Really Bad Neighbor, Let Me Hear Your Opinions!

[Steve Porcello]

Hi BP,

Hope everyone is doing well as we get ready for summer. 

Let's cut to the chase- my team recently acquired a two-family home in my area, and we do a lot of our own renovations and all of the management. The property is on a small street, and three other houses share my driveway to get to their homes. The first day I was there, the neighbor, this guy, in his fifties, couldn't wait to jump all over me and borderline interrogate me with question after question. I introduced myself naturally, and he just kept hammering me with questions alongside a HUGE attitude. Without saying hello, he asked me who lives here, are you licensed, do you know where the property lines are... Sure, I just showed up and began working on this property, but the guy went further on by saying "Everybody's watching you. I'm watching you. I'm calling the police the first peep I hear out of this house." He was incredibly rude about the entire thing. And to say everybody is watching me? Man, I'd like to meet them! This guy couldn't speak for himself. If we're being real here, he had a pretty threatening voice and body language. The next time I saw him he was literally waiting outside in his yard for me. He then went off again about all of the same crap, and he even recited my home address to me, which I never gave him (anyone can find out where you live on public records). Every time I voiced back to him, I was polite, (don't you think you would want to have a good relationship with neighbors to only benefit you and them both???) He was literally trying to scare me into playing by his rules. I'm not going to let this guy make up his own rules and tell me what I can and cannot do with my own property.

I am yet to meet the other two neighbors that use my driveway. I want to know what they are like, because they must know that this guy behaves like a total idiot. I am concerned for a few reasons. The first being that as soon as I start renovating this guy is going to complain about noise all of the time. Secondly, he's going to call the police on whoever I put in there, no matter who they are, harass our tenants, and hurt our investment. He's an incredibly nosy person. At this point in time I had never had to deal with a neighbor like this guy. I do this for a living, and I know how beneficial it can be to make good with neighbors right from the beginning. This guy wasn't even considering it. Opinions? I've considered filing a complaint against him. I've heard that usually the first person to file a complaint against another is usually the one who has the upper hand in court.

Also, I'm having the land surveyed to get up-to-date property landmarks, because it hasn't been done in over 30 years.