Moving into a new home is always a gamble because you don’t really know your neighbors. You could hit it off immediately, becoming fast friends, but it could also be a complete disaster.
For one Redditor, their new home came with a complicated neighbor relationship. After buying their first home, which came with a pool, they learned that the neighbor kids loved playing in the pool. Although the previous owners welcomed it, she did not feel comfortable and told their parents she didn’t want them using the pool.
After the interaction, she turned to the popular subreddit “Am I The A**hole?” (AITA) to find out who was in the wrong. Here’s what she said:
“AITA for not letting the neighbor’s kids use my pool?”
The Original Poster (OP) Explained:
“I’m a 32-year-old woman and my wife who is a 33-year-old woman and I finally bought our own home instead of renting.”
“It took a lot of work but we got to do it and it’s a home we both love and plan to spend the rest of our lives in. It even has a pool which is just amazing and something I’d always wanted but never thought I’d have.”
“The issue is our next-door neighbors, I keep finding their kids using our pool having hopped our fence and I keep getting them to leave, I’ve spoken to their parents about this issue and they have told me that the elderly couple we bought the house from would let the kids use the pool in exchange for cleaning it so they’re just used to being able to use it.”
“I told them that was fine when it was the last neighbor but it’s something my wife and I are not comfortable with as we don’t know them well enough plus if the kids were hurt we’d feel awful about it.”
“They insisted their kids wouldn’t get hurt and asked if it’d be ok if the kids used it whenever we weren’t as they’re ‘just kids’ and spoke about how it’s getting hotter now, I was getting annoyed at this point and told them they should get their own pool then and I’d already told them we weren’t comfortable with this.”
“Ever since then I’ve had to chase the kids away a couple more times and their parents are constantly sending me dirty looks whenever they see me, I’ve since posted a sign stating it’s a private pool and can only be used with permission.”
“Am I really being unfair here? Yes, it sucks the kids had an arrangement with the last owners but it’s our pool now.”
The Following Are Acceptable Responses:
NTA – Not the A**hole
YTA – You’re the A**hole
NAH – No A**holes Here
ESH – Everybody Sucks Here
Commenters Overrwhelmingly Responded NTA:
“NTA — you know those parents would sue you into the next century if the kids got so much as a scrape.”
“NTA — tell them if you find their kids in your pool again you are going to file trespassing against them with the police. they are not entitled to use your pool whenever they want plain and simple and yes I would also be worried that if something bad did happen they would blame you so it’s just not worth it for you. The agreement they had with the prior neighbor does not automatically transfer to you”
“NTA — The arrangement was with the previous owner, not you. You could be liable if the kids get hurt or worse. They are trespassing. The parents can now learn to tell their kids no and how to respect others’ property.”
“NTA — Call the police for trespassing. God forbid, something happens to them on your property, you are responsible.”
“NTA — Your pool, your property, your privacy, your liability, your decision.
The arrangements they may have had with the previous owners are totally irrelevant.”
“NTA — Putting aside the astronomical implications of liability, simply put, it’s your fucking house. Not theirs, and not the old owners. What you say goes on your own property. They are total a…holes for treating you horribly and not corralling their own children.
I would be LIVID if my new neighbors asked me to keep my kids away from their pool and my kids didn’t listen. That is some seriously poor parenting. If they are hopping a fence and swimming, they are certainly old enough to understand no means no.”
“NTA — That’s a huge liability. You’re being completely reasonable in not wanting a bunch of kids unsupervised in your pool”
“NTA — but do you know any nudists or alligators you could invite over for a pool party?”