Building a friendship with a new neighbor can be tough; you never really know what you're getting yourself into. One man recently found this out the hard way, after his burgeoning friendship soured quickly.
The man writes that he moved into his home just two months ago and almost immediately met the family next door. It turns out his neighbor was good friends with the guy who sold the man the house, and his neighbor really can't let that go.
"My next door neighbor is a funny guy he's married with 3 kids," the new homeowner wrote. "He seemed nice at the beginning. He talked about how he and the previous owner were old friends and him leaving was devastating."
The neighbor even has a spare key to the house.
Things got a little weird immediately. The man writes that his neighbor has a spare key to his home, and that he'll let himself (and his kids) in uninvited.
"Plus he had a spare key his old friend gave him for emergencies that he still hasn't given back yet," he hoted. "I'd find the mixer or the vacuum gone and he even borrows bread and yogurt from my fridge saying the kids wanted it meaning the kids were inside my house too."
"I demanded he give it back but I'm not sure if he made copies. I'm better off changing the locks."
The key isn't even the weirdest part.
The neighbor started making a series of requests that got increasingly bizarre.
"He also started making a [series of requests] like asking me to not walk my dog when the kids are playing outside. Asking me to keep my windows closed whenever I see their windows open. Etc."
Then he made an extra-odd request.
Things really broke down between the men after the neighbor asked if the man would go inside when his wife works out.
"Last week. He saw me sitting on the front porch at 7pm and he approached asking if I could go inside for 90 minutes til his wife finishes her workout in their frontyard. I asked him what and he said he felt it was inappropriate for me to sit there while his wife works out."
And he wouldn't back down.
"He went on about her not being able to go to gym these days and that she needed space and the frontyard was the only space. I told him not to worry I was just minding my own business but he threw a fit saying he finds it unacceptable and said he was sure I was making his wife uncomfortable as well."
So the man pushed back.
The man didn't want to let his neighbor treat him that way, so he pushed back.
"I got really mad I told him it's my house I do whatever I want and that it wasn't my problem and he needed to leave me alone for Christ's sake," he explained. "He lashed out implying I was being disrespectful and have no shame."
Now other neighbors are involved.
Not happy to just let it go, the neighbor decided to get even more neighbors involved.
"Then asked why he never saw any of my family visit. I told him it's none of his business. That's when He started going from door to door telling neighbors to 'watch out' and basically spreading rumors about me."
People won't even talk to him.
"I ran by two of my neighbors at the supermarket and they avoided me. I kind of laughed because people used to come to me for help now they're listening to my neighbor ruining my reputation."
Who is in the wrong here?
The man asked commenters of Reddit who is the problem here, and people were definitely freaked out that his neighbor had a key to his home.
"But man, that spare key bit is chilling," one person commented. "Why in the world have you not changed the locks yet? People with that level of entitlement terrify me."
Maybe this is why the original homeowner moved in the first place.
Some people think that the original homeowner and the neighbor might not have been the good friends he says they were.
"Now you know why the old neighbor moved," one commeneter suggested. "You need to change the locks immediately and realize that none of your neighbors behavior is your fault."
It's likely the other neighbors already know all about him.
One person reassured the man that his other neighbors probably already know all about this guy.
"He is already rude and demanding… giving in isn't going to change that," one person noted. "Do your thing and ignore him. I'm sure your other neighbors know how he is — I wouldn't be surprised if they ignore you because they don't want to piss him off, which means you're damned if you do or don't since he doesn't like you already."
These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.
