Married couple wants to report homeless couple that 'lingers' near their home. AITA?
When you first own a home, security can be a major concern. When this couple is concerned about a homeless couple that lingers near their property, they ask Reddit:
'WIBTA for calling the city on a homeless couple?'
My spouse (27M) and I (30F) bought our first home just over a year ago. We were relocating from a big city and were unable to tour the home in person. We entrusted our parents and our realtor to do so and we 'toured' via FaceTime. Our house is in a perfect location.
It's in a walkable neighborhood (in a non-walkable city) close to downtown. There's a nice mix of residential homes and businesses. One of the things we liked about the location of the house is there are no neighbors behind or to the left of the house.
The empty lot behind us is owned by one of the businesses close by and the lot to the left is owned by the city.
A few months after the move, we learned there was a homeless man who slept in the empty lot to the left of us. He slept on a mattress under a tree on the other side of our fence. This didn't bother us.
Again, we're from a big city and my spouse also works in housing and is sensitive to the issues of homeless people. This homeless man also wasn't there all the time, maybe 2-3x per week and mainly at night for sleep.
We'd also see him around the neighborhood and have sparked up a couple conversations. During the winter, he vacated the space and a new couple took the spot. They're there all the time and they live in a tent.
We do spend a lot of time in our backyard because of our toddler and our energetic puppy. Often times, we have conversations around upcoming plans, etc. Because of the proximity to our home/fence, they are within earshot of our conversations.
Even if they couldn't hear our conversation, being so close to our home they're able to pick up on patterns of when we're home or not. We have a trip coming up and we'll be away for a week and a half.
I'm starting to feel a bit nervous about being away from our house for fear something could happen while we're gone. My husband thinks we should leave them alone, but I can't shake the feeling. We're not able to agree on what to do. WIBTA if I called the city on this couple?
Let's find out.
monkeywrench writes:
NTA. I get why people are voting you down but give consideration to whether or not they might potentially move in and squat while you are away and then cause that much more trouble in your life. I would also get a trusted friend to house sit while you are away.
gameprotein writes:
YTA. Just get security cameras. Homeless people don't automatically know how to break into homes. They're not automatically criminals. The cost of living is high af right now. Minimum wage is extremely low. Please be sensitive.
mourningcocktails writes:
NTA. These are valid concerns. This is not the same as having a next door neighbor with a vested financial interest in the neighborhood who knows when you come and go. These are random people, likely trespassing depending on the ownership of that lot, with almost nothing to lose.
It would be very easy for them to disappear with whatever they take if they actually wanted to rob you. And honestly, a little advice from someone who lives in a city with an overwhelming homeless problem - I would have the lot cleared either way. The fact that a new couple took the other guy’s spot suggests that people feel comfortable camping out there.
This is not something you want to encourage. We’re going through this right now. The old tenant on our side of the duplex used to let people hang out on the porch, even put a free food box out.
Now we’re constantly having to chase j*nkies off the property. Like it or not, there are huge problems with drugs and mental health in the homeless community. These are not problems you want plopped on your doorstep, especially with young kids around.