Looking for outdoor/surveillance camera suggestions. Shady builder beginning work in front of my house soon. I want to keep an eye on him and his crew (details on why in post) while they do their thing.

Submitted by hammnbubbly t3_y9jbfl in newjersey

Got a letter today that “in the next few days and coming weeks,” there is going to be some extensive work being done in front of my home (getting rid of a cul de sac, putting in a curb, adding grass to my lawn, possibly adding trees, etc.). The builder purposefully dropped off the letter in my mailbox, so there wouldn’t be a return address or any kind of stamp signifying where it came from. On the letter itself, there’s no address (just a PO Box), no phone number (just a fax number), and a website where you can only fill out a form under the “contact us” section.

My neighbors have dealt with the guy and all said he’s very shady. Even the people in the town I contacted about him said he’s very difficult. Seeing how far out of his way he goes to not be found (the first number that shows up for him online is out of service) and based on what everyone else has said, I want this guy and his crew being recorded every second they’re doing work in front of or near my home.

I have a Ring doorbell camera in the front, but I would love a dedicated camera or two just to keep constant watch over my property while this guy does his thing. My front yard is about a quarter of an acre from front door to street, so I’d prefer something I could stick in a tree or somewhere else out of the way, but that’s why I’m here. Any suggestions for what to buy? Thanks in advance.

1

Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

BF_2 t1_it76uy6 wrote

Contact your township building department and have them look up the records for this construction and road work. Find out who is the contractor. Look up his license number with the state. Maybe hire a lawyer. Real property (i.e., land, houses, etc.) CANNOT be contracted word of mouth. A decent lawyer would probably have this "contractor" for breakfast.

5

infinitemarshmallow t1_it6tap1 wrote

Is this the builder for a subdivision or is this work contracted by the city? You could call the city and ask if the appropriate information was provided to you.

We use a Feit camera for our backyard - very easy to install and gets a wide view but only records on motion and needs to be hard wired.

2

hammnbubbly OP t1_it6u014 wrote

My house was at the end of a cul de sac. A few years ago, they opened that cul de sac up, extended the street, and built ten new homes. The homes were built by a private contracting company, who is also responsible for paving the new road (but hasn’t), and for adding a curb in front of my house to connect the curb from the “old” neighborhood to the new. The letter he sent says the town will inspect the work, but all of this is being done to fulfill the contract his company has.

1

Algae-Ok t1_it6i4rx wrote

If a contractor is that shady and nobody contacted the state to revoke his license then it is really just neighbors that just don’t like his work…. Ring has other cameras you can buy to add so it stays in one system. You can buy other brands but you will need to add another application to your phone.

1

hammnbubbly OP t1_it6u9di wrote

> If a contractor is that shady and nobody contacted the state to revoke his license then it is really just neighbors that just don’t like his work….

Perhaps this is correct, but I also know my neighbors don’t want to report him because his company is responsible for paving the road they live on (after the cul de sac I’m on was opened up and the road extended) and they’ve been fighting with him for months to do that and he keeps pushing back. Even they say he’s nice, but super shady.

2

Algae-Ok t1_it6upln wrote

Lol they are cheap.. that’s it. So he is not shady just probably hard to work with to get work done that might be outside of the scope of work they paid for.

2

hammnbubbly OP t1_it6v9o0 wrote

I can’t say one way or another. In my experience with builders from his company, when I first moved in, they were building a new home next to mine. They came onto my property, ripped up trees, tore up the yard, ripped out vines, and made a real mess. It was all right on the property line, but some damage was done on my side. I had the town come out, they verified it. I tried to sue him, but it went nowhere because it was his word against mine (they claimed I gave permission to do what they did, which I certainly did not). It’s a situation I don’t want to end up dealing with again and this letter I got gives me a bad feeling I’m going to be dealing with this company’s bullshit all over again.

3

stephenclarkg t1_it77cwn wrote

You are overly optimistic in the states ability to take license away and the general hassle of successful reporting

2

Algae-Ok t1_it78krh wrote

Hassle to report it? A lot of complaints have no substance at all and it’s usually he said she said they said that. So the amount of complaints people put in overwhelm the system. Really if you contact multiple states agencies and file a complaint something will get done.

0

stephenclarkg t1_it79dzt wrote

Basically nothing will happen unless you put a ton of effort into it and then it's a big maybe

1

angelina_ari t1_itajy3k wrote

Wyze cams are great. They are inexpensive, easy to set up, and you no longer have to pay for a subscription service. If you chuck an SD card in it, it will record a couple of days worth. You can watch multiple cams on your phone (or pc with an emulator).

1