If watching old TV shows has taught us anything, it's that when you move into a house, your new neighbors will welcome you with freshly made baked goods.
Unfortunately for one Redditor, their new neighbor passed on the apple pie and decided to welcome them to the area by destroying their property.
"Neighbor destroyed a huge portion of my land," they titled the post.
The Redditor explained that they had recently bought 18.5 acres of "heavily wooded, semi old-growth forest" in northern Florida. They planned to build a house on the land and set up bee hives to produce honey.
When they went to check on the property, they found a large chunk of their land that was dominated by mature basswood trees completely demolished.
"I got a hold of my neighbor and began to demand that she stop this immediately and that she was actually on my property, not hers," the OP wrote. However, when they returned a few months later, the OP found that their demands were completely ignored.
"Not only did she not quit working on her driveway, she had limerock laid and compacted, a utility line up (on my property without any easements), and a 53 ft metal container 1/2 way on my property," they added.
Around 45 mature trees were allegedly cut and dumped on their property. "She destroyed my property and my livelihood. … I'm kind of lost and not sure of what to do going forward," the defeated Redditor said.
Other Redditors quickly came to the OP's rescue with advice — mainly that they needed to lawyer up immediately.
"Time to lawyer up fast … My guess is you will have attorneys drooling over this case. It has everything they want. Easy win, includes trespassing, and the value will be high," one person wrote.
Another added, "The septic company, landscapers, driveway company, literally everyone that even touched this will feel pain."
The reckless destruction is upsetting for numerous reasons. While it seems likely they will be financially compensated for what happened, the poor OP now has to spend considerable time and resources dealing with this issue.
Plus, there is a significant environmental impact. Mature trees are the lungs of our planet, pulling massive amounts of carbon out of the air. According to the Arbor Day Foundation, an acre of mature trees absorbs the same amount of carbon dioxide in a year that a gas-powered car produces driving 26,000 miles.
Those trees no doubt also provided food and shelter for countless creatures, not including the thousands of pollinating bees the beekeeping OP hoped to bring to the area.
"I have several appointments I've made due to these comments. Ridiculously helpful," the OP mentioned in the comments. "I have several attorneys wanting to meet with me. Arborist next. Thank you reddit folk."
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