Nosy Neighbors Are As Good As Fences

We got an odd phone message on Monday. 

 

"Hi. How ya doin'. This is John Jones out here at Big Lake. My lot's connected to yours. I just wanted to talk to you about a couple of things on your lot. If you could give me a call, I'd really appreciate it."

Right away, I knew it wasn't a scammer. His name came up on Caller ID, and he didn't have a misunderstandable accent. Just the country twang. He wasn't a smooth-talker. In fact, his voice sounded a bit strained. Under stress. 

What in the NOT-HEAVEN had Hick done now? I was worried there might be a problem. 

Let the record show that we've had a lot at Big Lake for nigh on 30 years. Back when Hick wanted to be a land baron, and was buying tax sale property on the courthouse steps, he bought our first lot at Big Lake. We had no plans to develop it. We were living in my $17,000 house in town. Hick said we could get all the lake privileges. So we fished in the ponds and the main lake. Hick bought a small pontoon boat off a used car lot. We took Little HOS, and the Little Future Veteran swimming in the main lake and pool.

Hick's buddies wanted in on this sweet deal. So we added them to the owners' list, and they paid an equal portion of the yearly assessment fees and taxes. It really was a sweet deal. Our costs went from $200 a year to $67 a year. THEN those wily lake trustees must have caught onto such sweet deals. Because they started billing us EACH the full amount. Every property owner was billed $200! It all came on the same bill, to our house. I was in charge of payment, and Hick was in charge of collecting from The Original Buddy, and our Townhouse Neighbor Buddy.

With the sweet deal soured, The Original Buddy and Hick relinquished their parts to Townhouse Neighbor Buddy. He still wanted it, and his fees would still be $200. Hick had given my mom and dad a tax-sale lot at Big Lake for Christmas one year. When my dad died, Mom said she probably wouldn't go out there any more, and gave the lot back to us. So THIS is the lot John Jones was calling about. We'd only driven by and walked around on it a couple times. It's on a hillside, not suitable for building anything without a great expense. But it still gets us into all the recreational activities at Big Lake.

Hick called John Jones.

"John Jones says he lives out there full time, but he had another lot, the one right next to ours. A guy offered to buy it, so John Jones sold his lot. The new guy was using it for lumber. He was cutting down trees when the guy who owns the lot on the OTHER side of John Jones lot came over to talk.

'So, I see you bought Lot 526...'

'No. I bought Lot 527.'

'Well, buddy, you'd better stop cutting down those trees, because THIS is lot 526.'

I'm guessing that John Jones probably SOLD lot 527, but when the new owner came out, he SHOWED him OUR LOT, 526, by mistake. And then the new guy started cutting on what he THOUGHT was the lot he bought.

John Jones offered to buy our lot. He said he'd put us on his PERMANENT GUEST LIST, so we could come out any time we want to fish or use the other stuff. I don't want to be on anybody else's lot! I told him no, we don't want to sell. I said I didn't care about any trees."

"Huh. He could have clear-cut it, and we only have mud left! And maybe he was gonna sell our rocks that could be our retirement nest egg!"

"I doubt he cut that many trees before our other neighbor caught him. But I bet John Jones was sweating it. Technically, we could sue him for damages."

"Yeah, I doubt he would have called for just a couple of trees. He sounded nervous on the message."

"I don't care about anybody making money off the wood. It gets the lot cleared for us."

We don't really care much at all about the snafu. It's not like we have plans for that lot. It just seems weird that John Jones would call. Like he felt compelled to do a CYA confession. Just in case.