Keeping your house and property looking nice is important, and sometimes that means doing a large renovation.

What would you do if your neighbor was disputing the property line and kept complaining to other people in the neighborhood?

That is what happened to the property owner in this story, so he got the property surveyed and left the flags up as proof for months.

Property lines can be fun

Years ago I moved next door to a very competitive type A finance guy. (He was a jerk.)

My wife & I purchased the worst house in the best neighborhood.

I am somewhat handy and planned a complete renovation/addition.

After a few years of small improvements, we decided to invest about $250K with an addition & complete facelift.

That is quite a renovation.

I had the property surveyed, got the elevations from an architect, did site work, and completed the transformation.

The house fit into the neighborhood & surrounding houses perfectly- basically improved/increased all property values.

During the transformation- all the neighbors would stop by with compliments, our 4 kids were alway outside and we got along with everyone, even the competitive neighbor and his family.

The last part of the “master plan” I had in mind was the landscaping.

Early on a Saturday morning my friend/builder went to a wholesale Nursery and picked up about 25 somewhat mature plantings, including Rhododendron plants.

These were as big as you could buy, transport, and install- we worked all weekend.

Sounds like this landscaping will be beautiful.

I put six in a row along the front yard property line of competitive neighbor.

Monday morning I get a call at my office from said neighbor complaining that the plants were on his property- they were not and I explained the survey I had done for the addition etc.

He wasn’t having it and we went back and forth for a couple weeks.

Finally, as he was fuming to his wife, my wife heard about it so I called the surveyor, we talked and he said he’d take a look when he could fit it into his schedule.

I thanked him and asked him to put orange stakes along the property line if I was right & to give me a call if I am wrong.

Needless to say, neighbor had been complaining to all the other neighbors about “what I had done”.

There is no disputing it now.

Anyway, fast forward about two weeks later on a Friday – I’m taking a right into my street and I see about 10 bright orange painted two inch square stakes up my property line to the left of the beautiful plants!

At this point, Mr neighbor has complained about me at his fancy country club and many in my small town heard about the situation. (I found this out later.)

Anyway, I didn’t say anything until he came over asking me when I was going to take the stakes down.

Those stakes stayed up for about nine or ten months, just long enough for everyone in the neighborhood, and all the people who went his parties to ask him why they were there.

I’m surprised he invited you to the party.

My wife and I also went to some of his gatherings and he was kissing my ass and asking when I was going to remove them – I always responded with a smile “oh, when I get around to it”.

Hey, he disputed the property line and now he knows exactly where it is.

Keep reading to see what the people in the comments had to say.

Now this would be funny.

Here is someone who can’t get the survey flags to stay.

This commenter wants to push it even further.

Wow, talk about petty.

This person had an even more severe property line dispute.

People get so obsessed with property lines.

If you liked that post, check this one about a guy who got revenge on his condo by making his own Christmas light rules.