Handling Bad Neighbors Next Door to My Rental Property

[Tina Wells]

Hey Folks-

Has anyone had to deal with a cruddy neighbor next door to one of your rental houses (not condo or townhome)? Short version: I have a rural property that is in a very nice area ($275K-500K Homes) but I keep getting reports about how awful the neighbors are--non stop dog barking and other noise late at night. Neighbors are homeowners of a $480K house on about 3-5 acres. My property is around an acre.

More detail: My previous tenant complained about the dogs being loose and barking at all hours of the night and I had at least 3 discussions with the offending neighbor during her tenancy (which ended about 3 years ago). Each time we talked he seemed nice and agreed to try to move the dogs further back on his lot  yet the problem persisted. After speaking to Animal Control, I instructed the tenant that I was told she would have to be the one to call to complain before Animal Control could do anything. I even relayed to the neighbor that if the issue persisted that the tenant would have to call Animal Control and he would be issued first a warning and then fines for subsequent issues. She was continually frustrated but never called Animal Control; she just moved out. Fast forward to current tenant and they complained about the same thing starting a couple years ago. I had 2 or 3 more conversations with the neighbor and again, they were neighborly conversations and he said he'd do his best. I stopped hearing from the tenant about it so I thought all was well. Today I just got notice that they are moving and he told me they were the worst neighbors he has ever had. He said it got better for a short period and then they were running loose, barking and now they were even riding ATV's at 11- midnight. 

I have never had this kind of pervasive thing occur without being able to clear it up on my own friendly terms. Does anyone have suggestions for a next step with the neighbor? I could potentially sell the property (I bought it Sub2 and plan on selling within a number of years anyways) but it nets a nice amount each month and each year I hold it, it nets me another 10K between the principal pay down and monthly profit. It's an awful feeling to feel like I can't do anything about something that affects my property so much. Any suggestions on how to handle to get results? 

Many thanks in advance for sound advice from experience!

[Lynn McGeein]

I may be misunderstanding, but if you're saying that your tenants are staying 3-4 years before moving due to bad neighbors, then it would be low on my list of things to worry about.  I'm happy if tenants stay 3-4 years before a turnover, no matter what reason.  I'd be much more concerned if it were causing tenants to break the lease months after move-in, or if it was turning over each year due to noise issues.   If the next tenant finds the same issue, let them know that they need to file formal complaints with Animal Control or local law enforcement, and that without those complaints and fines for  the neighbor, there's not much you can do.