Bought a house in Town and could not get financing to buy the closed store behind me. Oh well. I fenced in my property both to keep the dogs in my yard and my then small kids from running into the street. Son, when small, was a bona fide runner. He has Down Syndrome so that security was needed.

The paved drive runs from the highway in front of my house, along the side into the back property with the parking lot and out to the street. Gates on both ends. I live on one of the 2 most famous highways in the US and one of the most famous in the English speaking world. So a cut through is just handy. I also live on the edge of Da Hood and Da Hood is on the road behind me.

The pooches crossed the rainbow bridge. Kids got old enough to know where to go and where not.

So I started leaving the gates open, including one to the back. The closed store owner, a great friend, even gave me a key to the building.

The closed store owner (from whom I bought my house) eventually sold it to some people who reopened it as a convenience store.

Now, people started trying to drive and walk through my property both to get to the store and cross to the residential street in the back.

I closed the back gate. Chained it up and padlocked it.

Convenience store owner got bent out of shape in a variety of ways. Rather than talk to me, he went to our police department and our local building inspector, demanding I open my yard so his customers could cut through.

He was told no every which way he turned. Did he ever approach me? No. I approached him. I offered to sell him my house, which would add a home, a 2 story barn and a lot of space as well. He shot that down faster than The Red Baron going after Snoopy.

FF. The sewer line leading out of my house collapsed. Literally. It was made of metal. It ran from my house behind the C-store to the sewer lines on the road behind us. No sewer lines on the road in front of me for at least a mile in either direction.

I said I needed the line replaced and would have to run it behind his place. He either did not understand (he was an immigrant) or chose not to. I explained I had 2 options.

1) Run a new line.
2) Open the line at the edge of my property and let the raw sewage run downhill across his property.

No intelligent response.

I talked to the Town Public Works Department and explained the same to them. Letting raw sewer stream across open ground is illegal at the local, state and federal level. Well, illegal unless you are one of those governments, then it is ok if it is reported and the offender feels bad. (Literally the case. I can show you as many "sewer spill" notices as you'd like to see from Town, State and even the Feds. Nothing is done)

Town PWD figured they needed to move in a HURRY and installed new lines from the edge of my yard to the connecting PVC pipes on his place. C-store owner never said a word.

He closed the store soon afterward. Another gent, also from another country, opened it and ran it for 6 months before closing. I offered him the same "Buy my house deal" and he refused as well.

The store is now vacant and I am again trying to buy it. I'll make 2 apartments from it if I get the property.