I know I was not the only person in Florida with vacant lot issues.  So, I was not surprised when I recently had a new client stop by for an appointment regarding his vacant lot.  When I asked how I could help him, he stated that he was visiting from up North and found a driveway on his vacant lot.  Apparently his neighbor was not able to easily park his boat in his back yard so he had a drive way installed – right over a large part of my client’s vacant lot.  What is it with boats and vacant lots? My client only visits his vacant lot about once a year and believed the driveway was only recently installed.  Apparently the neighbor put a great deal of time and money into the driveway – it was not something that was done in the middle of the night.

My client’s concerns were permitting issues, any liability and of course any code violations.  When he contacted the city, they informed him that no permit had been pulled for a driveway.  But of course, why would you need a permit to put a driveway on someone else’s property?  At least, that is what I presume the neighbor’s sense of logic would dictate.  My client had approached the driveway-installing neighbor and discussed a possible resolution.  Luckily for all parties involved, logic prevailed.

After the dust settled, my client was able to sell the property to the neighbor for a fair price.  The neighbor is now the proud owner the vacant lot with the driveway – permitting issues aside.  He can now move his boat up and down his new driveway as much as he likes.

I guess I should not complain about someone parking a boat on my lot – at least I never found a driveway to go along with it.