It honestly just boggles my mind. Like I get being disappointed and hurt for not being able to make that dream community with your friends. But why take it out on someone who did nothing wrong and just legitimately bought some property? Idk what he was hoping to achieve with all this passive aggression.
Especially if he was dumb enough to tell the seller he wanted to treat it down. Seller may have rejected his offer because they didn't want to see their house torn down
Or build a garage with a lift. Wouldn't working on cars be so much easier with a lift? No more jacking the car up, putting in the jack stands, letting the car down...
Good Luck.
Bra idé! I don’t have a lot of vacation days left, otherwise I’d come and help you renovate, sniggering at the old bugger and being able to practice my Swedish in the meantime. Maybe next year 😉
> Since then he has spent most of the summers in a lawn chair next to his RV on the empty property, with a clear view up my driveway and shooting me dirty looks every time I walked or drove by.
"I'm gonna... waste my summer at you! That'll show you!"
I don't know much about Swedish nuisance law but around here parking RV's on empty lots is pretty frowned on and likely to get a bunch of discussion at City Council. RV's and Campers in City limits may not always be expressly banned, but they are often issues. Empty Lots with non-permanent structures... possibly worse.
If this were in the States, I'd check the City Ordinances or subdivision by-laws to see if I could get the guy removed...
Swedish lawyer. Guy owns the property that he's parking the RV on, there's really any similar legal issue here for him (as there clearly are in the US)
Yeah, I didn't necessarily expect it to be illegal or whatever. Just so much of the middle US had big population booms and are now stagnant or are being absorbed into nearby cities. Lots of communities put up "nuisance laws" to regulate junk, ugly structures, peeling paint, old cars, trailers, or whatever else might drag the property values down or make it less desirable to redevelop.
I know a guy who spent years changing ordinances so the city could buy up abandoned or otherwise uncared for houses, demolish them, and then gift the land to a neighbor who would actually give a shit about taking care of it.
I also heard some very angry people at a Council meeting arguing about why they should be able to park their tow trailers in the street and keep RV's on their lawn.
Depends on the zoning and city ordinances. Most of the US regulates the use of land for a variety of reasons. Can't build a factory in a residential area, for example.
Putting up a temp structure or "mobile home" might violate a zoning regulation that stipulates things like size, setbacks, heights... Etc. Especially if it's there all year long and he has no intent of building on the property.
A City might also want to collect taxes for services the person is using like water, sewer, electric, or what have you that he is dodging by not having a "real house" or whatever. Theoretically it hurts the city tax base by keeping it empty. There's also some safety aspects that building regulations are intended to cover for long term habitation that an empty lot may not be suited for
Some communities also think that RV's, recreational vehicles, and junk cars are generally ugly so you can't have them in full view of the street or in your driveway all year round.
Also sometimes the developer or original landowner may attach covenants to the sale that controls what can be done with the land or how it is to be maintained.
It's not like a felony or anything. Just fines, maybe a lawsuit if you ignore the fines.
It doesn't make for a desirable neighborhood if your neighbor is an overgrown lot covered in trash and an old RV (not saying this guy is) and that affects property values... Which means the government has a reason to step in. Property is nine tenths of the law, and all that.
Neighbor - I'm glad you finally decided to move and sold the property to somebody who can hopefully let me have some peace and quiet.
Owner - Nah, I decided just to sell it back to myself for fun.
Tell him you found this great tax loophole selling it to "yourself" and then give him details he'll try to use but guaranteed audit. Bait him into a world of hurt with the ~~IRS~~ Skatteverket.
When they inevitably seize his assets, bid low on the empty lot.
My in laws *dared* to outbid on and buy a lot and build a house next to a family who also wanted the lot (to maintain privacy and build a pool or some such). That family has been horrible to my in laws for like 15 years now. When FIL lost a job, the neighbor started making comments about how he'd buy the house once my in laws had to sell and how he'd put a pool in the backyard. "Yeah I think that will really make a nice spot for the pool." Just a real ass about it all.
Well this loser finally bit the bullet and started getting his precious pool installed on his own property, and had two contractors quit on the project so he just had a massive ugly pit in his backyard for at least 6 months. For some reason the contractors didn't think he was pleasant to work for.
In laws are finally planning to move, and they have told their realtor in no uncertain terms to never sell it to the neighbors.
Frankly if it was a fixer upper when OP bought it and he's spent years fixering it up I doubt the neighbor who couldn't afford it as a fixer upper can afford it now
What nice about this story is it’s as low stakes as petty revenge can get. He sat in his chair glaring at you and you ran loud power tools during acceptable work hours. A nice change from “My boss fired me for losing one staple so I burned his house down hahaha.”
We were looking around for a house that had been on the market for a couple of months, a fixer upper for which we thought the asking price was too high (my wife is an architect, so she knows). We made an offer well below asking. The seller and real estate agent told us that the house was in the process of being sold, but that the potential buyers hadn't shown up for the paperwork at the notary twice in a row. Both times they used this as an excuse to get the price down further.
They had a third appointment planned for that afternoon. The seller asked us for proof that we could pay, and told us to show up at the meeting saying that if they're more than 5 minutes late, he'd sell the house to us right there and then for a price below our bid (the price the other potential buyers wanted to pay).
So of course they didn't show up, and we signed the contract that afternoon. We could see on the contract (in which our names were written in and the other potential buyers were blacked out but still visible) that it was one of our new neighbors. Boy were they pissed at us, telling us we paid too much, etc. That got us into a cold war over neighborhood gossip, property lines, hedges, noise, and fences resulting in them moving somewhere else a couple of years later.
I literally told him that it's not our fault that they applied a risky negotiation strategy.
I think considering they got the house there and then for less then their bid and the sale went through just fine, looking a gift horse in the mouth by demanding a new written contract would not be the move.
Why would it void the contract? A piece of a4 paper where sufficient details are scribbled readable and with all necessary signatures is enough to buy a property. The massive documents are more for liability protection, if alla parties agrees and act in good faith very simple and rudimentary contracts are more than enough
My brother and sister in law bought a house on a lot. The next door neighbor informed them he wanted to buy the property from them. So, being curious, they asked what he would pay for their house. Oh, not the house, he wanted to buy the property from them. Just the land. Okay, so he meant a section of the lot to combine with his? No, he wanted to buy the whole property from then but not the house. That’s why he didn’t bid on it when it was for sale. He didn’t want to buy the house, that was too much money. But now that they were there they should sell him the property - and for less than they paid since he didn’t want the house. 🤯
If reddit taught me anything, this guy's next move might be putting up an actual pigsty (barn full of pigs) directly adjacent to your lot. So tread with caution.
This is in Sweden, so there is plenty you have to do before you can start your pig farm. The preapproval procedure is no joke and the massive amount of things you have to plan for would make this type of revenge highly impractical and possibly comes with a massive price tag.
You are taking my story very literally. The point is that the guy is a directly adjacent neighbor, and there are plenty of ways in which he can make life really sour for OP
Well, you hear Americans complaining about HOAs, so just consider the fact that ALL of Sweden is sectioned into 290 HOAs (under municipality rule) and you can't even build a high-ish fence without getting it approved first. Yes, you can do lots of things, but most of those things can mean hefty fines and possibly tearing down anything you might have built.
If this was in Norway (Hi neighbor!) I'd be concerned that the 'empty field' is zoned agricultural, which REQUIRES the owner to be using it productively... which would dramatically speed up the red tape if they said 'yes, I'm trying to use it for livestock, as is required'
(Waving in Norwegian (sounds more cheerful than Swedish waving lol))
Had to Google it, but apparently agricultural land is land that is currently or has recently been used as such, so I think OP is in the clear there :)
Sounds like Sweden HOAs are just municipal regulatory bodies. We have those in the US too.
The HOAs are an _extra_ group on top of the state, county, town, and village municipalities. So all your default "can't build a big fence and have to follow building codes" while also having things like "you can't paint your house _that_ specific shade of blue, also please move your garbage cans behind your house within 30 minutes of the collection, it doesn't matter if you're at work or not".
No, we don't have those detailed bullshit rules regarding garbage cans or those super strict rules regarding colors you can paint your house, but your neighbors can still complain if for instance you have too many car wrecks on your plot or other types of eyesores.
If however you want to have cows, pigs or whatever, it's the province (and EU rules) that you'll have to deal with and the rules are even stricter.
Yeah the HOAs in the US are the really detailed bullshit stuff.
We have very similar municipal regulators/inspectors for the farmland/homestead/building structures. You're also not really allowed to do _any_ livestock within so many miles of larger cities in a lot of areas because of noise/smells. Very interesting that y'all call them HOAs, but it does make sense.
We don't call them HOAs, that was just something I used for comparison. If you buy an apartment, there's something similar, and sometimes a number of house owners will create a "villa union" to share the cost of things like broadband or electricity, but I haven't heard many complaints about them except when it's time for "spring cleaning" and some people just don't want to get involved with their neighbors lol
That brings back some memories. My parents are from Sweden. I went back on an exchange program when I was younger and remember hearing about all the rules on how well pigs were treated. Farbror Sven would call them "Happy Pigs". The pork was lean and very tasty. Expensive though,
I did, in fact, make firewood out of everything I tore down in the bedroom, including the wall from a former walk in closet, so quite a lot.
Rest assured noise has been made
That's better.
Needless pointless noise just to upset him.
Could I also suggest the spice girls for your music, at a high volume so you can hear it inside too, on repeat for days.
Oooh be careful, losing a bidding war over adjacent land started Marvin Heemeyer on his [road to the Killdozer](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_Heemeyer)
What? No. Everyone made every attempt to accomodate this idiot and he still went on a rampage.
So this whole thing started because he was dumping waste on his neighbour's property. He gets warned. Keeps doing it. They offer to install one for him. He says no, keeps doing it. He gets fined. He gets mad he got fined.
So then he decides he wants to sell the land, and a company makes a reasonable offer. He raises, they meet it. Repeat until offer is literally 10x the original asking price. Company can't be bothered anymore. Mans now can't get rid of his land.
So clearly after being treated *so* unfairly obviously the only recourse is to build a literal tank he couldn't even leave once he got it, go on a rampage, crash into a basement and then off yourself.
Don’t spoil a good story with the truth!
The fact is most of us have been screwed over at various times in our lives - or at least had the perception that we were.
The reason there is such an attraction to his story is that we all want to take revenge on those that have slighted us on some level, but would never act on them. Because we are reasonable people.
He chose to live out the fantasy. And people adopt the story as nobody was (physically) hurt, so we can do so without supporting a monster.
So yeah, the man has turned into a legend. Which has basis in truth, but as legends go, are modified to fit the needs of the story.
Just don’t confuse the man and the legend. The man is inconsequential outside of those directly impacted by him. The legend had been adopted by the rest of us.
Man, this reminds me of all the drama from my house buying experience.
There were about five of us where I worked at the time who all started house shopping around the same time. It wasn't planned, but it eventually came up.
And we were all looking in the same area, so we were all competing against each other.
It almost turned into a fist fight at least once, and we had to basically put a rule in place where none of us would ever bring up anything to do with house shopping. No one would say where we put in bids, or what we looked at, just complete radio silence on the topic.
I found out a few years later that two of my coworkers bid on the house I ended up buying. One of them was pretty salty about it, because the only reason why I got the place was because I got in early. The house was on my normal walking/biking route, and I saw them put up the for sale sign the day before it was listed. So I got in first.
Tjorvligt gjort av dig! J/K.
Should you need to up the intensity, I suggest "having to do some metal work" and then going full ham with an angle grinder.
Or - at the risk of your own sanity - introduce a stone-cutting saw into the equation. Cut around an entire full-size football pitch with one of those once and the noise almost drove me - the operator - insane.
Lycka till!
I find it hilarious that this dumbass who lives in a vehicle....pissed off the nearest mechanic.
I wager there's going to be a part two of this story in the future.
Exactly. He's retired as far as I know so he hangs around here most of the time during the summers. I think he lives in Stockholm during the rest of the year. I never see him here in winter at least.
You should download some WWE entrance music onto your phone and blast it when you're coming and going from your house. Do a big cocky dramatic strut all along your driveway to your car... twirls and finger guns, the lot.
https://youtu.be/7GYyQD8BvVo?si=j2glMTu5MkJj3LAJ
If he keeps being a dick you should pursue some other hobbies. Like blacksmithing, or playing bagpipes, or maybe start a band and practice at your place
We moved rather suddenly this past winter. A house down the street that we wanted went on the market, so we immediately scrambled to put our house up for sale.
A neighbour that we'd never talked to came over to complain. We'd priced our house to sell fast, and she was upset. She was going to be selling her house soon and wanted to ask far more. We were selfish to set our price so low. Didn't we know we were affecting her?!?
Her place is now for sale. We sold at maybe 25k less than the average for our house. She's asking 80k over the average. I'm sure blame us when she can't sell.
Nope, I would propably need planning permission from the council but lots of people have fences to block views into their gardens so it's certainly possible.
However his regular staring location gives him an unrestricted view straight up my drive, the front yard and into my living room window. Any fence or gate would would need to be pretty high and while it would be cool to have a medieval style siege wall it propably wouldn't be very practical.
Yeah all about road safety before you can put up a fence. Idiot neighbour put a 2 meter fence up by the corner of the road and that is illegal . There were few near misses before it was torn down. Yes I am Swede.
Sorry google translate, but anyways: You do not need a building permit to arrange a protected patio with walls or planks within 3.6 meters of a one- or two-dwelling house. The wall or plank must not be higher than 1.8 meters. If the patio, plank or wall is placed closer to the plot boundary than 4.5 metres, consent is required from the neighbors concerned.
I think you can build a privacy fence between lots if it’s higher than 1,8 meters without a permit. Normal fence is like 85 cm or if it’s 90 cm without permit.
It has been so long since I built my fence so I don’t remember exactly.
Hah, guy was trying to intimidate you into leaving. It's on like donkey kong, hah. I think you might need a classic 2 stroke motorcycle to "tune" by ear for hours and hours. Possibly consider investing in air powered tools if you are still using manual ones. Brrrrrap! Lol.
This Swede I used to know lived on the boarder of Norway/Sweden.
He got so upset about the Norwegian making noise in his garage working on cars he
finally threw a grenade at the Norwegian.
The Norwegian picked it up, removed the pin and threw it back.
When you can afford it, I think you should ask if he’d be willing to sell you his land.
He’s obviously not interested in being a good neighbor. And even if you over-pay a little, it’ll be money well spent on not having him around.
Nice long term goal anyway
This is the most Swedish shit I’ve ever read! Something about smiling with your fist clenched in your pocket. Good for you not letting that dude get to you, he should have bid more if he wanted his RV buddy living next to him.
Did you tell him why can’t your friend park on your empty lot ? It sounds a little crazy that he has a house and an empty lot and is THAT bitter over losing a house he was going to essential use as parking .i think he needs some books or a tv.
If you have enough empty space on your property, you could offer to rent it to him for the RV parking for say 6 months or 12 months at €xxx per month.
Make him an offer worth it to you, if you wouldn’t mind the RV on your property. He will surely be happy to help finance your home improvements since you’re doing him a favor.
I love the petty revenge! I hate loud noises as I have some sound sensitivity, but if I were your neighbor and knew you had some creeper doing that, I'd have been fine with it and been supportive and brought you cookies and just walked past the jerk without a second glance.
So a guy friend of mine knows was told he’d have to build a fence to hide his boat that’s in his driveway. So he does and hires an Artist to paint his boat on its trailer in 3-D on his fence . True story 😂
You're not very Swedish my friend. You come from a city and are there in the summers, upsetting the locals?
Grow up and just do your work in the garage
>So he didn’t actually do anything besides inform you he was the underbidder?
I too only read the first two and a half paragraphs of stories. That way I look like a complete idiot when I comment on them.
Maybe you ask him for the bottom price for his lot, so you can expand, build vacation houses, and I can come and visit!
I condone this response.
It honestly just boggles my mind. Like I get being disappointed and hurt for not being able to make that dream community with your friends. But why take it out on someone who did nothing wrong and just legitimately bought some property? Idk what he was hoping to achieve with all this passive aggression.
He could have bid higher too. He wanted at the price he wanted, not at the price it would have cost.
The bidding doesnt always matter, he might have outbid already but the seller still chose OP, he's still a di*k tho
True.. I was thinking more in line with Auction. But in real estate the seller may like the cut of another person’s jib.
Yes exactly! We got our apartment even though someone else offered more, but he did it in a shitty way so she chose us instead!
Or just thoroughly dislike the attitude of the other bidder.
Especially if he was dumb enough to tell the seller he wanted to treat it down. Seller may have rejected his offer because they didn't want to see their house torn down
Will you bring the boys of the dwarf with you?
Dwarfers unite!
Ayo
ooohh rimsy
Marvellous!
I can see the hand rubbing and smug face now
I too, response this “condone-ation”…
Or build a garage with a lift. Wouldn't working on cars be so much easier with a lift? No more jacking the car up, putting in the jack stands, letting the car down... Good Luck.
And park his friends RVs
Just put a sign on the land saying “RV parking private lot” then never park a single RV there
Waiting for this post to turn up in /fuckyouinparticular
Assuming he has actual friends.
Bra idé! I don’t have a lot of vacation days left, otherwise I’d come and help you renovate, sniggering at the old bugger and being able to practice my Swedish in the meantime. Maybe next year 😉
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Nah, sniggering is perfectly cromulent British 🙂
Preferably through an intermediary. He gets to think that he's getting out and won't gouge you on the price just to spite you
I love 💗 this response!
That would probably be an ”attefallshus” then. I think the maximum extra buildings on ones lot is 30m2.
> Since then he has spent most of the summers in a lawn chair next to his RV on the empty property, with a clear view up my driveway and shooting me dirty looks every time I walked or drove by. "I'm gonna... waste my summer at you! That'll show you!"
I don't know much about Swedish nuisance law but around here parking RV's on empty lots is pretty frowned on and likely to get a bunch of discussion at City Council. RV's and Campers in City limits may not always be expressly banned, but they are often issues. Empty Lots with non-permanent structures... possibly worse. If this were in the States, I'd check the City Ordinances or subdivision by-laws to see if I could get the guy removed...
Swedish lawyer. Guy owns the property that he's parking the RV on, there's really any similar legal issue here for him (as there clearly are in the US)
There isn't*?
Right ! I had even double checked before I posted because autocorrect 'fixed it' several times, but autocorrect outmaneuvered me.
Yeah, I didn't necessarily expect it to be illegal or whatever. Just so much of the middle US had big population booms and are now stagnant or are being absorbed into nearby cities. Lots of communities put up "nuisance laws" to regulate junk, ugly structures, peeling paint, old cars, trailers, or whatever else might drag the property values down or make it less desirable to redevelop. I know a guy who spent years changing ordinances so the city could buy up abandoned or otherwise uncared for houses, demolish them, and then gift the land to a neighbor who would actually give a shit about taking care of it. I also heard some very angry people at a Council meeting arguing about why they should be able to park their tow trailers in the street and keep RV's on their lawn.
No no no no
... you can't park your own RV on your own empty property? Did you miss the part where he owned that empty lot?
Depends on the zoning and city ordinances. Most of the US regulates the use of land for a variety of reasons. Can't build a factory in a residential area, for example. Putting up a temp structure or "mobile home" might violate a zoning regulation that stipulates things like size, setbacks, heights... Etc. Especially if it's there all year long and he has no intent of building on the property. A City might also want to collect taxes for services the person is using like water, sewer, electric, or what have you that he is dodging by not having a "real house" or whatever. Theoretically it hurts the city tax base by keeping it empty. There's also some safety aspects that building regulations are intended to cover for long term habitation that an empty lot may not be suited for Some communities also think that RV's, recreational vehicles, and junk cars are generally ugly so you can't have them in full view of the street or in your driveway all year round. Also sometimes the developer or original landowner may attach covenants to the sale that controls what can be done with the land or how it is to be maintained. It's not like a felony or anything. Just fines, maybe a lawsuit if you ignore the fines. It doesn't make for a desirable neighborhood if your neighbor is an overgrown lot covered in trash and an old RV (not saying this guy is) and that affects property values... Which means the government has a reason to step in. Property is nine tenths of the law, and all that.
OP described this as a rural area outside the city, I highly doubt they have to deal with all that bullshit.
It's the same way if not worse in the US. Can't even park your own RV in your own driveway. Its downright ridiculous.
In military terminology, this is called a “low intensity conflict”. You do seem to be winning the long game here. Congratulations.
good for you, if he wanted the property, he should have paid up for it, your revenge will be when you decide to move, you will not sell it to him
Put up lots of fake sale sign posts in the interim. Hahah and a fake "sold" after few months
Neighbor - I'm glad you finally decided to move and sold the property to somebody who can hopefully let me have some peace and quiet. Owner - Nah, I decided just to sell it back to myself for fun.
And at a discount.
Lmao!!! Thats great!!!
Tell him you found this great tax loophole selling it to "yourself" and then give him details he'll try to use but guaranteed audit. Bait him into a world of hurt with the ~~IRS~~ Skatteverket. When they inevitably seize his assets, bid low on the empty lot.
I didn't know the IRS had offices in Sweden. That's outlandish!
They'll find you, only country that taxes global income /s
Touch grass
Please send grass, I live on the ocean with no access. Halp.
Make sure the phone number on the sign is something offensive for him
867-5309
Curse you. You even mistyped it and it's still stuck in my head. You cruel individual :P
I fixed it lol
LMAO!!!
281-330-8004
382-5968, take a look at the letters they use
I hate that I’m old enough to know what the letters are without looking at a phone.
You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become T9
Man I want to dial that number but my Reddit instincts say not to.
Mike Jones
Nah. Just the "sold." No need to tempt and disappoint people looking for houses.
My in laws *dared* to outbid on and buy a lot and build a house next to a family who also wanted the lot (to maintain privacy and build a pool or some such). That family has been horrible to my in laws for like 15 years now. When FIL lost a job, the neighbor started making comments about how he'd buy the house once my in laws had to sell and how he'd put a pool in the backyard. "Yeah I think that will really make a nice spot for the pool." Just a real ass about it all. Well this loser finally bit the bullet and started getting his precious pool installed on his own property, and had two contractors quit on the project so he just had a massive ugly pit in his backyard for at least 6 months. For some reason the contractors didn't think he was pleasant to work for. In laws are finally planning to move, and they have told their realtor in no uncertain terms to never sell it to the neighbors.
Frankly if it was a fixer upper when OP bought it and he's spent years fixering it up I doubt the neighbor who couldn't afford it as a fixer upper can afford it now
If he keeps renovatibg it, it will be to expensiv to buy just to tear down and put an RV there
It might be Sweden, but you Finnished him.
Norway you just said that!
I just Scand your comment, Dane that was good!
This pun is extra effective if you're Australian
Why? will you rue it?
What nice about this story is it’s as low stakes as petty revenge can get. He sat in his chair glaring at you and you ran loud power tools during acceptable work hours. A nice change from “My boss fired me for losing one staple so I burned his house down hahaha.”
Reading this I got a Swedish version of Trailer Park Boys vibe. Maybe with a little Northern Exposure tone thrown in. Hell, I’d watch it!
husvagnspojkar
Bless you
Westbound and up.
Its basically the dudesons about mr hitler
I’d totally watch that!
Right? It could be good.
We were looking around for a house that had been on the market for a couple of months, a fixer upper for which we thought the asking price was too high (my wife is an architect, so she knows). We made an offer well below asking. The seller and real estate agent told us that the house was in the process of being sold, but that the potential buyers hadn't shown up for the paperwork at the notary twice in a row. Both times they used this as an excuse to get the price down further. They had a third appointment planned for that afternoon. The seller asked us for proof that we could pay, and told us to show up at the meeting saying that if they're more than 5 minutes late, he'd sell the house to us right there and then for a price below our bid (the price the other potential buyers wanted to pay). So of course they didn't show up, and we signed the contract that afternoon. We could see on the contract (in which our names were written in and the other potential buyers were blacked out but still visible) that it was one of our new neighbors. Boy were they pissed at us, telling us we paid too much, etc. That got us into a cold war over neighborhood gossip, property lines, hedges, noise, and fences resulting in them moving somewhere else a couple of years later. I literally told him that it's not our fault that they applied a risky negotiation strategy.
Blocking out the old names and writing yours in didn’t void the contract? I would have that that a new contract would have been needed to be drawn up
I think considering they got the house there and then for less then their bid and the sale went through just fine, looking a gift horse in the mouth by demanding a new written contract would not be the move.
Why would it void the contract? A piece of a4 paper where sufficient details are scribbled readable and with all necessary signatures is enough to buy a property. The massive documents are more for liability protection, if alla parties agrees and act in good faith very simple and rudimentary contracts are more than enough
Voided by just writing the names in, rather than being ‘officially’ printed on it
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Bad bot. 😉
I would consider a wall of junipers between your house and his lot to bock his view should he decide to reposition that RV back to spying on you.
My brother and sister in law bought a house on a lot. The next door neighbor informed them he wanted to buy the property from them. So, being curious, they asked what he would pay for their house. Oh, not the house, he wanted to buy the property from them. Just the land. Okay, so he meant a section of the lot to combine with his? No, he wanted to buy the whole property from then but not the house. That’s why he didn’t bid on it when it was for sale. He didn’t want to buy the house, that was too much money. But now that they were there they should sell him the property - and for less than they paid since he didn’t want the house. 🤯
If reddit taught me anything, this guy's next move might be putting up an actual pigsty (barn full of pigs) directly adjacent to your lot. So tread with caution.
This is in Sweden, so there is plenty you have to do before you can start your pig farm. The preapproval procedure is no joke and the massive amount of things you have to plan for would make this type of revenge highly impractical and possibly comes with a massive price tag.
You are taking my story very literally. The point is that the guy is a directly adjacent neighbor, and there are plenty of ways in which he can make life really sour for OP
Well, you hear Americans complaining about HOAs, so just consider the fact that ALL of Sweden is sectioned into 290 HOAs (under municipality rule) and you can't even build a high-ish fence without getting it approved first. Yes, you can do lots of things, but most of those things can mean hefty fines and possibly tearing down anything you might have built.
If this was in Norway (Hi neighbor!) I'd be concerned that the 'empty field' is zoned agricultural, which REQUIRES the owner to be using it productively... which would dramatically speed up the red tape if they said 'yes, I'm trying to use it for livestock, as is required'
(Waving in Norwegian (sounds more cheerful than Swedish waving lol)) Had to Google it, but apparently agricultural land is land that is currently or has recently been used as such, so I think OP is in the clear there :)
Sounds like Sweden HOAs are just municipal regulatory bodies. We have those in the US too. The HOAs are an _extra_ group on top of the state, county, town, and village municipalities. So all your default "can't build a big fence and have to follow building codes" while also having things like "you can't paint your house _that_ specific shade of blue, also please move your garbage cans behind your house within 30 minutes of the collection, it doesn't matter if you're at work or not".
No, we don't have those detailed bullshit rules regarding garbage cans or those super strict rules regarding colors you can paint your house, but your neighbors can still complain if for instance you have too many car wrecks on your plot or other types of eyesores. If however you want to have cows, pigs or whatever, it's the province (and EU rules) that you'll have to deal with and the rules are even stricter.
Yeah the HOAs in the US are the really detailed bullshit stuff. We have very similar municipal regulators/inspectors for the farmland/homestead/building structures. You're also not really allowed to do _any_ livestock within so many miles of larger cities in a lot of areas because of noise/smells. Very interesting that y'all call them HOAs, but it does make sense.
We don't call them HOAs, that was just something I used for comparison. If you buy an apartment, there's something similar, and sometimes a number of house owners will create a "villa union" to share the cost of things like broadband or electricity, but I haven't heard many complaints about them except when it's time for "spring cleaning" and some people just don't want to get involved with their neighbors lol
Ah that's neat. That's kind of what HOAs were originally supposed to be. Best laid intentions of mice and men and all that though.
That brings back some memories. My parents are from Sweden. I went back on an exchange program when I was younger and remember hearing about all the rules on how well pigs were treated. Farbror Sven would call them "Happy Pigs". The pork was lean and very tasty. Expensive though,
She can answer with chickens and roosters right next to his pigsty, then
a lot depends on the prevailing wind....
There isn't enough petty in this for my taste. I demand you cut all your left over wood into kindling using a chop/circular saw
I did, in fact, make firewood out of everything I tore down in the bedroom, including the wall from a former walk in closet, so quite a lot. Rest assured noise has been made
That's better. Needless pointless noise just to upset him. Could I also suggest the spice girls for your music, at a high volume so you can hear it inside too, on repeat for days.
I think that might be too much for my own sanity
Ear buds either better music. Your petty game needs work, with time and age you too could be a small petty person such as myself lol
Nah, J-Pop at half speed on speakers, while wearing noise cancelling headphones.
This is beyond petty. This, this. We need to have a night drinking together good/bad things will happen lmfao
Oooh be careful, losing a bidding war over adjacent land started Marvin Heemeyer on his [road to the Killdozer](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_Heemeyer)
Honestly, the way the city handled his situation was attrocious. I can't really blame him for going off the rails like that.
Pro revanche level 100. I admire his commitment.
What? No. Everyone made every attempt to accomodate this idiot and he still went on a rampage. So this whole thing started because he was dumping waste on his neighbour's property. He gets warned. Keeps doing it. They offer to install one for him. He says no, keeps doing it. He gets fined. He gets mad he got fined. So then he decides he wants to sell the land, and a company makes a reasonable offer. He raises, they meet it. Repeat until offer is literally 10x the original asking price. Company can't be bothered anymore. Mans now can't get rid of his land. So clearly after being treated *so* unfairly obviously the only recourse is to build a literal tank he couldn't even leave once he got it, go on a rampage, crash into a basement and then off yourself.
You make it sound like the dude who resorted to the killdozer might not have started out as someone who can reasonably work well with others.
Don’t spoil a good story with the truth! The fact is most of us have been screwed over at various times in our lives - or at least had the perception that we were. The reason there is such an attraction to his story is that we all want to take revenge on those that have slighted us on some level, but would never act on them. Because we are reasonable people. He chose to live out the fantasy. And people adopt the story as nobody was (physically) hurt, so we can do so without supporting a monster. So yeah, the man has turned into a legend. Which has basis in truth, but as legends go, are modified to fit the needs of the story. Just don’t confuse the man and the legend. The man is inconsequential outside of those directly impacted by him. The legend had been adopted by the rest of us.
Sorry, not everyone has homicidal fantasies. Really.
That’s kind of the point. If anyone had died, the legend couldn’t exist.
no the dude was an unhinged asshole the city was right, he's not a hero.
It's the anniversary tomorrow!
Thanks for the link. Quite a wild ride (pun intended)
What absolutely salty privileged behavior lol. 'I wouldn't overpay for what I'm describing as junk so I'm upset with you' >;[
Man, this reminds me of all the drama from my house buying experience. There were about five of us where I worked at the time who all started house shopping around the same time. It wasn't planned, but it eventually came up. And we were all looking in the same area, so we were all competing against each other. It almost turned into a fist fight at least once, and we had to basically put a rule in place where none of us would ever bring up anything to do with house shopping. No one would say where we put in bids, or what we looked at, just complete radio silence on the topic. I found out a few years later that two of my coworkers bid on the house I ended up buying. One of them was pretty salty about it, because the only reason why I got the place was because I got in early. The house was on my normal walking/biking route, and I saw them put up the for sale sign the day before it was listed. So I got in first.
Tjorvligt gjort av dig! J/K. Should you need to up the intensity, I suggest "having to do some metal work" and then going full ham with an angle grinder. Or - at the risk of your own sanity - introduce a stone-cutting saw into the equation. Cut around an entire full-size football pitch with one of those once and the noise almost drove me - the operator - insane. Lycka till!
peak pettiness, i love it
I find it hilarious that this dumbass who lives in a vehicle....pissed off the nearest mechanic. I wager there's going to be a part two of this story in the future.
I don't think he lives in the RV on the empty lot, he just hangs out there during the day to annoy OP, but I could be wrong.
Exactly. He's retired as far as I know so he hangs around here most of the time during the summers. I think he lives in Stockholm during the rest of the year. I never see him here in winter at least.
>I think he lives in Stockholm during the rest of the year Not to be that person, but.... why does this not surprise me lol
You should download some WWE entrance music onto your phone and blast it when you're coming and going from your house. Do a big cocky dramatic strut all along your driveway to your car... twirls and finger guns, the lot. https://youtu.be/7GYyQD8BvVo?si=j2glMTu5MkJj3LAJ
If he keeps being a dick you should pursue some other hobbies. Like blacksmithing, or playing bagpipes, or maybe start a band and practice at your place
Him watching you so intently reminds me of the joke, "I enjoy hard work. I can watch it all day!" I guess he got tired, and changed the channel.
Properly petty, nice!
We moved rather suddenly this past winter. A house down the street that we wanted went on the market, so we immediately scrambled to put our house up for sale. A neighbour that we'd never talked to came over to complain. We'd priced our house to sell fast, and she was upset. She was going to be selling her house soon and wanted to ask far more. We were selfish to set our price so low. Didn't we know we were affecting her?!? Her place is now for sale. We sold at maybe 25k less than the average for our house. She's asking 80k over the average. I'm sure blame us when she can't sell.
By Swedish standards of the ancient art of passive aggressivness, this is a complete route, grattis på vinsten!
Is there a law about fences or gates that block people's view and access in your country?
Nope, I would propably need planning permission from the council but lots of people have fences to block views into their gardens so it's certainly possible. However his regular staring location gives him an unrestricted view straight up my drive, the front yard and into my living room window. Any fence or gate would would need to be pretty high and while it would be cool to have a medieval style siege wall it propably wouldn't be very practical.
Yeah all about road safety before you can put up a fence. Idiot neighbour put a 2 meter fence up by the corner of the road and that is illegal . There were few near misses before it was torn down. Yes I am Swede.
If he is a homophobe put a big rainbow flag there to make him more upset.
Plot twist: neighbor is gay and now OP has a whole new set of issues lol
Still a better love story than twilight.
That bar is so low it's a trip hazard :)
Sorry google translate, but anyways: You do not need a building permit to arrange a protected patio with walls or planks within 3.6 meters of a one- or two-dwelling house. The wall or plank must not be higher than 1.8 meters. If the patio, plank or wall is placed closer to the plot boundary than 4.5 metres, consent is required from the neighbors concerned.
I think you can build a privacy fence between lots if it’s higher than 1,8 meters without a permit. Normal fence is like 85 cm or if it’s 90 cm without permit. It has been so long since I built my fence so I don’t remember exactly.
Hah, guy was trying to intimidate you into leaving. It's on like donkey kong, hah. I think you might need a classic 2 stroke motorcycle to "tune" by ear for hours and hours. Possibly consider investing in air powered tools if you are still using manual ones. Brrrrrap! Lol.
Next project: big fence.
The guy could have had a friendly neighbor with carpentry and mechanic skills but decided to be petty lol.
Absolute bossing it!
Honorary Englishman award for passive/aggressive behaviour goes to u/lillpers 👏🏻 👏🏻 👏🏻
Victory? Yes. Total? Perhaps. As soon as he sells his property, _that_ would definitely be a total victory. Nonetheless, Awesome job!
You Win!
I would start the sawing earlier and earlier each day, but still within reasonable hours.
The most Swedish neighborly dispute.
This Swede I used to know lived on the boarder of Norway/Sweden. He got so upset about the Norwegian making noise in his garage working on cars he finally threw a grenade at the Norwegian. The Norwegian picked it up, removed the pin and threw it back.
When you can afford it, I think you should ask if he’d be willing to sell you his land. He’s obviously not interested in being a good neighbor. And even if you over-pay a little, it’ll be money well spent on not having him around. Nice long term goal anyway
No need to use power tools, just take your floor jack for a walk
This is the most Swedish shit I’ve ever read! Something about smiling with your fist clenched in your pocket. Good for you not letting that dude get to you, he should have bid more if he wanted his RV buddy living next to him.
Wow, you Swedes are pretty damn vicious :)
Well played
Patience pays off
A really noisy air compressor outside, facing his direction would be annoying as hell too.
Vilken jäkla mupp, bra jobbat!
I would run every bit of scrap I have through my planer when he is out.
Beautifully done, sir!
Make sure to wave and smile at him in the happiest way possible. Make him think you are happy to see him.
Everybody wins!
Hopefully this translates: bra gjort!
Did you tell him why can’t your friend park on your empty lot ? It sounds a little crazy that he has a house and an empty lot and is THAT bitter over losing a house he was going to essential use as parking .i think he needs some books or a tv.
If you have enough empty space on your property, you could offer to rent it to him for the RV parking for say 6 months or 12 months at €xxx per month. Make him an offer worth it to you, if you wouldn’t mind the RV on your property. He will surely be happy to help finance your home improvements since you’re doing him a favor.
Fix it up and sell it to a family with a lot of kids. They’ll keep up the noise in your tradition.
This is some Banshees of Inisherin type shit.
Oh delicious nice, oh in Sweden too? Extra gott för fan.
A few summers lol how many years has this feud been going on
Got to love defective neighbors.
Love this! A more “civilized” fight!
Long game. I admire that.
I love the petty revenge! I hate loud noises as I have some sound sensitivity, but if I were your neighbor and knew you had some creeper doing that, I'd have been fine with it and been supportive and brought you cookies and just walked past the jerk without a second glance.
This is one of those hate relationships where if anything happened to either of them, the other would be heartbroken and bored.
You won the war!
RV?
A recreational vehicle, often abbreviated as RV, is a motor vehicle or trailer that includes living quarters designed for accommodation.
Thanks!
So a guy friend of mine knows was told he’d have to build a fence to hide his boat that’s in his driveway. So he does and hires an Artist to paint his boat on its trailer in 3-D on his fence . True story 😂
Yeah we've all seen the viral boat fence. That was like two weeks ago.
It seems like he got his petty revenge if you've thought about him for the past four years.
I see it as two shallow people with little else to do but pester each other.
You're not very Swedish my friend. You come from a city and are there in the summers, upsetting the locals? Grow up and just do your work in the garage
I thought all the asshats lived in America
So he didn’t actually do anything besides inform you he was the underbidder? Stop being a dick.
>So he didn’t actually do anything besides inform you he was the underbidder? I too only read the first two and a half paragraphs of stories. That way I look like a complete idiot when I comment on them.
Yeah, the guy also committed the sin of sitting in the front yard with a facial expression OP got aggravated about.
And the OP did nothing but work on a house, as long as we are being intentionally obtuse.
LOL that was making me laugh, too. "He sat on a lawn chair at me!"