Neighbor with a huge property and multiple outbuildings constantly complains about a couple’s small home improvements, despite their careful permits: ‘My husband works in construction and knows what he’s doing’

Buying a small place and slowly turning it into something better is already a long game. Doing it under the gaze of a neighbor who owns almost everything around you and still cannot mind his business is its own special kind of headache. This couple is trying to get a pole barn up, maybe expand the house a bit, nothing wild. Just enough storage so life stops feeling like a daily game of Tetris.

The neighbor circles every step like a hall monitor with acreage. First, it is tree panic and property line drama, even after maps, measurements, and a survey say the trunks in question are firmly on the right side. He complains about cutting trees while standing on land that only looks the way it does because someone once cut trees to build his big house, his barn, his cabin, his pond. The double standard is not even subtle, just loud and annoying.

Then he switches to disaster predictions, announcing that the new building will ruin drainage and flood his land. The punchline is that the only reason his yard has stayed dry for years is the same husband he is lecturing, the one who dredged the creek and put in a culvert to keep water moving. On top of that, the construction plans already include a drainage system designed to avoid the very problem he is ranting about.

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  • Neighbor complaining about our home improvement projects while he’s sitting on tons of land and a perfect house

    An aerial view shows a large rural property with wide green fields, a spacious house, and a big detached garage, emphasizing how expansive the surrounding land is. with a quote: "He literally owns all of the land around our property and has a house double our size"
    via Tom Fisk

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

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  • You’d think that having all the permits in place, distances from the property line correct, and the person doing the work actually knowing exactly what he is doing. But the neighbor still acts like his view and comfort matter more than the owners’ right to make their own space livable. In the end, the only real option is exactly what they are doing: keep building, stay within the rules, and let him stew on his big, perfect lot while their smaller place finally starts to match the life they want.

  • My husband and I bought a small house with a bit of land about a decade ago, intending to improve/ add-on to the house to make it our own.
    via emdohn
  • We do not currently have a garage or any outbuildings and are working to build a pole barn and addition to the house.
    via emdohn
  • We have a neighbor who literally owns all of the land around our property and has a house double the size of ours along with a pole barn, cabin, and pond.
    via emdohn
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  • Ever since my husband began the work for our home improvements we have gotten nothing but complaints from this neighbor.
    via emdohn
  • When my husband was clearing trees to make room for the pole barn this neighbor questioned the property lines and whether or not certain trees were actually his.
    via emdohn
  • A stern-looking older man sits outdoors with his arms crossed, staring directly at the camera while a tablet and coffee cup rest on the table in front of him.
    via PHILIPIMAGE

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

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  • (We made sure to consult the auditor maps well in advance of this and were mocked when we told him that we measured and knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the trees were well within our property lines).
    via emdohn
  • He then complained about us cutting down trees in general. We love trees and don't want to cut any down if we don't have to.
    via emdohn
  • Unfortunately, it's necessary if we want to have a pole barn for outdoor storage. Also, trees had to be cut down to build this neighbor's buildings; so I found this to be infuriating and audacious on his part.
    via emdohn
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  • Now this neighbor is complaining about how our pole barn might displace water and cause flooding on his land.
    via emdohn
  • Apparently unbeknownst to him, his land hasn't flooded in years now because my husband dredged the creek and installed a culvert pipe that allows for better water flow/ drainage.
    via emdohn
  • He had nothing to say to that when my husband pointed it out. My husband also explained his plans for a certain drainage system that would prevent the issue regardless.
    via emdohn
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  • My husband works in construction and knows what he's doing. We have the permits, we are within the required number of feet of the property lines, and we've paid to get the property officially surveyed.
    via emdohn
  • It's just frustrating to deal with such condescension and selfishness. He has his house with all of his land and buildings, why can't we make our house the way we want it?
    via emdohn
  • Obviously we are going to do what we want since it's our property. It would just be nice if we didn't have to deal with this nonsense every step of the way.
    via emdohn
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  • TLDR: Neighbor with big house, multiple outbuildings, and lots of land complaining about what we are doing on our own property to improve and add-on to our home.
    via emdohn
  • MerlinSmurf I would not give him any information about what you are doing. If he comes over, I would just tell him "sorry, but I'm busy right now" and cut him off. Make your castle the way you want it and just ignore him. It is none of his business.
    via emdohn
  • blbd Typical NIMBY behavior. Block all construction after their own.
    via emdohn
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  • berrysweet1620 Put up no trespassing signs all over your property. Inform EN his opinions are not needed and to stay off your property. Add cameras. If he won't leave you alone, call the police. What you do with your property is none of his concern.
    via emdohn
  • elciddog84 Ignore them. Simply don't engage. One, it's not their business and two, it'll probably infuriate them.
    via emdohn
  • Charles_Whitman The old saying goes the difference between a developer and an environmentalist is an environmentalist already has a house in the woods.
    via emdohn
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  • Mandi171 I think he was happy there was no neighbor and nothing you could do will help him. He has to come to terms with it. I have a parcel next no me that is just woods. I have offered to buy it several times but the little old lady. doesn't know how much to sell it for, so there it sits and I fear someone coming in and developing it. <sigh> I think that is what is fueling him.
    via emdohn
  • Designer_District_18 Not sure if your property is visible from his. But maybe he liked the allusion that he owned far more land than he did facilitated by the trees blocking sight of your property. Either way if that's what he wanted he should have bought your property when it originally went up for sale instead of you. It's your land and your free to do what you want on it.
    via emdohn
  • Tenzipper Don't engage. Record any interactions. If he continues to harrass you, get a restraining order. If you're in a two-party state, tell them you're recording them.
    via emdohn
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  • holli4life The more time you give him the more he thinks he has a say in your life. If you can, put up a nice metal fence along the property line as high as allowed.
    via emdohn
  • Alarmed-Orange2379 Here is a phrase you will find very useful: Mind your own fucking business.
    via emdohn

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