I’m not sure that would work. I would suggest throwing a brick first and then the mail.
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Frankly, I don’t know how someone so uncertain, fearful and busy manages an Airbnb. This is not rocket science or brain surgery.
If it were my package I’d be annoyed that you have had it now for more than two days. We have offered several viable and helpful suggestions but you can’t even get out of the car to go back in the house and get it to give the husband?
I’m thinking there is more to this story than just a crazy neighbor.
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As I said in my earlier post, you have to see returning her mail as the first move in a neighbourly relationship - for your own sake. The last thing you want as an Airbnb host is an antagonistic neighbour. You need her on your side.
You have now given her a genuine grievance - you are holding onto goods that are rightfully hers. You have to admit that you’d have something to complain about if that happened to you … “a package was delivered to my neighbour but she held onto it”. The mailman knows that it has been delivered, so (presumably) does the sender so this isn’t some weird secret you can keep to yourself (apart from being possibly illegal).
One answer would have been to simply give it back to the mailman (you said “…I’m pissed that because of the mail man’s error…”) but because you’ve been hanging on to the parcel it’s too late for that now.
I honestly can’t imagine what you’re afraid of. I think it’s weird not to at least know your neighbours enough to be on nodding terms, if only for selfish reasons. I imagine that your neighbour might well consider you as a ‘crazy lady’ - it works both ways.
I say suck it up and knock on the door!
Bake some cookies, kill her with kindness.
RR
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I agree with the “kill her with kindness” part written above. We had a horrible neighbor once who spied on us and was just a dread to live next to that we gave cookies and some company (she was really lonely) and voila! I think we could have done pretty much whatever we wanted after that. I think if we had said that we were going to set off an explosion she would just say “Oh, that’s fine dear!” after having yelled and hit walls and whatever before for us just closing our front door.
I agree with the Olive Branch. And a nice person to witness it.
I know, it is hard to be an asshole when someone is bringing you a package and cookies.
RR
The four most powerful words I learned as a teacher were “I need your help.” Talking to an admin, a kid, making a parent call, or whatever. However, it doesn’t work with insane folks.
Likely the insane lady needs a kind neighbor and some help. What is the worst (likely) thing that can happen? She continues to yell at service people? Or next time work needs to be done the OP calls first and gives her a heads up. She just needs to feel in control I am guessing.
RR
Perhaps. I don’t know enough about the situation. I can see both sides. I had a neighbor who was annoying but I felt for her. I invited her in the first time she came to my door and said she needed to borrow my phone to call the gas company so she could turn on her heat. But when she told me she had “tried to kill her son (her adult, disabled son)” I never let her in my house again. She came over many times after that until I finally said “I can’t help you, please don’t ask again.” That was 18 years ago and she apparently got the professional help she needs and hasn’t killed anyone else.
That’s why I qualified my question with what’s likely the worst thing… Yes, there are some batshit crazy dangerous people out there and plain annoying I do not want to deal with your drama types as well.
RR
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My neighbor regressed a month or so later.
I had the same exact situation your re describing. We were trying with crazy neighbor and be nice and appologized. He called on us to city non stop. We redid our pool and water has to be drained . Apparently we needed permit for that. But I thought pool company is taking care of that. When they drained water it went toward my neighbor but not even on his property, just his direction. He called police and city. Guys came and told us we needed permit but since it’s already done we just had warning to do it next time.
He was harrasing all contractors and even my guests telling them how bad we are.
One day I had my friend attorney write him a letter if he doesn’t stop harrasing us we would take him to court . That worked magic. We didn’t hear from him the past 2.5 years. Sometimes I am wondering if he is still alive. I don’t see him.anymore, he was well over 70.
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At least you got the month… and you took the high road it seems.
RR
Corral’s my male guests and parter and says awful things to them. One day he started up on the dryer repairman. Well this chap was from Russia and started right back on him, saying he had no right to speak to people like that. The bill was $670 CAD and worth every penny.
All aside, it seems the topic of insane neighbors is something of a trend here.
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Oh I have one too, we call him the man baby. I tried and failed to be civil but at least I tried.
RR
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I once had a chicken escape into my nasty neighbour’s property. I could see it from my window. A guest offered to help catch her because I am on crutches. He went over to ask the neighbour if he could come on her property and as he was walking up her driveway she yelled out from her door “get off my property I don’t know you”. So he left and the chicken found it’s own way home. It still escapes but now visits the nice neighbours on the other side and steals their cat’s food.
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That’s hilarious! Thanks for the giggle😏
This from Mr Google, “RoundUp is an extremely effective herbicide, but it is also non-selective herbicide: it will kill almost all species of plants…”
That is my experience except for palms and similar where it is not quite as effective.
OK, ladies and gentlemen. To those questioning my ability to be an Airbnb host I have to tell you that I am a superhost. Also I am a single mom, a software engineer - so a logical person - and I work full time, sometimes over time and I do the airbnb on the side - son’s college tuition has to be paid.
I have never spoken to these neighbors, never had anything to do with them, but every contractor who worked on my house was harassed by her. She came out screaming “get out of my property or I’ll call the police!” Obviously she knew they were contractors; some of them wore uniforms, some ladders, tools, pipes etc. Some of them were amish. Yet she never failed to get out of the house and scream when one of them stepped on her property.
She didn’t allow me to put my AC where i wanted, on my property, between our two houses, because the contractors would have to step on her side to install it.
I am from Europe but I’ve been in this country for 20 years and I am a US citizen. Nevertheless I am appalled at the amount of violence that’s going on in this country. Why I am afraid? She is so hysterical that I am afraid she will come out pointing a gun at me screaming “get out of my property!”
That’s why I resolved to NEVER EVER have anything to do with her/them.
Someone was asking why I couldn’t get out of the car to go inside and give the husband the package. Because he was parking in front of his house and I was going in opposite direction. I would have to turn around on the nearby one way streets, to go back to my house, go inside and get the package and by that time the husband would have entered his house already. This would have left me at square one, dreading to step on their property. besides it was 9PM and I was tired after a full day of work and cleaning up the airbnb house, and I didn’t need the neighbor drama. In the end I wrote “wrong address” on the package and left it next to my mailbox.
Also in the house where I live I have such nice neighbors that I gave them nice Christmas gifts because they feed my cats when I go on vacation and overall they are very, very, very nice, how neighbors should be. They also have the key from my house, this is how much I trust them, so please stop judging me, I am not the grinch here.
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