What kind of proposal is this…?

Well, once you dig in to this story, you’re gonna realize that it’s a BAD one.

Actually, let’s just go ahead and call it a TERRIBLE one.

But the guy who wrote this tale about bad neighbors has an ace up his sleeve and it sounds like he intends to use it.

Take a look at what he had to say and think about how you’d react in this situation.

Neighbor built too close to my land — now they need my consent. Should I use this as leverage to buy the house cheaper?

“I’m in a bit of a pickle and trying to figure out the smartest move.

A couple of years ago, a neighboring landowner asked for my written consent to build his house near the edge of my land — the agreement was for 5 meters from the border. The land strips are narrow, and I wasn’t planning to build anything there, so I agreed.

Wow…

Fast forward: the house is now built, but it turns out they placed it just ~1.3 meters from my border — much closer than agreed. Now they’re coming back asking me to sign off on this post-construction so they can legalize the building (get it “put into use” / “commissioned” / obtain an occupancy certificate).

From what I understand, they probably can’t sell it or get it registered without my signature, since it doesn’t comply with distance rules. It’s already up for sale, but I assume banks won’t issue loans for it in this state.

Well, isn’t that interesting…?

Here’s the twist: I actually wouldn’t mind owning the house, I was planning to build in the area anyway, and this would save a lot of hassle. But they’ve priced it at €300k, which is totally unrealistic – similar homes nearby are selling for €200k max.

So my question is:

Would not agreeing to sign give me enough leverage to push the price down significantly (say, 30-40%)?

Here’s an idea…

The way I see it, they either:

Pay me off to get my signature,

Sell me the house at a realistic (discounted) price,

Or face the prospect of having to rebuild or modify the house to comply.

Am I thinking about this right?

Anyone with experience in this kind of thing?”

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a barn owner who wants to evict a tenant who promised to build stalls but never did.

Check out what folks had to say about this on Reddit.

This person had a lot to say.

Another individual weighed in.

This person spoke up.

Another reader offered some advice.

And this individual weighed in.

Yeah, this is ridiculous.

And the fact that his neighbor is doubling down on his mistake makes it even more wild!

No, sir!

His neighbors really screwed up this time!