Am I in the wrong for refusing to pay for my neighbor’s fence and now dealing with petty retaliation?
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Hey everyone, I’m looking for some outside perspective because I genuinely don’t want drama with my neighbors, but this situation is getting out of hand.
I moved into my first home about two years ago. My next‑door neighbor is an older lady, and at first we got along great—very sweet, no issues at all. I have a second driveway that sits close to the property line, and she has a very old wrought‑iron fence that sits in the public road right‑of‑way and was never permitted.
My driveway gets a lot of traffic, especially on weekends, because people use it to turn around when they go to the public soccer field. Recently, someone hit her fence. She and her adult son (probably around 50) came over and told me I should “do the neighborly thing” and pay for the repair.
I politely told them I wasn’t the one who hit it, and I’m only responsible for my own actions—not random drivers. I suggested she file a report and go through her homeowner’s insurance. I even offered to cut out the damaged section and repaint it so it would look clean and also be less likely to get hit again. She refused and scoffed at the idea, so I dropped it.
Ever since then, her son has been driving his lawn mower onto my property every week. He leaves grass stains, turn marks, and debris all over my white concrete driveway and never blows it off. He even went into my side yard and cut down my marigolds and hastas.
I’m not confrontational, and I don’t want to bully an elderly neighbor, but I’m honestly tempted to report the fence to zoning or the road commission since it’s illegally placed and causing problems.
Would reporting it make me the bad guy? What would you do in my situation?
I just want a peaceful place to live and to keep my property clean and respected.