Neighbour builds fence through the middle of swimming pool in bonkers boundary dispute

A boundary dispute in Orlando, Florida led to one owner building a fence right through the middle of a swimming pool and garage leaving neighbours concerned about the house becoming an eyesore

A long-standing property war between neighbours escalated recently when one of the residents involved built a fence through the other's garage.

The argument began over where each owner's boundary ends and one of the owners has had the plot left vacant for years. The origins of the baffling dispute go back some 20 years.

The owner of the smaller side of the plot in Orlando, Florida erected a large fence to mark where their property ends and it cuts off their neighbour's swimming pool and garage.

The complicated dispute began in 2003 when someone bought both property lots and built a house slap bang in the middle of them.

However the owner was unable to keep up their payments and the lots went into foreclosure.

One plot was returned to the original owner and the other to the bank, with the house sitting across both of them.

The house remained empty for years thanks to the boundary dispute, as the bank was unable to sell the property.

When listed, the bank was forced to admit to potential buyers that the "pool and the garage are partially on the adjacent parcel and not included in the sale".

It wasn't until years later that real estate agents managed to sell the house at auction, and the owner of the smaller plot of land built a fence to greet the new owners.

A concerned local resident told WFTV9 in 2020: "This is how they chose to make their statement to the new owner."

The neighbour blames the council for the troubles and said: "They didn't permit this the right way, they should have made the owners re-plot the properties into two separate properties - they never did that."

Orlando City Councilwoman Patty Sheehan said during a meeting: "Y’all are like the Hatfields and McCoys here -- you’re never going to go agree."

In 2020, the owner of the smaller plot offered $300,000 to buy the property with the home on it, while the banks offered to pay $40,000 to buy the 15-foot sliver of land with half its garage and pool.

Neither owner was able to agree.

The city council voted that year to allow the corner of the smaller lot to build a home on it.

"It was a great outcome," said Jeff Aaron with the GrayRobinson law firm. "We paid good money for a piece of land. And for four years, Deutsche Bank has held us hostage, unable to develop our land.