ORLANDO, Fla. — A piece of prime real estate in Orlando was recently put up for auction, but this house comes with some warnings and a fence you will not want.
- House in Wadeview Park split into two by fence
- A fence was built right over the pool and through the garage
- Petition to allow construction of new house was rejected
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A piece of the driveway and garage is on one lot, but another piece of the garage as well as part of a swimming pool is on another lot.
Two different owners, two different lots, and one giant headache for a community.
The Wadeview Park neighborhood has a fine line between two neighbors. Neighbors will tell you it’s a real conversation starter when you see it from the ground level.
“Three or four times a week I have conversations right on Hamilton Lane with people going, “Hey! What’s the deal with this house?’" said Wadeview Park Resident Lisa Sconyers. "I’m like, ‘how much time do you have? It’s a long story.’”
In 2003, the two adjoining lots were bought by the same individual. The lots back then had a different look to them.
“There were two homes, one on each lot," recalled former Wadeview Park resident Patty Stallworth.
In 2004, those homes were torn down and a new house went up on the corner, leaving a vacant lot next door.
When work on the second half of the new house began, it created a potential re-sale problem.
“First thing I would look at is the survey, then I would map out the legal description to see why there was an encroachment," said board-certified real estate attorney Nishad Khan. "Typically when you close, you close with a survey in hand that shows you what’s your legal description, and typically you submit plans for an improvement in a house. You know where you can build based upon a survey.”
From the backyard to the front, the work done encroached the adjacent lot by about 15 feet.
The work done is still there, but the house and lot sit empty.
The home was foreclosed on in 2015, and the vacant lot was bought by another individual. That lot still has no home on it, but the owner wanted to clear up the property line, building the fence right over the pool and through the garage.
“You are legally allowed to cut off any portion that encroaches on your property,” Khan said.
It’s a legal fence that really upset the neighbors.
“It’s been a black eye on the community,” said resident Scott Paxton.
“That move… I don’t know if that was attorney-based, I don’t know if that came from the owner. It was very strategic," Sconyers explained. "It was interesting, and it pissed off the entire neighborhood.”
Frustrated at a home being neglected and a lot owner creating an eye sore, neighbors of Wadeview Park started a petition to the city of Orlando’s Municipal Planning Board asking for a modification to the vacant lot to allow construction of a new house. Thirty-five residents signed, but it was rejected.
“We want to just be able to sell the house, and it doesn’t matter how it started — it's how we finish," Paxton explained. "We want it to be brought to a justified situation, so we can make sure someone can buy the house.”
The home has been up for auction several times over the years, but a reserve on the home has not been met and potential buyers are presented some fine print on the listing:
Buyer must accept property in current as-is condition, no repairs, and subject to parcel encroachments.
“There’s a price for everything, if the risk is worth the price you are taking, then it may be a good purchase, but you have to assume you are taking several risk with this property," Khan said.
We tried getting comment from all the parties involved in this situation, but they all declined due to ongoing litigation.
We also tried to speak with the former homeowner, but he also declined.
The city of Orlando approved all work done on this property. They tell us any encroachment would not have been flagged when the garage and pool went in since the two lots were owned by the same person at the time.