A Dispute Over Property Surveys Triggered A Turf War, So A Once-Peaceful Lake House Became The Battleground For A Determined Graduate
by Benjamin Cottrell
For most fresh college graduates, inheriting a lakefront property sounds like a dream come true.
But what started as a slice of paradise quickly escalated into a turf war when a nearby neighbor began disputing their property lines.
However, the graduate refused to roll over and found a way to make their neighbor pay for trying to take advantage of them.
Read on for the full story!
Being petty over a summer vacation spot!
A friend of mine, after graduating college, got a chunk of lake front land as a graduation gift from his grandfather.
With help from friends, myself included, and family we helped him clear bush, trees and built a nice driveway and small cabin. (My contribution was just clearing forest.)
He had a great little completion weekend party when everything was mostly done.
They soon discovered a downside to his inheritance.
We met some of his neighbors that weekend which warned him about the “Karen” on the adjacent property to the right.
Anyways, fast forward to a year later, his neighbor to the right shows up and tells him that he had mis-surveyed his land and built illegally. He claimed his driveway is on their land and part of his cabin is on his land as well.
In order to rectify this, he had to remove his driveway, replant the trees and remove his cabin or pay a grand a month as land rental.
His friend tried to reason with his demanding neighbor.
My friend did the surveying of the land himself, so at the time he thought maybe he made a mistake, and tried to make a more beneficial agreement with the neighbor about sharing the land since it’s northern Canada and the properties are only usable in the summer for camping and weekend getaways.
But the guy wouldn’t budge and told him if he didn’t agree to the original terms he’ll see him in small claims court.
My friend, realizing he couldn’t afford to go to court but could afford a couple hundred bucks to get a government survey done, went with that option.
They discovered something surprising.
Turns out the neighbor’s cabin was a foot on my friend’s land and the neighbor’s very nice walkway, stairs to the lake, the beautiful boat launch and dock where all in my friends’ property.
So what did he do… He resorted to pettiness.
Time to reverse-uno this neighbor.
He told the neighbor that he built illegally on his land, and in order not to go to court over this, the walkway, stairs, dock and boat launch were his now.
If he saw the neighbor using them, he’d call the RCMP for trespassing.
My friend also told him that his cabin had to be moved or a payment of a thousand dollars a month for land rental would be acceptable.
A month later, his neighbor moved the cabin moved and had a large fence built splitting their properties.
Now that’s petty!
What did Reddit have to say?
Next time his neighbor should check his hubris at the door.
The neighbor got what he deserved for preying on these young men.
This redditor has seen stories like this before.
It’s usually a good idea to not be adversarial to your neighbors, as this redditor mentions.
With the boundary lines redrawn, my friend reclaimed his slice of lakeside paradise, marking his territory both literally and figuratively.
You reap what you survey.
If you liked that post, check out this post about a woman who tracked down a contractor who tried to vanish without a trace.
Categories: STORIES
Tags: · bad neighbors, canada, lake, Lake house, neighbors, petty revenge, picture, property dispute, reddit, top, vacation
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