Neighbor Wars·
THE POOL ON THE LINE
A homeowner learns a neighbor's pool sits on their land after a survey, triggering months of negotiations, legal fees, and a civic showdown before city officials step in.
Should the pool be removed or left in place?
Be one of the first to vote.
A backyard pool turned into a property-line fight when a survey showed the water and deck were built on someone else's land.
The poster had bought the house first. Two years later, after the neighboring woman sold her place, the new owners moved in and soon started putting up a giant pool in the backyard. At the time, the poster assumed they knew exactly where the property lines ran and said nothing.
That changed last summer, when the poster decided to put up a fence and paid for a survey. The results landed hard: the neighbors' pool and deck were sitting on the poster's property.
From there, the poster tried to handle it directly. There were multiple conversations with the neighbors, and the poster showed them the survey and other evidence marking the real line. The poster was willing to let the pool stay, but only under a written agreement: the poster could fence around it, the land would still be acknowledged as theirs, and the setup could be removed later if needed when the house was sold.
Getting that agreement took time and money. The poster spent "north of $1,000" working with an attorney to draft the paperwork. Then came the wait, "7 or 8 months", while the neighbors reviewed it. In the end, they refused to sign and said they had no interest in paying lawyer fees.
That left the poster stuck. The fence plan had to be changed again, and the whole thing dragged on for about a year. At that point, the poster said they gave up and complained to the city, asking how officials could issue a permit for something installed on their property. The poster asked bluntly, "Am I wrong for doing this?" and added, "how much more money can I spend trying to make them happy....where it should be the other way around."
Then came the update. "just a little update since I know many of you are asking," the poster wrote. Town officials came out to look. They agreed the issue was real and said "the pool doesn't belong where it is." The town planned to "send them a letter stating it needs to be removed."
If the pool still hasn't moved after the fourth letter, the town said it will start issuing fines until it's "moved or removed."