r/mildlyinfuriating • u/LenaBaneana • 6h ago
My HOA could beat up your HOA We moved in 1 week ago. Our neighbour is already threatening to call the city if we keep parking our car in the alley, because it "blocks him from getting into his garage." Our car on the right, his garage on the left.
He has a 3 car garage on the left side, the garage on the right closer to the camera is ours. Would love to park in the garage proper but with how much stuff we are still unpacking itll probably be a week until we clear the space.
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u/ZoraTheDucky 5h ago
That alley is wider than the street in front of my house.. How the hell are you in any way blocking him from parking?
Let him call.
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u/pasaroanth 5h ago
I was gonna say, unless it’s the angle or a wide-angle lens, that’s twice as wide as the widest alley I’ve ever seen.
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u/LenaBaneana 4h ago
Was standing in the middle of the alley and just took the pic on 1x with my phone camera to try and distort it as little as possible. It being nice and wide is the only reason we figured itd be okay to park there until we got the garage sorted out
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u/Pretty_Eater 3h ago
I'm guessing the neighbor has a parking process that involves backing in that OP just made a little bit more difficult.
Which means the neighbor feels entitled to (I'm assuming here based on the utility pole) OPs couple feet of property boundary directly in front of OPs garage.
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u/Embarrassed-Boss-40 5h ago
Install a camera if you can. You might end up dinged if you stay parking like that ):
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u/LenaBaneana 5h ago
Yeah, we are planning to take the pacifist route and find street parking for it until we can make space in the garage. Hes an asshole, but the last thing i wanna do is provoke an asshole.
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u/tcrudisi 4h ago
I dunno. Capitulating and not setting boundaries sounds like a bad idea, too, unfortunately.
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u/LenaBaneana 4h ago
It does, but theres been enough other stress around moving so far that at least for now I'm willing to take the high road just for the sake of ease. If he tries to pull anything else down the line that'll be a different matter
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u/thousandsmallgods 10m ago
I totally support moving your car to reduce your own stress (and preventing revenge damage).
But I'm also totally in support of placing something else in front of your garage that takes up similar space. Trash bins, picnic table, seasonal blow-up yard decor ...
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u/blackbb601 4h ago
You either stand up to him now or he’ll keep walking all over you
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u/Calm_Cheesecake_6150 4h ago
Not necessarily.
Also if he's an ahole to everyone then he might come across anybody Another and maybe they will take each other out.
As sun tzu said.. if you wait by the river long enough, the body of your enemy will float by.
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u/2Martian 5h ago
I can see how if he was used to being able to pull up to your garage door and then back into his or being able to make a wide turn and go straight into his garage, itd be a bit annoying or maybe more disappointing that you now have to make a slightly more skilled maneuver. But its not like he should expect to be able to do that. Nothing gives him the right to call the city or even confront you about it unless you literally cannot legally park there. What would he even say? "My neighbor is parking in front of their garage"? Also just stupid of them to already make bad blood with a new neighbor.
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u/LenaBaneana 5h ago
The bad blood is the main frustration to me. At least we've already met another set of neighbours who seem lovely so far, so the score is balanced for now
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u/Complete_Entry 5h ago
what's your city's alley policy? It sits over either of your opinions or "I just need some more time"
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u/LenaBaneana 5h ago
No parking within 1.5 meters of someone elses garage door, and must leave a minimum of 3m clearance for people to pass. By my rough estimate out there and using google maps to measure theres about 6 meters between the car and his bins, 7 meters to his door. As far as bylaw goes i am in the clear
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u/Medium-Put-4976 5h ago
Had a neighbor like this. They claimed they needed 35 feet to turn into their garage.
A fence went in that made them stay in their 1/2, and miraculously they could still get into their garage.
People take up the space available. It doesn’t mean they need it.
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u/Nicc-Quinn 5h ago
Do you have a dash cam or anything? I’d be very concerned he’s going to “accidentally” back into your car.
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u/pbjclimbing 4h ago
What your neighbor is really saying and its impact:
This driver is admitting that they are not skilled enough to pull into their garage without the additional 3 feet that your car takes up. If you continue to park their the chance your car gets hit and develop an enemy neighbor is rather high.
They might be a jerk and you likely aren't doing anything wrong, but In personally like to keep my car as far away as people that have admitted they are terrible drivers as possible.
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u/farlon636 5h ago
He probably doesn't have the spatial reasoning to understand how to back a car into a garage/spot without being in-line with it at the start
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u/CompleteTell6795 1h ago
Why would he have to back it in ? He could just pull in to it. He has plenty of room to get in & out.
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u/DFA_Wildcat 5h ago
Next time he bitches I'd say something like "If you're having issues parking I'd be happy to park your car in your garage for you." Say it real nice, like you mean it and look at him like he's special needs. I doubt he'll have a comeback.
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u/excelnotfionado 4h ago
It likely means he wants the extra few feet so he can comfortably reverse into his own garage. He knows you just moved in, he’s just a bad driver if he can’t put up with the discomfort for a few weeks.
As long as yall are solid neighbors who don’t park their 6 cars in front of everyone else’s spot (I guess this is the big fight in my neighborhood? Leasing office email blasts all residents about it but I’m not home enough to know who they’re talking about lol) I think you’re doing just fine in my book. And since he didn’t say it to you, welcome to the neighborhood! I hope you love it there
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u/ChrisInBliss 4h ago
If ya'll are a younger couple (like mid 40's and under) wouldnt be surprised if the dude just wants to intimidate yall and is just testing if ya'll take the bait.
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u/weirdthingsarecool91 4h ago
I'd let him call. Let him have egg on his face when the city doesn't care.
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u/Exhausted-CNA 5h ago
Htf is that not enough room for him??? Sounds like you won the asshole neighbor lottery .. ehhh
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u/jomigopdx 5h ago
Where is your property line relative to the concrete at your garage door? You are parked half on the concrete, if your property line extends to the other side of the car, you are in the clear. Need to ask him to never pull onto your property to enter his garage.
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u/grownask 5h ago
The neighbor is probably someone who just likes to create problems with people. A real life rage baiter, so to speak.
Avoiding conflict is probably the best route, especially since y'all just got there.
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u/Ok_Listen7910 4h ago
You could both park perpendicular to your garages and you’d both still have plenty of room to back out wtf. He must be one of those people who will only pull through a spot in a parking lot ig bc there’s way less space in a lot of
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u/MissUnderstood62 4h ago
“Do you need me to park it for you” is my standard reply to this kind of bs.
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u/wonderer2346 4h ago
I was prepared to agree with the neighbor until I saw the photo. I always hate when my neighbors park in the alley but your alley is much much bigger than mine, there’s no way this is actually affecting his ability to get in and out of his garage.
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u/Audiofyl1 3h ago
Be the nice neighbor and offer to show him how to park in his garage with a wide open alley and a car on the opposite side that isn’t in his way at all.
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u/dragonstkdgirl 3h ago
🤦🏼♀️ I can back my SUV in with half that space. I hope he calls, it will be hilarious. He'd have to be the actual worst driver on the planet to have an issue with that much space available.
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u/praetorian1979 2h ago
There's more than enough room for your neighbor to get in and out. Fuck him and let him call the cops.
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u/SmoovCatto 4h ago
he is demanding to use the entry pavement to your garage on your property
he's insane -- cut off any engagement with him -- and yes place a camera or two to watch the area
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u/ichoosewaffles 5h ago
If he can't get in his garage he needs his license revoked. What the heck does he drive?
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u/losthillsguy 5h ago
You need to find out where the right of way is for the ally. He can park on his property, but not in the right of way
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u/Legitimate-Log-6542 5h ago
Cities usually have regulations how many feet of space has to be available to a car backing up - you should ask your city what that is. Mine is 22ft I believe, so as long as he has 22ft from his garage in which to back up he can go kick rocks. (something to check with your city with in general)
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u/Outside_Coffee_00 5h ago
I rented a small house on the same property as a larger house rented to a family. The house they were renting had a 4 car garage and an additional single car garage. My single car garage was the bottom half of my house (carriage house), so using it for my car would give me about 250 square feet of living space. They asked me to park in my garage so they could more easily park in theirs (similar to your picture). Some people are just selfish.
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u/lucky-fluke 4h ago
The only issue I see is if the city you live in has laws regarding parking in laneways. It would help to know your property lines and laws. For example in Toronto you can’t park in laneways unless you have a paved area within your property lines, not encroaching on the laneway
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u/stink3rb3lle 4h ago
I wish I had enough space to get into my garage stall as he has with your car being outside yours.
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u/Desert_Rush39 3h ago
There's more than enough room to back an extended cab truck in that single bay with your car parked there.
I think your neighbor is suffering from lack of skill.
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u/LaLucianata 4h ago
I would try to deescalate the situation and explain to him your intention is to garage your car ASAP and that you are emptying moving boxes as quickly as you can. These fights are never worth it, especially if you intend to live here for a while. I live in a condo community that has a very similar parking set up as yours, and the bylaws are very clear that no one should be parking similarly to how you’re parked, so this isn’t an unusual situation
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u/Canuck-In-TO 2h ago
If this is a city clears the lane they will ticket you. Best to call the city and find out if it’s illegal to park in front of your garage.
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u/smothered-onion 4h ago
Why don’t you just park on the street. You’re in the alley. It’s the garage or the street where I live.
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u/LenaBaneana 4h ago
We're in a fairly dense part of town, and the street parking out front can be pretty hit or miss in terms of getting a spot. We're only a couple days of work away from having enough sorted out to make space for the car in the garage, so we figured this was an acceptable temporary measure.
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u/smothered-onion 4h ago
I used to live in a touristy spot before and actually did the same thing. And while this looks more than reasonable going out there with your measuring tape to see if you’re within the allowed clearance when a neighbor says it’s a hindrance to them is pretty awkward when you just need to clear your garage of boxes. That should take a couple days?
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u/LenaBaneana 4h ago
No measuring tape, just estimated it with paces. And yeah, the unpacking is going fairly slowly since we are also balancing it around our working hours, it is what it is. We are still planning to find street parking in the meanwhile, its just a mild annoyance
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u/CommissionPositive33 4h ago
Im sorry, but with my truck (extended cab) and trailer for my motorcycles, your car is in the way. I would just ask for your number tho, and call when I needed to get the bikes out. I wouldn’t call the city. I might ask you to move one way or the other, if we were on friendly terms. I would probably take you motorcycle riding too, if you were interested. We can be civilized to each other
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u/CanadianDiver 5h ago
Park as close as possible to his garage while also following the letter of the law.
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u/schaudhery 5h ago
Man it must be nice to live in a place where front license plates aren’t needed.
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u/Pawtuckaway 4h ago
Is having a font plate really that much of a burden? I stuck it on when I first got my car and haven't thought about it since.
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u/lilgreenfish 4h ago
Tesla owners complain because they have to ruin the lines of their car to put it in there (I don’t know if this has changed but at one point there wasn’t an actual spot for them, you had to create it yourself). Jeep owners also complain because their plate spots aren’t standard. People complain about the weirdest stuff with license plates. (I’m in Colorado, US…I feel like half the posts sometimes are about license plates!)
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u/Fabulous_Clothes_726 5h ago
Let him call...