HOA forces homeowner to give up 15 x 250 feet of his property, hatches plan to get his land back: 'They've changed their mind [and] want to give me my property back'

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Apr 7, 2025 4:00 PM EDT

If there is one thing homeowners are particular and passionate about above all other things, it's their property lines, and it makes total sense. After all, they have worked hard enough to own property and to be able to do whatever they want with it. Unfortunately, counties and HOAs can get in the way and ruin those simple joys.

Here, we have a resident who was pressured into giving up 15' x 250' of property (that's 3,750 square feet, mind you!) to the county as part of a plan to extend a road in the neighborhood. I think it's fair to say that this dude held a grudge for over a year, one that would eventually win him that land back.

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  • 01
    "I came up with the 'get even' plan"
    via Joel Moysuh

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • Once the author had to give up that 3,750 square feet of land, he began hatching a plan to get it all back. About a year later, he found his solution, which involved filing a complaint to the county about a drainage ditch on that land that needed to be cleaned out before the rainy season. This led to a week-long, expensive project for the county to fix the area. After another year, the author ended up getting his land back, and this time, he had all these brand new paved driveways from the project that he didn't even have to pay for. Kudos to him for staying persistent!

  • 02
    I've lived at this place for 20 years and decided it was time to build a new home. Had the plans drawn up and trotted down to the planning department to get the building permit. When they were
    via kblackw
  • 03
    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. They wanted me to 'give'
    via kblackw
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    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.
    via kblackw
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    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 p ed.
    via kblackw
  • 06
    A year passed, the house got built and we moved in. But I was still pred so I 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
    via kblackw
  • 07
    125' open drainage 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
    via kblackw
  • 08
    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' drainage pipe was also clogged and needed to be cleaned out. Again, they said they'd take care of it.
    via kblackw
  • 09
    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 pipe and said it was too far gone and would have to be replaced. Gee,
    via kblackw
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    owning property can be a b 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',
    via kblackw
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    taking good care of 'their' property. The whole project lasted a week, so the cost was not insignificant.
    via kblackw
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    Cheezburger Image 10490290176
    via Pankaj Shah

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 13
    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
    via kblackw
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    well, I did get a new drain line and newly paved driveways out of the deal. EDIT. Wow, that sure blew up. I've replied to a few posters with more of the backstory, that's
    via kblackw
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    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
    via kblackw
  • 16
    TheBlackDevil_0955. 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 kblackw
  • 17
    davisyoung 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 kblackw
  • 18
    billionairextinction 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 kblackw
  • 19
    zhivago6 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 kblackw
  • 20
    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

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