A homeowner based in Orlando, Florida learned a harsh lesson that attempting to earn extra income from their assets might not always be profitable. They owned a sizeable piece of land that they decided to divide into two plots. Later, they chose to sell one of the plots through an auction to the highest bidder in Delaney Park. This triggered a chain of unpleasant events for the landowner.
Orlando City Councilwoman Patty Sheehan compared the ongoing conflicts associated with the Delaney Park properties to the Hatfields and McCoys feud, saying “Y’all are like the Hatfields and McCoys here — you’re never going to go agree,”
The homeowner had two properties, each with a separate mortgage. They opted to combine the properties by constructing a single building in between them. It’s uncertain whether this was a mistake, as only time will tell.
The foreclosure of the mortgages resulted in the bank acquiring the mortgage tied to the property and home, while the original owner regained ownership of the mortgage tied to the pool. The vacant home remained unoccupied for six years while the bank deliberated on how to handle the unusual Florida property built on split mortgage land, which was an improper practice, to begin with.
“We’ve had to kick (out) vagrants, we’ve had to watch the property …. So it’s taking our time, and it’s a constant effort to maintain that,” stated neighbor Richard Sconyers.
The owner of the smaller plot of land, who couldn’t build a house on it due to its limited size, constructed a fence that went over the pool and through the other property’s garage area. The double mortgage created by the previous owner prevented full use of the home on the adjacent plot, lowering its value, as their access was completely blocked due to the inability of the original owner to maintain the extravagant plan.
The bank was not willing to accept the smaller plot owner’s offer of $300,000 to buy the property that included a home. Instead, the bank offered the smaller plot owner $40,000 to buy their small section of land. This would allow the bank to regain access to half of the garage and pool, and get rid of the fence on the land permanently.
Fortunately, the Florida City Council used democracy and voted in favor of allowing the original landowner, who installed the revenge fence on their small plot of land, to build a small property on that same land.
“It was a great outcome,” stated Jeff Aaron from 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.”
However, the fence on this property is still a problem because it is unattractive to the bank and unwanted by others.
