Sunday was just relaxing. Too hot to go outside, other than later evening, when I get all the flowers watered. We're still doing the 100 degree days, though tomorrow is supposed to be 90.
I finished watching season 14 of Heartland on Netfilx and realized season 15 is on another paying streaming service, but I saw they had a 2 week free trial so I just signed up for that, so I could watch season 15. I haven't read much lately, since I've been watching shows.
I was looking for dh later yesterday morning and found him outside chatting with Mrs. Neighbor at the fence. They were talking about the people using our street/driveway/yard as the turnaround to get back to the boat launch. Then something came up about the couple who will eventually be building/living on the 2 lots on the other side of us. Dh said he's worried the guy might not know there were covenants for these properties, since he didn't go through a realtor.. He said he's never heard the guy actually say they plan to build a house - he just only mentions getting a shop built to store his equipment (he has like a loader and a skid-steer and not sure what else). Dh told Mrs. Neighbor that his last conversation with the guy he now mentioned he wants to get a dump truck so he can start a small construction business to do during his retirement. Dh says the covenant's say you can't operate a business. Mrs says "well, it just says he can't have people coming in and out to his business - like it's ok for ONE to have her business working from home". I'm like I don't have a business - I just work from home (just like the younger neighbor at the end of our street does, too). DH says well, it's more restrictive than that - it says you can't have a commercial or other type of business, like where you would be driving a dump truck or hauling equipment in and out in the course of operating your business. We got the impression that Mrs was trying to justify the guy operating a construction business out of the property as the same as a person who works from home, rather than going to an office.
In fact the covenants state:
The key words are "normal residential traffic only". Operating a construction business where he would be driving a dump truck in and out and hauling heavy equipment in and out is not normal residential traffic. Then dh said "it would be like living next door to "so and so" (ie excavator guy). Would you like to live next door to him? I think she then realized what dh was saying and she said "that's true, plus imagine what driving heavy equipment on a regular basis would do to our street. It would tear it up". Dh said yep.
Dh said the next time he has a conversation with this guy and if he brings up anything dh is going to ask him if he's aware of the covenants and flat out say you won't be able to have a construction business, per the covenants. Now, if the guy wanted to keep the equipment somewhere else and just operate the office part of his business out of his home (with no customers coming to his home), that would be ok, per our covenants.
Then Mrs brought up if someone could use the homes here as an airbnb type. Now first off, you know she and Mr know these covenants as well as we do! She just wants to see how much we know of them. Dh said no - it says it has to be a single family residence. We know she was asking this because their son and DIL think once Mr and Mrs are gone and they inherit the house they are going to turn it into a bnb. I told dh I will fight that one with an attorney if it ever comes to that. It also states in the covenants that if any resident(s) have to go to court to sue another over covenant violations and they win, the loser has to also pay their attorney and court costs.
I think I would rather have a construction company next door rather than an airbnb! Can you imagine all the strangers who would think anything goes since it is so rural? I am thinking dogs, guns, drunken parties.
ReplyDeleteMy friend had a construction company, lived in city and used empty lots around his house, plus his yard to store heavy equipment he was not using at the moment. Construction companies do not necessarily have customers come to their business. So, that argument might not apply to his business. My friend never had a customer at his house.
I would alert whoever to talk with the guy before he even gets started. I don't know who would be in charge of monitoring that. But, the guy will be less adamant if he has only bought the property, not sunk more money in the plan.
I don't want to live next door to either type and that is specifically why we bought property that had these covenants. While he would most likely never have customers coming to his property, he would most certainly be in violation by using the neighborhood street for "non residential" traffic. DH will make sure to bring it up with the guy next time we see them.
DeleteI've no idea why she would equate your working from home to running a business!
ReplyDeleteNeighbours are a real lottery - having neighbours who are pleasant, quiet, law-abiding etc seem such a rarity these days. Here's hoping the people who do buy the lot prove to be so.
I don't really think she had thought it through what having a dump truck and heavy equipment going in and out would be like and was trying to compare it would just be a home business like I "have" (in her mind, I guess). But then when dh actually described to her what it would be like I think she finally got it. The funny part is her dh does a lot of work from home, too, for his part time jobs, but she didn't mention his having his own business, LOL.
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