A Montana homeowner, who prefers to remain anonymous, recently faced an unexpected twist while trying to fence his backyard.
Jack had been planning to put up a fence for a while, especially since his neighbors on either side had already installed theirs. To him, it seemed like a simple task, just closing off the end of his property.
Before moving ahead, Jack chatted with his neighbors, who agreed that their fences didn’t need to be connected. “We just wanted to mark the end of our property,” he explained.
After hiring contractors and laying cement foundations, Jack was all set to install the panels when he received a surprising text from one neighbor.
The message read, “We don’t want you to use our fence as yours. You should build your own on the side that borders our property.”
Such neighborly disputes aren’t uncommon. A OnePoll survey of 2,000 U.S. adults found that 36% had disagreements with neighbors that escalated into arguments, with property lines and privacy concerns among the top reasons.
Jack wasn’t totally shocked by the response. “This neighbor has always been a bit intrusive,” he mentioned, recalling a previous incident where he was told not to plant trees near the property line, despite the fact that he had no plans to do so.
The text left Jack feeling “completely flabbergasted.” He questioned, “Have we been ‘using’ this fence all this time?” Feeling frustrated, he shared his story on Reddit as StockmanBaxter, where he received overwhelming support, with many agreeing that his neighbor’s behavior seemed petty.
Aiming to sidestep a full-blown feud while not backing down entirely, Jack has devised a new plan. “We decided to just live our lives. Maybe we’ll plant some privacy trees on that side of the yard,” he said. “Their elevated deck gives them a clear view of everything we do, so that might stir things up. But we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”