Entitled neighbor moves boundary stake into homeowner's property, who demands formal assessment from town office, leading to neighborly dispute: ‘He's trying to expand his property for free’

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Aug 12, 2025 9:00 AM EDT

Becoming a homeowner is a scary step that most people never feel entirely ready for, and that is valid. There are a lot of life-altering decisions one has to make when they purchase something as meaningful as a house, and that can be quite daunting. 

So here is one lesson everyone should take note of before buying their first property–always get a formal assessment of your property borders, and make sure it is permanently marked so no one can ever change it on a whim.

That is exactly the lesson the homeowner in the story below learned following this neighborly dispute. They woke up one morning to find a boundary stake had moved into their property, giving their neighbor more land. They immediately turned to the town office, which issued a formal assessment to determine where exactly each property starts and ends. 

The results took this homeowner by surprise, which will surely lead them to take the appropriate measures to ensure that it never happens again. Keep scrolling to read the full tale.

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10541024000
    via RichHobson

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

  • 02

    Neighbor moved the boundary stake

    More or less title. I live in a semi rural area where my neighbors are about a hundred yards down the road.
    via iyiquix
  • 03
    A couple weeks ago I noticed a ribbon of pink marking tape around a tree on what I believed was my property.
    via iyiquix
  • 04
    I was curious and checked it out, it was apparently part of a survey my neighbor had just done that had the boundary stake far closer to my house than I thought it should be.
    via iyiquix
  • 05
    Next day I looked up the zoning map for my street and the town website showed the boundary should be several yards closer to me neighbor.
    via iyiquix
  • 06
    To be clear I don't much care where the boundary is exactly. If the land had belonged to my neighbor and the town map was wrong then I wouldn't have minded.
    via iyiquix
  • 07
    My main concern was if I had been paying property tax on land that wasn't mine.
    via iyiquix
  • 08
    So I contacted the town office asked for a formal assessment. When I told the woman I was talking to what my and my neighbors address were her tone shifted noticeably from 'business as usual' to 'I'm tired of dealing with this s t'.
    via iyiquix
  • 09
    Turns out this neighbor on the other side had also contacted her about a boundary dispute.
    via iyiquix
  • 10
    PROPERTY CORNER
    via skibreck

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

  • 11
    Cue a very thorough investigation from the town. Turns out each of my bad neighbors boundary stakes weren't where they were supposed to be.
    via iyiquix
  • 12
    To be fair I don't know for sure that he had moved the stakes but it seems suspicious.
    via iyiquix
  • 13
    As for the neighbor in question he's always been an antisocial type that nobody knows well.
    via iyiquix
  • 14
    After the town survey he's been outside more walking around his yard and staring at any car that drives past.
    via iyiquix
  • 15
    No Lifeguard4092 Where I live, moving the property marker(s) is against the law. Happened at my current home because a neighbor didn't like the property survey results so he
    via No_Lifeguard4092
  • 16
    wanted them. Had this happen at a vacation property as well. The woman next door moved the property markers about 3 feet into our side of the property line. It was pretty comical since the metal property corners were above ground in both cases.
    via No_Lifeguard4092
  • 17
    mrmagnum41 Nice of the town to do the survey and save you a nice chunk of change.
    via mrmagnum41
  • 18
    briomio Survey and then fence according to the survey. Otherwise, this neighbor will just keep trying to push the boundaries in his favor
    via briomio
  • 19
    Kathykat5959 Get your own survey. Same day, drill 2' holes at markers and set in concrete metal pipe. You can leave up or cut off. You can locate with a metal detector. The neighbor cannot move them. Ever.
    via Kathykat5959
  • 20
    just-me220 Definitely need a formal survey done! Sounds like this neighbor is trying to expand their property for free
    via just-me220

  • Install a fence or put in a metal pipe – anything to ensure your neighbors know their place. It will be worth it in the long run, and maybe you can find some peace and quiet.

    That is the advice we would give this resident.

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Tags

aita neighbors house neighborhood homeowner neighborhood-drama neighborhood-stories reddit story petty entitled property Reddit property line entitled people
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