Clever property owner charges his bad neighbor $4,000 to access his property after he refused to go halfsies on a repair caused by his tree: ‘$4k [was] the exact cost of what he owed me’

Author image for Jesse Kessenheimer
Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Aug 25, 2024 9:00 AM EDT

This bad neighbor learned the hard way that you should never burn a bridge with the guy next door.

When I was growing up, we'd go to my neighbor's house if we ever needed a little favor. If I was short one or two eggs for a recipe or needed one of his power tools, my neighbor was the go-to guy. So we learned at a young age that keeping a good relationship going with the neighbors was super important–and not just for baked goods or DIY projects. 

While good neighbors get rewarded with happy, polite waves and pleasant chats about the weather, bad neighbors find themselves in hostile territory when they need it most–like the guy in this next tale. After a tree on the bad neighbor's property started causing damage to the house next door, the two households came together to try and sort out a repair. However, the neighbor whose tree was causing all of the trouble refused to pay a dime to help the guy next door. Now THAT'S not very neighborly…

This stinginess came to bite him in the rear when he took his house to market. Other trees on the property needed immediate removal before the sale could go through, but they needed access through the neighbor's yard to bring in the necessary heavy equipment. 

Unluckily for the bad neighbor, that access would come at a cost–the exact cost of his half of the original repairs.

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  • 01
    "He owed me"
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  • 02
    Slumlord Neighbor's Time To Pay What He Owes The house directly next door to me is a rental property which I had some issues with earlier this year. The issues came from two
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  • 03
    massive spruce trees that were growing on the property line and were causing property damage to my property. In my area it is a law that in the case of trees growing on the property line, the costs of
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  • 04
    removal must be split evenly between neighbors and because the trees and roots were causing property damage there was a significant case to be made for their removal.
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  • 05
    Removing the trees was not cheap, and involved bringing in cranes and multiple days of work due to their size and proximity to structures. I approached the neighboring property owner about splitting the removal costs
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  • 06
    and was basically told "I have no money". His portion would have been about $4k. At that point we decided it would be more expensive to hire an arbor attorney and drag this through the courts and then try to collect that money than it is to just pay for the entire job ourselves.
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  • 07
    Now here is where the revenge comes in. The tenant that lives there passed away and the landlord decided to sell the house. During the inspection process they discovered some trees on their property that were
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  • 08
    hazardous and needed to be removed before the sale could go through. It was uninsurable unless the hazard was mitigated. In order to get to these trees equipment would have to go through my property. The lots are
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  • 09
    small and the way this lot is situated, he would either have to demolish his other neighbor's garage or use my property. The owner approached me asking for permission and my response was that I would only grant
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  • 10
    permission to use my property for $4k the exact cost of what he owed me. He tried claiming that it would jeopardize the sale of his property and I simply replied "I don't care, this is the cost to use my property take it or leave it". The following week he came with a check for $4k and I granted written permission to use my property.
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  • 11
    Smyley12345 28 min. ago I would have required the $4k owed to even talk to him about it and then come up with the price of access after that check cleared.
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  • 12
    RedGhost3568 2 hr. ago Should have asked for five grand cash. Four stacks for the owed bill and another stack for the inconvenience he caused you.
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  • 13
    9lobaldude 2 hr. ago He did a un neighborly thing and got his back I would have adjusted that amount for interests and inflation
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  • 14
    UnlikelyChemist3859 1 hr. ago Sounds like an easy way out... maybe add a few Os to that $5000
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  • 15
    HastyHello 1 hr. ago Then he would just demolish the garage or lie about having permission and make you sue him. Don't be too greedy if you actually want to get paid.
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  • 16
    TheOtherPete 2 hr. ago Honestly this doesn't sound like pettyrevenge, this sounds like you were completely fair to him Pettyrevenge would have been to tell him its now $8k or you can't use my property.
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  • 17
    Queenofhackenwack 2 hr. ago i would have told him CASH......i will write you a receipt.
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  • 18
    wkendwench 2 hr. ago I hope you waited for the check to clear before granting access. Also you could have simply put a mechanical lean on his property. He would not be able to sell without paying you off first. At least that is how it works in the states.
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  • 19
    Suggetsu 2 hr. ago There is no small revenge against an idiot, it's so deserved
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  • 20
    FreakshowMode 1 hr. ago Seems entirely fair as you could have added 20% under the heading 'Aggravation Charges'. In the end, a double for you because you got your money, and it looks like you're getting a new neighbour too.
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  • 21
    creative_name_idea 2 hr. ago Arbor lawyer? Is that really a legal specialty? "What kind of law do you do? Criminal? Divorce? Corporate?" "No, tree"
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  • 22
    Dealy Yo 1 hr. ago Yes. It's a valid legal specialty. Many areas have strict laws about trees and damages etc connected to them.
    via DealyYo

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homeowner costs property owner cost neighbors repair owner revenge homeowner homeownership tree removal petty debt tree expensive property Reddit home owner funny neighbor
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