02/04/2026
We have been called numerous times over the years to do this kind of survey because neighbours do not know where their property lines are.
"Nothing exposes bad blood faster than a shared boundary and a pair of scissors.
When a family planted thousands of dollars’ worth of greenery for privacy, their horrible neighbor responded by destroying it and practically daring them to fight back. So when a land surveyor was finally called, the results showed the neighbor had a lot to lose than he thought.
My neighbors wanted to call a professional to mark their property line, my parents agreed. My family moved into a community with very little space between our house and our neighbors, and we didn’t like them being able to see into our kitchen. We put up a bunch of plants, costing thousands, but my parents thought it would be worth it. But one neighbor soon made it clear these plants weren’t welcome.
A week later, my parents woke up to the plants completely chopped down. My father was furious and marched down to our neighbor’s house. He told my father the plants were on his property line, therefore he had total right to take them down.
He warned that if anything were to go on his property again, he would report us to the authorities immediately. But that didn’t stop the neighbor from continuing to cross boundaries.
Later that day, my father called the company that installed the plants, and thanks to the warranty, we could have them replanted the next week at no charge. We made sure there was no way the plants were on our neighbor’s property.
However, a few days later, we caught him chopping them down at 2 a.m. So when the police were called, they decided a land survey needed to settle this once and for all — and the neighbor didn’t like what they found.
We called the police for destruction of property, and after a conversation with my neighbor, he decided to call a professional to mark his property line. My father agreed.
A few days later, I got home to find orange tape in my neighbor’s yard. Apparently, his fence was 11 feet over our property line.
What happened next was just plain amusing to watch.
We watched as he took down his fence, completely furious. Within the next month, we were enjoying our new space and privacy in our backyard, and my neighbor ended up losing one-quarter of his backyard.
My neighbor also had to pay almost $10,000 for the destruction of our property, and we got to plant our plants again.
The truth finally came out!"
by Benjamin Cottrell
