Extreme Property Line Disputes

Ever had a neighbor that insisted that the property line was different than your belief?  Did he sue you?  Make life miserable in other ways? Well, here’s a rather extreme story.

A Norwegian man believed that his neighbor’s outhouse (which had been converted to a shed) was encroaching on his property.  While his neighbors were vacationing, he hired two workers to cut the offending piece of the building off, then he dumped the debris in their garden.

Turns out he was wrong.  You saw that coming, didn’t you? 

After a year of legal proceedings, he was charged with aggravated vandalism. No word on the sentence, but this same man has had other property disputes with other neighbors where he was also wrong and had destroyed property.

At what point do you think it’s not wise to get a survey?  Read the full story here.

And if you have real estate questions, feel free to call me - preferably before you destroy your neighbor's shed.  At least I'll recommend you talk to an attorney first!

image courtesy of imagerymajestic/freedigitalphotos.net

India Pale Ale (IPA) Day – August 7th

It must be an omen that IPA Day falls on Friday this year.  If you’re into craft brews, you know what an IPA is all about.  For those into other types of drinks, here’s a quick explanation of an IPA.  The important letter is the ‘A’ – for ale. No, wait, it’s the ‘I’. I guess they’re all important now that I think about it.

Way back, the 18^th Century to be exact, Britain ruled the waves.  Sailors found that beer didn’t quite survive the long trips o’er the seas so a London brewer (attributed largely to George Hodgson) developed a highly hopped, pale in color ale that could survive the voyage. (Sailors often drank the darker porters of the time.) Of course, the trip to India was a long one (6 months), and there many voyages there, so the new beer was coined India Pale Ale. (For an interesting read on this topic, check out this article on the Smithsonian site.)

Today, most local micro- and craft-breweries have at least a few versions of IPA on their list, as well as it’s cousin the American Pale Ale. And there’s no shortage of local or regional brewed and bottled IPA’s either. Most supermarkets have a pretty decent selection of craft beers from which to choose.

If you’re in the Livingston County area, a couple of my favorites are the D.I.P.A. (double IPA) at Brewery Becker, in DowntownBrighton, and the Torn In 2 IPA at Eternity Brewing in Genoa Township (Howell zip code). Not to leave out a local brewery, if you stop in at Block Brewing in Howell, their Hop Genius IPA is first rate, too!  If you celebrate #IPAday, please drink responsibly. Most craft brews are higher in alcohol content than production beers, so they often pack more of a punch. Breweries usually list the ABV figures on their menu for reference. 

This is a great way to unwind after a long day of viewing homes, too.  And if I can help you with real estate questions, feel free to contact me.

Photo credit Bob Smith, Torn in 2 IPA, Eternity Brewing, Howell, MI