Plot boundary disputes can get pretty bad. They are frustrating and take much time and money to resolve, not to mention the stress they cause along the way.
A property dispute in Orlando, however, took a bizarre turn when a piece of real estate was put up for auction last year.
A house with a complicated history
Working on a doozy today for @MyNews13. You may have heard about this house, or even seen it, but tonight I’ll explain how this all happened, what’s been attempted to be done, what’s next, and is this legal?! #News13Orange pic.twitter.com/lW9zBw1KLH
— Spectrum News Asher Wildman (@AsherWildman13) January 8, 2020
At first glance, this house looks like every other home in Wadeview Park, a peaceful neighborhood in Orlando, and one of the best places in Florida to buy real estate. However, this lovely house has a long and complicated past.
It began in 2003 when an individual bought two adjoining lots and built two homes on each lot but only a year later, both houses were demolished and a new house built on the corner.
When a plot was left vacant after the original houses were pulled down, it created a problem that would remain unsolved for almost two decades
Things became complicated when work done on the second half of the house intruded on the adjacent lot by 15 feet. The construction was left unfinished and the lot remained empty. In 2015 another individual bought the vacant plot and decided to mark the property line.
This is where the story takes a bizarre turn!
Did you ever see a fence run through a garage and a swimming pool? Guess what, it’s completely legal!
“You are legally allowed to cut off any portion that encroaches on your property,” a real estate attorney, Nishad Khan, said.
It’s exactly what the new owner did when he built a fence over his neighbor’s garage and swimming pool! Needless to say, this move, albeit legal, did not sit well with the neighbors.
“It’s been a black eye on the community,” said resident Scott Paxton.
‘It pissed off the entire neighborhood’
Lisa Sconyers, another Wadeview Park resident said the move was ‘strategic’ but said she was unsure whether it came from the owner or an attorney. Whatever the case, to say the neighbors didn’t like it would be an understatement.
“It was interesting, and it pissed off the entire neighborhood,” Sconyers said.
The unhappy neighbors made a move of their own and started a petition to the city municipal planning board proposing the construction of a new house but their appeal was rejected
Although thirty-five residents signed the petition, the board rejected their petition.
“We want to just be able to sell the house, and it doesn’t matter how it started — it’s how we finish,” one resident explained. “We want it to be brought to a justified situation, so we can make sure someone can buy the house.”
Naturally, potential buyers were put off by the situation, and the neighborhood left with an eyesore.
Orlando City Council eventually signed a plan to allow the construction of a new house but that didn’t solve the dispute
“Y’all are like the Hatfields and McCoys here — you’re never going to go agree,” Orlando City Councilwoman Patty Sheehan said during a meeting.
The Council decided to sign a plan that allows Craig Mateer, the owner of the fence to build a new home on a smaller plot but this still didn’t resolve the problem, since the two sides couldn’t reach an agreement.
Legal representatives of Deutsche Bank that owns the other plot said Mateer was not willing to negotiate. According to them, a buyer was interested in the property but no deal could be made with the boundary dispute left unresolved.
As a result, the bank-owned house remains empty and is slowly deteriorating.
“I would think that if you’re going to build and live in a home next to this deteriorating (home), you’d have incentive to fix this problem,” Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said.
The way things are now, there seems to be no end to this boundary dispute in sight. Who knows, perhaps the property and the pool fence will become a local attraction!
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