Lake and Marina “Neighbor” Rants:

[lakeliving]

Here is another story for the group. Friday night we are cruising through the neighbors streets so our little guy can see the Christmas decorations and I’m getting a heavy diesel fuel smell. Then Saturday day I see this on the next canal over....



Fast forward to today and the association sends out and email letting us all know the boat is a renters and there is no insurance on the boat and he is refusing to do anything, neither are the homeowners. We all blasted all the emergency response numbers and all day divers and hazmat was there. There is diesel fuel everywhere in the water. I’m really PO’d right now. I’ll be suggesting going forward renters must provide evidence of insurance to be compliant.

 

[TomS]

Wow, bad deal all the way around. Reminds me of all those insurance threads with posts about ensuring you have proper spill coverage. Obviously these guys don't.

It happens around here too. There are many older boats which are owned outright where the insurance is so expensive they just don't bother. They are "self insured", right ...

 

[Link]

In the cocoa beach area there are many abandoned boats laying tipped over like that, mainly due to hurricanes. Last November the legislators voted money in the hundreds of thousands dollars to remove the boats. Don't know why the county cant just remove them and send the bill to the owner via the HIN. At my apartment houses back in NY if I fail to shovel after a snow storm city workers shovel and send the landlord the bill

 

[rodsfields]

In the cocoa beach area there are many abandoned boats laying tipped over like that, mainly due to hurricanes. Last November the legislators voted money in the hundreds of thousands dollars to remove the boats. Don't know why the county cant just remove them and send the bill to the owner via the HIN. At my apartment houses back in NY if I fail to shovel after a snow storm city workers shovel and send the landlord the bill

I see it here in cocoa beach all the time. I don’t know if they even attempt to send a bill. I know most of them wouldn’t be able to pay it back.
just last year one guy anchored off shore and his anchor dragged and he ended up beaching out at jetty park. He was on board. He was anchored because couldn’t afford gas and ran out, was borrowing money for gas for the boat from his boss. He couldn’t afford to have it towed, ended up emptying his belongings into a couple of black plastic bags, and swimming to shore, and signing over the title to his boat to the coast guard, who then removed it.

 

[rodsfields]

Here is another story for the group. Friday night we are cruising through the neighbors streets so our little guy can see the Christmas decorations and I’m getting a heavy diesel fuel smell. Then Saturday day I see this on the next canal over....

View attachment 26262

Fast forward to today and the association sends out and email letting us all know the boat is a renters and there is no insurance on the boat and he is refusing to do anything, neither are the homeowners. We all blasted all the emergency response numbers and all day divers and hazmat was there. There is diesel fuel everywhere in the water. I’m really PO’d right now. I’ll be suggesting going forward renters must provide evidence of insurance to be compliant.

I know at my complex, they require all boat owners to have insurance, or you lose your slip (community slips). Need to provide copies every year.

 

[lakeliving]

Our association is pretty weak with restrictions so hopefully this will be a wake up call and we can use this as an opportunity to strengthen the rules and require insurance be maintained.

 

[goldnrod24]

Our association is pretty weak with restrictions so hopefully this will be a wake up call and we can use this as an opportunity to strengthen the rules and require insurance be maintained.

I wonder if they have someone who is an association member who has experience with insurance risk management? ;-)

 

[lakeliving]

There might be a guy...

 

[Vikingstaff]

Wow! Not having insurance certainly wont change their liability though. Those are the type of people both the civil authorities and the HOA should go after in civil court. I Have no sympathy or patience with people like that, and have no qualms having the courts sticking it to them.

 

[lakeliving]

Agreed Jeff. I’m not sure how hard they go after folks down here so we’ll see what unfolds. I’m going to take the boat out in a few so hopefully it’s upright and out of there.

 

[AZHEAT]

The relatively new VRBO phenomenon is a real issue for those of us who live in vacation destinations. I initially didn’t have much concern when a couple vacation rentals popped up on our street, due to the fact they were pricey and I assumed that would have an impact on the type of renter we would see. I quickly realized the cost is actually a non issue when the renters split the cost among 3x the number of people/families that should be in the house. Beyond the number of occupants, the fact they come with literally 5 boats/trailers/rigs that line the street has a significant impact on the neighbors. Thankfully they are far enough down the street that they have been only a minor annoyance to us. Frankly, if the VRBO were next door or across the street we would move, literally.

Most municipalities are now putting VRBO restrictions in place, however the pervasive “I hope you don’t mind the inconvenience, but we’ll only be here a few days” me, me, me VRBO renter mentality doesn't lend itself to a positive experience if there is a VRBO near you, regardless of restrictions that the neighbors ultimately have to “police”. It’s stressful and you don‘t have to be the proverbial old man who screams at the neighbor kids who ride their bikes in his driveway for the VRBO thing to quickly wear on you.

I feel for you and hopefully the FL owner will either move in or sell at some point in the near future.

 

[Vikingstaff]

The relatively new VRBO phenomenon is a real issue for those of us who live in vacation destinations. I initially didn’t have much concern when a couple vacation rentals popped up on our street, due to the fact they were pricey and I assumed that would have an impact on the type of renter we would see. I quickly realized the cost is actually a non issue when the renters split the cost among 3x the number of people/families that should be in the house. Beyond the number of occupants, the fact they come with literally 5 boats/trailers/rigs that line the street has a significant impact on the neighbors. Thankfully they are far enough down the street that they have been only a minor annoyance to us. Frankly, if the VRBO were next door or across the street we would move, literally.

Most municipalities are now putting VRBO restrictions in place, however the pervasive “I hope you don’t mind the inconvenience, but we’ll only be here a few days” me, me, me VRBO renter mentality doesn't lend itself to a positive experience if there is a VRBO near you, regardless of restrictions that the neighbors ultimately have to “police”. It’s stressful and you don‘t have to be the proverbial old man who screams at the neighbor kids who ride their bikes in his driveway for the VRBO thing to quickly wear on you.

I feel for you and hopefully the FL owner will either move in or sell at some point in the near future.

Your post above literally describes so much of our experience this past year when our immediately neighboring lakeside cottage was sold and turned into a VRBO rental. I love our cottage. Planned to retire there. After just ONE year, all of that is in question. Not even sure if I want to be there as a cottage. EVERY week is a “new adventure”, new people, new concerns. It has really impacted the “tranquility“ of our location on a dead end street lakeside. And even though the owners have restrictions, and have worked with us neighbors to strengthen them in light of problems and concerns, they are not their to supervise. Only us neighbors are.

 

[warrior999]

The relatively new VRBO phenomenon is a real issue for those of us who live in vacation destinations. I initially didn’t have much concern when a couple vacation rentals popped up on our street, due to the fact they were pricey and I assumed that would have an impact on the type of renter we would see. I quickly realized the cost is actually a non issue when the renters split the cost among 3x the number of people/families that should be in the house. Beyond the number of occupants, the fact they come with literally 5 boats/trailers/rigs that line the street has a significant impact on the neighbors. Thankfully they are far enough down the street that they have been only a minor annoyance to us. Frankly, if the VRBO were next door or across the street we would move, literally.

Most municipalities are now putting VRBO restrictions in place, however the pervasive “I hope you don’t mind the inconvenience, but we’ll only be here a few days” me, me, me VRBO renter mentality doesn't lend itself to a positive experience if there is a VRBO near you, regardless of restrictions that the neighbors ultimately have to “police”. It’s stressful and you don‘t have to be the proverbial old man who screams at the neighbor kids who ride their bikes in his driveway for the VRBO thing to quickly wear on you.

I feel for you and hopefully the FL owner will either move in or sell at some point in the near future.

We have been the VRBO renters for quite some time. We were probably the renters that were appreciated as we were always mindful of neighbors. My wife always left a place cleaner than when we arrived.
But I have witnessed other renters around me with that "ME" mentality so when we started looking for a lake condo, that was the first thing on our list for our realtor. NO Nightly Rentals. The place that we are in the process of buying does allow rentals but it has to be a minimum 1 year lease. We had the opportunity to speak with a couple of full time residents and they were so glad they were able to get the 1 year commitment enacted.
Hot Springs, here we come!!

 

[myv10]

Federal and state laws for polluting waters have to be in place, i would think someone turned this in. the government has the resources to go after the polluters.

 

[Northern Michigan Summers]

Your post above literally describes so much of our experience this past year when our immediately neighboring lakeside cottage was sold and turned into a VRBO rental. I love our cottage. Planned to retire there. After just ONE year, all of that is in question. Not even sure if I want to be there as a cottage. EVERY week is a “new adventure”, new people, new concerns. It has really impacted the “tranquility“ of our location on a dead end street lakeside. And even though the owners have restrictions, and have worked with us neighbors to strengthen them in light of problems and concerns, they are not their to supervise. Only us neighbors are.

I completely understand your situation. My wife and I own a cottage in northern Michigan where the lakefront lots are only 75 feet wide. After many years of great neighbors, the elderly couple next door had to sell due to health issues. The new owner, from downstate Michigan, seemed nice enough but we soon learned they would need to periodically rent the cottage to help with the payments.

Our worst fears were soon realized. One couple would rent it and then 5 more couples would also show up. Tethered lakeside boats routinely got loose narrowly missing our dock, hoists, boats, etc. The provided trash cans would get full, so trash was being burned in the lakeside fire pit (including baby diapers). More cars than available parking so trespassing galore. Noise and parties. Individuals, including their pets, routinely ignoring reasonable property boundaries, etc., etc., etc.

We started by constructively and diplomatically talking with the new owners about these unacceptable renters' behaviors. However, just like you, they were not locally around to enforce their own renters' limitations. We neighbors became the bad people and quite frankly we got really tired of no longer being able to enjoy our precious cottage when many of the renters next door innocently or intently behaved poorly.

Unfortunately we had to fight back. In talking with the township Department of Health, we discovered a septic and holding tank ordinance that limited rental houses to having no more than 2 adults per bedroom. Children 12 or older were considered adults. So the 3 bedroom cottage next door could be rented to no more than 6 people that were 12 years old and older. When more than 6 adults showed up we called the Township Department of Health and the owners were ticketed. We politely asked renters to not park on our property. When they refused to move their car, we called the sheriff and either made a police report on the spot or went into the sheriff's department and provided photos, etc., making a "trespassing" complaint. Copies were sent to the cottage owner with the suggestion that we were within our rights to have such vehicles towed away in the future. Finally, we discovered township minors in possession and noise ordinances that when violated did result in the sheriff making a lakeside visit. The result was tickets to renters and the owners.

After 1.75 summers the new owners gave up and sold. Our new neighbors are wonderful. They never rent the place out, have young children that we love to see running around and our area of the lake is back to normal. However, the almost 2 summers of enduring renters were horrible.

My advice would be to go to your County, Township or City governmental offices. In our area of northern Michigan there are many such issues with renters on our county's lakes. I found out that we were far from being the first to complain and that there were far more important/influential people who had already complained. The officials I talked to in the building code, health and sheriff's departments had all the answers I needed to every possible question. They were extremely helpful up to and including providing copies of applicable ordinances. (In fairness to the new owners next door, we politely provided all such information to them. After the first summer was over, the next spring we had to inform the owners that we would be calling the authorities if violations continued to occur. We then did as we had promised).

Good luck and hang in there. You likely have time (and local ordinances) on your side.

 

[lakeliving]

Nice to read a story where the good guy/gal wins!

 

[Vikingstaff]

I completely understand your situation. My wife and I own a cottage in northern Michigan where the lakefront lots are only 75 feet wide. After many years of great neighbors, the elderly couple next door had to sell due to health issues. The new owner, from downstate Michigan, seemed nice enough but we soon learned they would need to periodically rent the cottage to help with the payments.

Our worst fears were soon realized. One couple would rent it and then 5 more couples would also show up. Tethered lakeside boats routinely got loose narrowly missing our dock, hoists, boats, etc. The provided trash cans would get full, so trash was being burned in the lakeside fire pit (including baby diapers). More cars than available parking so trespassing galore. Noise and parties. Individuals, including their pets, routinely ignoring reasonable property boundaries, etc., etc., etc.

We started by constructively and diplomatically talking with the new owners about these unacceptable renters' behaviors. However, just like you, they were not locally around to enforce their own renters' limitations. We neighbors became the bad people and quite frankly we got really tired of no longer being able to enjoy our precious cottage when many of the renters next door innocently or intently behaved poorly.

Unfortunately we had to fight back. In talking with the township Department of Health, we discovered a septic and holding tank ordinance that limited rental houses to having no more than 2 adults per bedroom. Children 12 or older were considered adults. So the 3 bedroom cottage next door could be rented to no more than 6 people that were 12 years old and older. When more than 6 adults showed up we called the Township Department of Health and the owners were ticketed. We politely asked renters to not park on our property. When they refused to move their car, we called the sheriff and either made a police report on the spot or went into the sheriff's department and provided photos, etc., making a "trespassing" complaint. Copies were sent to the cottage owner with the suggestion that we were within our rights to have such vehicles towed away in the future. Finally, we discovered township minors in possession and noise ordinances that when violated did result in the sheriff making a lakeside visit. The result was tickets to renters and the owners.

After 1.75 summers the new owners gave up and sold. Our new neighbors are wonderful. They never rent the place out, have young children that we love to see running around and our area of the lake is back to normal. However, the almost 2 summers of enduring renters were horrible.

My advice would be to go to your County, Township or City governmental offices. In our area of northern Michigan there are many such issues with renters on our county's lakes. I found out that we were far from being the first to complain and that there were far more important/influential people who had already complained. The officials I talked to in the building code, health and sheriff's departments had all the answers I needed to every possible question. They were extremely helpful up to and including providing copies of applicable ordinances. (In fairness to the new owners next door, we politely provided all such information to them. After the first summer was over, the next spring we had to inform the owners that we would be calling the authorities if violations continued to occur. We then did as we had promised).

Good luck and hang in there. You likely have time (and local ordinances) on your side.

THANKS for sharing this story, with all its insights!!! I am retiring from my professional “career” job this June. I will look into these items locally where our cottage is located. Should things continue as they started out last year, I will give fair warning to owners, and proceed similarly to what you did.

That said, towards the end of summer, it really got better when the owners tightened up their rental agreement even more. It’s good to know there are likely options out there. Especially since the VRBO next to us is almost exclusively a rental. The owners only come up about 3-4 weeks a year, spread pretty incrementally throughout the year as best I can ascertain.

All of that said, as another member pointed out on another thread - if not for this VRBO situation last summer, I would not have installed our security cameras. Without those cameras, we would not have caught the snowmobile accident and fire on our lakeside cottage deck. Without immediate alert notice and our 911 call, firefighters would not have been notified in time (all volunteer department can slow call times even more). And that would have led to losing the entire place. Someone above working in mysterious ways!?!

 

[Jack M]

I completely understand your situation. My wife and I own a cottage in northern Michigan where the lakefront lots are only 75 feet wide. After many years of great neighbors, the elderly couple next door had to sell due to health issues. The new owner, from downstate Michigan, seemed nice enough but we soon learned they would need to periodically rent the cottage to help with the payments.

Our worst fears were soon realized. One couple would rent it and then 5 more couples would also show up. Tethered lakeside boats routinely got loose narrowly missing our dock, hoists, boats, etc. The provided trash cans would get full, so trash was being burned in the lakeside fire pit (including baby diapers). More cars than available parking so trespassing galore. Noise and parties. Individuals, including their pets, routinely ignoring reasonable property boundaries, etc., etc., etc.

We started by constructively and diplomatically talking with the new owners about these unacceptable renters' behaviors. However, just like you, they were not locally around to enforce their own renters' limitations. We neighbors became the bad people and quite frankly we got really tired of no longer being able to enjoy our precious cottage when many of the renters next door innocently or intently behaved poorly.

Unfortunately we had to fight back. In talking with the township Department of Health, we discovered a septic and holding tank ordinance that limited rental houses to having no more than 2 adults per bedroom. Children 12 or older were considered adults. So the 3 bedroom cottage next door could be rented to no more than 6 people that were 12 years old and older. When more than 6 adults showed up we called the Township Department of Health and the owners were ticketed. We politely asked renters to not park on our property. When they refused to move their car, we called the sheriff and either made a police report on the spot or went into the sheriff's department and provided photos, etc., making a "trespassing" complaint. Copies were sent to the cottage owner with the suggestion that we were within our rights to have such vehicles towed away in the future. Finally, we discovered township minors in possession and noise ordinances that when violated did result in the sheriff making a lakeside visit. The result was tickets to renters and the owners.

After 1.75 summers the new owners gave up and sold. Our new neighbors are wonderful. They never rent the place out, have young children that we love to see running around and our area of the lake is back to normal. However, the almost 2 summers of enduring renters were horrible.

My advice would be to go to your County, Township or City governmental offices. In our area of northern Michigan there are many such issues with renters on our county's lakes. I found out that we were far from being the first to complain and that there were far more important/influential people who had already complained. The officials I talked to in the building code, health and sheriff's departments had all the answers I needed to every possible question. They were extremely helpful up to and including providing copies of applicable ordinances. (In fairness to the new owners next door, we politely provided all such information to them. After the first summer was over, the next spring we had to inform the owners that we would be calling the authorities if violations continued to occur. We then did as we had promised).

Good luck and hang in there. You likely have time (and local ordinances) on your side.

What Lake are you on ?

 

[papajoe74]

THANKS for sharing this story, with all its insights!!! I am retiring from my professional “career” job this June. I will look into these items locally where our cottage is located. Should things continue as they started out last year, I will give fair warning to owners, and proceed similarly to what you did.

That said, towards the end of summer, it really got better when the owners tightened up their rental agreement even more. It’s good to know there are likely options out there. Especially since the VRBO next to us is almost exclusively a rental. The owners only come up about 3-4 weeks a year, spread pretty incrementally throughout the year as best I can ascertain.

All of that said, as another member pointed out on another thread - if not for this VRBO situation last summer, I would not have installed our security cameras. Without those cameras, we would not have caught the snowmobile accident and fire on our lakeside cottage deck. Without immediate alert notice and our 911 call, firefighters would not have been notified in time (all volunteer department can slow call times even more). And that would have led to losing the entire place. Someone above working in mysterious ways!?!

Funny how things work out.

 

[goldnrod24]

We own the house right next door and have rented it out on an annual basis since 1992. Always rented to hard working local people and 90% have been good folks (even the Section 8 tenants). I have kept the rent reasonable and kept the place up maintenance-wise. It's sometimes a bit of a pain being right next door as occasionally the expectation is that I can drop whatever I'm doing and unclog a toilet or something similar. Over the years, the rent has paid the mortgage payment (now free & clear), property taxes and upkeep.

Since I live in a small, Northern Michigan resort town, I'm often asked why I don't go the VRBO route. I could certainly make more money I'm always told. Well, I've worked the numbers and occupancy would need to be really high to make it work, given that I'd have some pretty high upfront costs to renovate and furnish the place up to the standards of other vacation rentals in the area.

But the real reason is because I don't want to live next door to people who are on vacation! Our local working people are, for the most part, quiet folks who keep to themselves. They don't shoot off fireworks, invite lots of family and friends over, hoot and holler into the night, play loud music, park wherever they damn well please, let their kids run wild, sneak in dogs or any of the other things lots of people do while "on vacation."

I don't have to deal with the all day Saturday check in/check out rituals, hire housecleaners, hassle with damage (inadvertent or not), pay utilities, etc.

I'll continue to enjoy the peace and quiet of neighbors whom I personally screen and select as well as keep my right to exercise some modicum of control over what can and can not go on in my house and yard.

I sympathize with you guys who have to put up with this crap around you. Air B&B and VRBO have certainly changed the landscape for those who live in resort areas. And, unfortunately, not in a good way.