Property owner devises a plan to get back at the county after they tried to steal 3,750 square feet of his land: ‘They won’t be extending the road after all'

Author image for Jesse Kessenheimer
Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Apr 17, 2024 6:00 PM EDT

Property lines are sacred. Even in the frontier days when cowboys were hijacking their neighbor's land over a sack of potatoes, the two most important things about land ownership were that you had your name on the deed and that the property lines were drawn extra dark on the map. Without property lines, how would we know when our enemies have trespassed? For the dude in our next story, he learned quickly that his land was in danger of being encroached on by the one office he could trust to back him up in the case of a property line dispute: The county bureaucracy. 

After scraping together plans to start a construction project on his land, this homeowner was flabbergasted when the county presented him with an ultimatum. They would only approve his renovation plans if he gave them 3,750ft2 of his property. On a 250ft stretch of land at the edge of his property line, they needed an extra 15ft to build their new road. 

Sounds like if this happened in the 1800s we'd be witnessing a Jessie James scenario. 

Scroll for the entire story of how this modern property owner used petty revenge to have his cake and eat it too. 

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  • 01
    PRESPASSING County 'forced' me to give them 15' of my property along the street... So I came up with a 'get even' plan.
    via canva
  • 02
    r/pettyrevenge ⚫ kblackw County 'forced' me to give them 15' of my property along the street. I've lived at this place for 20 years and decided it was time to build a new home.
    via kblackw
  • 03
    Had the plans drawn up and trotted down to the planning department to get the building permit. When they were approved I returned to pay the plan check fees. Then I was informed that the county planned to widen the road in front of the house as part of a plan to extend the road to a main artery to the north.
    via kblackw
  • 04
    They wanted me to 'give' them 15' along the 250' frontage of my property before they would issue the permit. They knew they had me over a barrel, so I agreed. But wait, there's more - I had to pay the fees to make the transfer to the county. I left with my approved plans and 15' X 250' less property and clearly
    via kblackw
  • 05
    A year passed, the house got built and we moved in. But I was still so l came up with the 'get even' plan. The area is relatively flat, and drainage is needed to drain excess water on the rare occasions that we get above average rainfall. There's a 125' open drainage
    via kblackw
  • 06
    ditch along the road that feeds into 125' of buried drainage pipe, basically the whole 250' frontage. I contacted the county and told them that 'their' drainage ditch was clogged with debris and needed to be cleaned out before the rainy season. Thay agreed to send a crew. Then I told them that 'their'
    via kblackw
  • 07
    drainage pipe was also clogged and needed to be cleaned out. Again, they said they'd take care of it. To their credit, the county road crew showed up with backhoe, dump truck and the crew. The ditch was pretty straightforward and soon was cleaned up. But the foreman took one look at the
    via kblackw
  • 08
    pipe and said it was too far gone and would have to be replaced. Gee, owning property can be a 1. So they dug it all up, including 2 driveways, installed 125' of 18" corrugated drain pipe, and replaced 2 driveways. I thanked them for being good 'neighbors', taking good care of 'their' property. The whole project lasted a week, so the cost was not insignificant.
    via kblackw
  • 09
    Another year goes by and I get a letter from the county. They've changed their mind and won't be extending the road after all and want to give me my property back. Of course, I would have to pay all of the fees -again. Oh well, I did get a new drain line and newly paved driveways out of the deal. EDIT.
    via kblackw
  • 10
    Wow, that sure blew up. I've replied to a few posters with more of the backstory, that's about as far as I'll go. Most of the opinions are just that, opinions. I'm the only one that has the actual documentation, my Pearl Harbor file in case I proceeded with a lawsuit. This has certainly been entertaining. Flame on Redditors.
    via kblackw
  • 11
    TheBlackDevil_0955 1d ago Needing to 'gift' land then getting it back sounds fake to my European ears but then again it sounds like America so i can be mistaken in this assumption
    via TheBlackDevil_0955
  • 12
    davisyoung 2d ago That was an illegal taking by the county. They could have taken your strip of land through eminent domain but they would be oblighted to compensate you at fair market value. Where I am 3750 square feet would be tens of thousands of dollars if not six figures.
    via davisyoung
  • 13
    billionairextinction 1d ago • You didn't think to call an attorney? Just let them extort you out of almost 4000 sq ft. of acreage without even a phone call? Eminent domain has been codified since the bill of rights in our constitution.
    via billionairextinction
  • 14
    zhivago6 • 1d ago Sounds like this is a combination of someone not understanding Right of Way and making things up. The county or city government would not make a person pay for transferring property to the municipality, and they wouldn't offer to sell it back. Source: I work in municipal engineering and land surveying.
    via zhivago6
  • 15
    kblackw OP. 12h ago Wrong. My nephew, who now lives across the street is a surveyor. We surveyed the property before construction to make certain where the edge of the street was. This is rural property, zoned Mixed Agricultural. The county owns from the center of the to edge (15'), basically the edge of the now paved road, there is no easement. There are no sidewalks here, no utilities except for power. We have our own well, own septic system, and our own propane tank. There is a small easement
    via kblackw
  • 16
    magicimagician • 1d ago You're lucky they didn't make you pay for a new sidewalk along the whole 250' like some municipalities do.
    via magicimagician
  • 17
    john_jdm 1d ago I'm glad it worked out for you but wow I think what the county did (threatening not to approve your plans unless you gave them your land) must have been illegal. But I suppose it depends on the laws where you live.
    via john_jdm
  • 18
    9lobaldude 1d ago Working the bureaucracy to your favor is not an easy task, nicely done 5 Reply ↑ Share ... Kinsfire • 16h ago I see all these poster commenting that OP obviously made it up. I can almost guarantee that these posters live in cities. If the area is tending toward rural? This sort of is standard. Especially the "YOU have to pay to give us the property."
    via 9lobaldude
  • 19
    PoppysWorkshop • 1d ago MMMmmm, that would be a violation of the 5th Amendment, via the "Takings" clause. It states: "...nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." This provision does not prohibit the United States from acquiring property from private owners, but rather conditions such 'taking' on the payment of just compensation.
    via PoppysWorkshop
  • 20
    Lakelife034 • 13h ago FYI when they make you gift them land that is a charitable donation on your tax return. If its over $5,000 value you need a written appraisal for it and they (the city and the appraiser) have to sign IRS Form 8283 and you attach it to you tax return when it is originally filed. All of that has to be done on original return -you can't amend for it. But, you probably can amend and go back and claim a $5k donation for it (assuming you itemize your deductions).
    via Lakelife034

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county land house revenge homeowner construction property lines petty revenge petty building property Reddit home
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