Shared Driveway, difficulty with landlord next door

[Brian Berry]

While I am a real estate investor, my question/issue has nothing to do with my investment properties. 

We own a house in Seattle with a shared driveway (warning: never do this!). While not ideal, the shared driveway was perfectly fine for ~17 years of ownership. And then the owner of the house with which we share the driveway died. And his heirs decided to sell the home. They were very nice, and we had great conversations with them about the process. They even gave us an amazing collection of vinyl records from the '50s - '80s. We were very close to them. When they came over and told us that they found a buyer for the house, they were excited that the buyer wrote them a nice letter about how he wanted to buy the house for a home for his kid to raise his family in. That was the best possible outcome, right? 

Background

Wrong. When the new owner appeared (I shall call him Z), we introduced ourselves. We said we were excited that his young family would be moving in, and were looking forward to meeting them. Z said, "we're not sure what we're going to do yet." 

A few weeks later, our street was having our annual block party in which the entire street was blocked off and the potluck was spread on our driveway (as has been the tradition for over a decade). During the event a couple walked down the driveway who were unknown to any of us. When we asked them where they lived, they said they lived several miles away, but they rented the (detached) garage on the property next door (which is illegal in Seattle) to store their classic car. We informed them this was illegal in Seattle (for a non-occupant owner to rent a detached garage as rental space). 

Not too much later, Z rented the house (actually, just the top floor of a house with a (then) unfinished walkout basement) to a very lovely family. We were so happy that a family was living there, and raising their kids in our neighborhood. We became fast friends (I played Santa for their kids, and we still keep in touch even though they have moved across the county). But after they lived there for a year, Z told them they had to move because his kids were moving in. The house then sat vacant for about 9 months. 

Next a very nice couple moved in. They lived in the home for a year. And then Z kicked them out, saying that he was selling the property. Again, the property sat empty for many months. We met one person who said he signed a contract to move in, but that never materialized. I have no idea what happened. 

Last September, a bunch of college kids moved in. We have tried to get to know them, but only one has been receptive. He seems nice, and always says hello when we meet in the shared driveway. They all have been respectful and haven't been bad neighbors in any way. 

Issue

Last week, our Ring camera picked up Z bringing 3 strangers on our property. They went to our very separate portion of property ( there is absolutely no mistaking that you are trespassing when you go down stairs that are clearly solely on our property). And then they went to the bottom of our deck and took photos of our property. This happened to occur on my one day during the week that I am working from my office (a 40 minute drive), so I could not . They took photos of our property. They were discussing the land on our property, and all of their motions and discussion were about our property, nothing indicated any interest in Z's property. 

I emailed Z, asking why he was trespassing (and bringing strangers onto our property, asserting that he should have knocked on our door to ask for access, etc). I also demanded to know who he brought onto our property. His response was that he wasn't trespassing. He didn't respond to my request for information regarding the trespassers that he brought on to our property. I responded with photos of him on our property, and reasserted the request for information as to who he brought on our property. 

Based on what was in the video from the Ring camera, we think Z received an offer on his property, but it is predicated on also including our property (due to the shared driveway, it would be nearly impossible for a developer to use his property without also acquiring ours). 

If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them.

[Theresa Harris]

Other than him trespassing (and repeatedly telling lies about how he intends to use the property) what is your concern?  You have no intention of selling and you can check with the city that the shared driveway is recorded.  Even if he sold to a developer, the shared driveway remains that way. If a developer damages it, they need to fix it.  Make sure you take videos of the condition of the shared driveway.

[Matt Devincenzo]

It sounds like he's not the greatest neighbor, but also doesn't sound like a horrible situation. He can't force you to sell, and he certainly didn't provide a scenario where you'd be all that interested considering the trespass etc. Personally I'd just not worry too much about it all and just wait to see what happens. He obviously isn't very truthful in his answers so I wouldn't care to much to listen to what he tells me his intentions are since he's likely not being forthcoming anyway.

[Dwayne Poster]

Chill, maybe you’ll get an offer you can’t refuse

[FR W.]

Brian, the situation sounds horrible. The reason I am not interested in and would never consider duplex-living is for this very reason... the shared driveway and the possibility of horrible neighbors. It's bad enough that you could end up with nasty/horrible neighbors next door to you in a SFH or even sharing a fence, but sharing a driveway, what a nightmare.

Good luck!  I hope it all works out without you having to lose too much sleep over the situation.

[Jonathan R McLaughlin]

I would spend a little time and maybe money making very sure you know what you own. Is this an easement situation,a continuous use situation or what have you? 

Might as well have the actual facts at hand.

[Brian Berry]

Quote from @Jonathan R McLaughlin:

I would spend a little time and maybe money making very sure you know what you own. Is this an easement situation,a continuous use situation or what have you? 

Might as well have the actual facts at hand.

 We had a survey done a couple of years ago just to make sure we know exactly where the boundaries are. This is a mutual easement. The property line is pretty much dead center down the driveway.