I'm not sure what we're supposed to be learning here, Lilibet. That a property owner should not use the legal system to protect their land rights? That folks should get what they want by intimidation and threats and your life is in peril if you go to the authorities? I'm sure you don't mean it this way, but the first part of your post sounds a little bit like victim blaming. Why should Pat and Monique have given up their property just because some a-holes were threatening them? Turning tail and selling would have been a big loss, not a win.
IDGI
Hi La Louve. :loveyou: I always value your opinions, and you feel strongly about this. I'm so sorry my comment came across as victim blaming. I tried to word it carefully so it wouldn't, because that isn't what I mean at all. But thank you for your reply so that I can clarify and explain my personal experience that motivated my post. Sorry it's so long, but I still think there is a lot we may be able to take away from this tragedy.
The tragic reality is that there are some people in the world, who may end up as a neighbor, who have no respect for law or the lives of those who live within their selfish, unstable sphere. While each situation is different, and each property owner needs to make their choice based on the facts at hand, and their own values, there is a lot to learn: It is safer to believe the threats these evil people make. Using the legal system to protect your land rights may not work and may escalate a bad situation. Seeking protection may not work and may escalate a bad situation. Nothing you do may fix the situation, but make it worse. That's the possible cruel reality we can recognize and take into consideration in our own decisions.
Do I want such a person to get what they want by intimidation and threats? Not at all! It angers me that they can get away with this garbage! But when I am dealing with an unstable, lawless, dangerous neighbor, as I have, my life is worth way more than my property. Standing up to them on principle or because I want to live somewhere that I love is less important to me than my life and the lives of my family. Others may make a different decision but my hope is that they look at all factors when doing so.
Here's where I'm coming from...We had a very dangerous and unstable neighbor who moved next to our acreage in the Humboldt redwoods. He shot at houses, mailboxes and drilled a well to deliberately drain our spring. We had to haul water for months and spend $$$ drilling a well. He threatened to kill us and the other neighbors. The sheriff was at least thirty minutes away and was called repeatedly by all of us. He was sympathetic, but there wasn't a lot he could do without catching this neighbor in the act. We could tell that our neighbor was so unstable that restraining orders and lawsuits would just endanger us even more. So we kept a low profile. One particularly bad night when we could hear him screaming from his house that he was coming to kill us, we fled our home and waited in a safe place for LE. They came, but the neighbor had disappeared. Eventually, he was arrested. When he was released, he drove to our home with a gun in his gun rack to let me know he was home. I was alone and scared, but I stood on our porch and quietly assured him we wanted peace and were not a threat. Thankfully, he left us alone. We sold our property (with full disclosure) and moved within a year, for that and other reasons. Do I feel that we lost when we sold. Not at all. I am still here to tell this story (and plenty more!), and it could easily have turned out differently. I consider that a win. There are lots of great places to live and we moved to one of them 32 years ago.
Are there some things I feel strongly enough about to die for? Absolutely. But property isn't one of them. And again, in no way am I blaming Pat and Monique for what happened to them. They thought that they could fix the situation, and unfortunately Reed was more than willing to carry out his threats. I don't fault them for trying to stay on their land at all. But we do learn from every case we follow, so I was pointing out that there are some potential lessons we can draw from theirs. Hope that helps, my friend. :heartbeat:
