owner. And this new test would set back his building schedule four months and cost him an extra $3,000.

How would this disrupt his foundation?

[Sophia]

I think they're both big babies.

[thelittlebabu]

I think they're both big babies.
Ding ding ding! We have a winner! Six words that sum this whole thing up beautifully.

[Kelly's Girl]

I can't see the picture! :( The article pops up but no photo. Can anyone help?

[Happy1]

I agree that unless someone buys the land next to them, they really shouldn't be complaining that someone is blocking their view. It's no different than when you build in the country in and suddenly you have a subdivision around you. Does it suck? Sure. But it's a fact of life. If you don't like it, buy the property(ies) next to you. If you can't afford to, accept it and move on.

Now does that give the next door neighbor to seek retribution through "abstract art". No. That's petty and immature. But no one should be dictating (unless it's enforced on a government level) where someone can/cannot build.

Nikki :D

[maplekitty]

Am I the only who thinks the middle finger window is funny?? Heehe, maybe that's just my twisted sense of humour! But I think the guy complaining is a big baby! It's not like the house being built is this monsterous 5 story house that obstructs *any* possible* view....it's a house...infront of another house...he's not breaking any laws, he's simply building his house that fits perfectly within the bylaws in the area...not much you can do about that.

[keska]

I don't think the window is that bad looking. If someone hadn't told me, I'm not sure I would have thought it looks like someone giving the finger. It makes the windows asymmetrical, though, and that always kind of bugs me when I look at a house.

[summer girl]

Am I the only who thinks the middle finger window is funny??

I think it is funny as well! If the guy complaining didn't want to live by other houses, why didn't he build his house somewhere else? If you build in a subdivision with other plots for sale, you can't complain if the one next to you gets sold. And heaven forbid, they build a house on it!

[Kelly's Girl]

Okay, it seems that my work computer blocks images or something b/c I checked the link again from home and could *finally* see the picture.

It is TOTALLY the finger- and pretty funny, too. It would piss me off if I had to look at it all the time but since he's not my neighbor, it cracked me up.

[Delta]

I think it's really funny too!

Sorry, nobody has a 'right' to a view.

[thedoorchick]

How petty and childish can people be?

[SiValleySteph]

Those mountains really are beautiful.

We had a situation where our neighbors put up one of those metal gazebos on their front patio. It blocked our view of the mountains from the front and was just annoying. Luckily, the HOA code was on our side, as was the city code, so it came down after a few months of arguing. It took 2 years before we were finally friendly again. That was a tense situation. As their tree grows bigger, it does obstruct our view, but I don't have any problem with that.

[Hangin'in]

I think it's hysterical! But, I can have a twisted sense of humor sometimes..... I think the complaining neighbor(s) are being an ass..... and the guy building the house will probably eventually take the vent (pinky finger) down after his point is made!

[Rose]

It is a little funny. He's lucky he also has a mountain view. Most people don't get that.

[alisong]

Do none of you live in cities with view ordinances? Really? I guess here in the Bay Area views are prized, and can make an enormous difference in the price of a house. DH is an arborist, and a fair amount of his work is trimming trees to comply with view ordinances - basically, residents have the right to preserve the view that they had when they bought the property.*

*Except if they're unlucky enough to have their view obstructed by an oak or a redwood - those species are exempt.

[thelittlebabu]

Update: The guy took down the vent.

No more flipping the bird (http://kutv.com/topstories/local_story_236104938.html)

[ManteoChik]

I thought the finger was pretty funny.

I also agree with those who said if you don't want people to build next to you and possibly obstruct your view then you need to buy the property around you.

My parents went through this same thing about 6 years ago when building their new house. When they submitted plans to the HOA they were approved for the house w/ garage, an additional garage to match the house, and an in ground pool. They waited about one year to build the detached garage (which is as tall as the house and looks just like it) and their neighbors threw a fit.

The neighbors said the garage disrupted their "vista". Yeah, I'd be pretty pissed too if I were to look out the only window on the entire side of my house...which happends to be the size of a porthole and in my bathroom shower....and saw a garage. :rolleyes: Sorry, if you didn't want that to happen you should have picked your lot better. My parents were one of the last to build and picked a corner lot - their neighbors were one of the first and picked a lot where they were have people on all sides of them.

[jnettie]

Oh, I think that vent is hilarious! We've had some idiot neighbors that would make that an attractive idea.

Do none of you live in cities with view ordinances? Really? I guess here in the Bay Area views are prized, and can make an enormous difference in the price of a house. DH is an arborist, and a fair amount of his work is trimming trees to comply with view ordinances - basically, residents have the right to preserve the view that they had when they bought the property.*

*Except if they're unlucky enough to have their view obstructed by an oak or a redwood - those species are exempt.
This is what I was thinking. In many places, the view your house has can directly effect the price of your house. That's why some tiny shacks can be worth a million because you can see the ocean.

Without knowing more, it's very possible that the digging could have caused problems with the foundation of another home. You have to be pretty darn close for this to happen, but it's possible.

[kam]

This is where homeowners association comes in handy. No new construction can start without the approval of not only the association, but they won't consider the application without approval of all surrounding neighbors. Of course, it won't stop drunk neighbor whose husband signed off on it from knocking on the association president's door at 1 am, but all in all it cuts down on disputes ;)

[imagirliegirl]

I think the people in the lower house should just look out their back window. There appear to be lots of mountains from that picture...

[greenbunny]

I also agree with those who said if you don't want people to build next to you and possibly obstruct your view then you need to buy the property around you.

It isn't that simple. In many situations, already existing neighbors build something ridiculous that causes obstruction problems. You can't buy land already owned if it isn't up for sale.