Someone Has Big Plans For Our Property

Last week, our new neighbor of one whole month approached me out of the blue and asked me if I wanted to cut down our trees on the edge of our property or have him do it so he could move the cul-de-sac we share thirty-feet over and onto our property.

He was very casual about it – like it was a matter of an overhanging branch that needed to come down or something. It felt more like a shock-and-awe maneuver as this was the first I’d been clued into his plans.

I told him I would need to talk to my husband about the matter and I practically sprinted to the RV with the bad news. My husband was just as floored as me. We felt so blind-sided we couldn’t think straight.

Were we over-reacting or should we be wary of this person?

We scheduled a legal consultation and here’s what happened: Our neighbor had done his own survey and discovered the existing easement road was fifteen feet to the side of where it is shown on the survey so he decided he was going to move it – without consulting with us first.  The road, however, has been in it’s current location for decades and would most likely be considered an implied easement and remain in place.

To add to the confusion, the easement is also described as being the existing road in other parts of the same legal documents which would make it legally in the right spot. The contradiction might warrant another look by the attorneys to be sure.

We were advised that the proposed change would be to our detriment and the neighbor’s benefit. We would be the only ones out of the three property owners who shared the easement road who stood to lose acreage if it was relocated. A judge might take that into consideration if this ever goes to court.

The attorneys told us that it would save everyone a lot of money to negotiate rather than go through litigation. We could even propose a sum for the use of our property as an option.

Armed with this basic real-estate legal knowledge, we’ve decided to just watch and wait and hope the neighbor doesn’t push for this after we leave him a note informing him of our stance.

I could live without a freeway in my front yard.

 

 

Overwhelmed

I feel so overwhelmed right now.

We got our shed about a week ago and I expected to have it up in one day but there it sits. We’ve been working on it but there isn’t enough time in one day and dark coming earlier hasn’t helped.

The matter with the neighbor over the cul-de-sac derailed us for a day and a half. We left a succinct letter for him and his wife on one of his fence posts and are waiting for a response – if any. He’d previously gone onto our property (past well marked posts), and spray painted survey marks on the ground for the cul-de-sac he was planning – for all of us.

We had wood delivered the other day and you’d think we never get visitors by the way we spent an hour showing the guys around the property. We traded some antique ax heads for a discount. One of the guys does handy work so we may have some help with the work around here. The shed might be his first project if he’s game.

I insulated the battery bank tonight. I got a plastic container and we hefted the batteries and about two-million wires and cables into it. It’s now lined on all sides with foam board insulation.

The fire wood is mostly stacked thanks to my husband and son. We’ve been trying to involve him more in chores for the benefits those things offer a young person.

Work in progress photos:

Black is black and red is red. Our solar battery shed.

Skirting started.

The shed.

Fire wood pile…obviously.

Our sizable new water tank needed to be refilled but alas, the freeze snuck up on us and the hoses froze with water in them. It took us an hour yesterday to drag them all downhill from the spring and get them into a tub of hot water. After soaking them, my husband had to use the pump to force all the ice out. It was exhausting and we’re emptying them after each use from now on.

I moved the ever-growing pile of tools, fasteners, parts, and the propane fridge we got a month ago out of the trailer. We want to put it all in the shed but it still needs to be built!

We need to clean up the messes from all of  our projects too. It never ends around here.

I also have a million administrative tasks to do. I’ve been grouchy from the sheer volume of items. I drew a big mind-map on some card stock and filled it with every item to be done – complete with sub categories. I hope to dispel some stress by getting the morass out of my mind and onto paper.

Writing also helps me to cope when I feel overwhelmed. It’s a little like talking to someone only they don’t talk back. 🙂

 

 

 

The Newest Neighbors

We lost out in the great land rush. That is, we weren’t able to buy either of the adjacent lots to our property.

Our parcel was originally part of one large parcel which was divided into four but we got the best one. About a year after we moved in, we made an offer on the upper lot but we didn’t have enough of a down payment.

Then someone else got it.

There still remained hope that we’d get the lower two lots which had been combined to sell as one but as of last week, it was sold.

How did we find out? We woke up one morning to see a strange truck parked across from our entrance.

We were dismayed. For the last year, we’ve had the entire place to ourselves. My husband could walk outside and whip it out to pee with immunity and privacy.

No more. Those days are gone forever, or until we put up a fence. You see, we’re intensely private people and the newest neighbors might as well have come up to our doorstep and set up a tent and a picnic table.

We almost feel violated.

We’d met the newest neighbors previously when they were just looking but now they’re “setting up shop” right across the cul-de-sac from us. They have no right to do that! That’s their land after all. Wait – I guess they do have the right to do that – but why there, so close?

At least the neighbors from hell with the fifty dogs didn’t buy it. They tried, and to look on the bright side, maybe the newbies can help plow the half mile long driveway in the winter?

Now we have to live with real people again, like in the burbs. But we’ve forgotten how. We’d previously lived in a neighborhood with an HOA from hell and fifty feet between houses. We moved to get away from that.

As the day wore on, we snooped on our new friends by looking out of a peeled-down corner of our bubble wrapped windows. We watched as they brought up a wood chipper and began to cut up trees around their truck and mow their grass. How annoying. We’re the only ones allowed to do that.

With a sense of culture shock, we realized they are there to stay and that we’ll have to build that fence or get used to them.

It’s amazing how you gain a sense of ownership over land that doesn’t belong to you and when somebody who comes along and buys it fair and square, you feel a sense of being invaded.

I hope we can adapt.