Disputes between neighbors can become nasty.
One feud inspired a man to go to extreme lengths to get the upper hand.
And a Florida man had one act of revenge against his neighbors that haunts them every day.
Florida man builds a house to spite his neighbors
Real estate developer John Atkins owned a small plot of land in a residential neighborhood near Jacksonville Beach, Florida.
Oceanside Real Estate list agent Ryan Wetherhold wanted to build a 15-foot-wide home on the plot but the zoning regulations for Jacksonville Beach required that homes have at least 7.5 feet of space on either side of it.
Atkins and Wetherhold requested that the town change its zoning rules, but they would not budge.
Neighbors wanted to keep the plot of land empty and one of them had started a community garden there.
They came out in force to protest any standard-sized home at a public meeting.
“It got passed down from homeowner to homeowner — ‘that lot will never be built on … we’ll have this nice buffer between our house and the next house and will always have a place where I can take my dog to the bathroom, I can do my gardening in there,’” Wetherhold recalled.
The pair could not build a conventional house so they decided to do the next best thing.
Atkins built a house that is 10 feet wide and 19 feet tall to fit the dimensions that Jacksonville Beach’s zoning laws gave them to work with.
Narrow “Spite House” in Florida Hits Market for $619K.
The 10-foot-wide house stretches 140 feet deep and features two bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms. The 1,807-square-foot home boasts a backyard, a garage, and other amenities typically found in larger homes.
Originally… pic.twitter.com/1uEgmpP4wK
— BoreCure (@CureBore) May 15, 2024
“When people say, ‘You can’t do it, you can’t do it’, [Atkins] is like, ‘I’m going to do it in spite of you telling me I can’t do it,’” Wetherhold explained.
Skinny house gets top dollar on the open market
The house built out of spite against the neighbors ended up becoming a good investment.
Mike Cavanagh, a 51-year-old, bought the house for $619,000 last June.
The 1,547-square-foot home was perfect for his needs.
“The house is also the perfect size for me since I’m single,” Cavanagh told Business Insider. “If I were 40 with young kids, it wouldn’t have worked.”
He liked the quiet residential neighborhood it was located in.
The unique story of why the house was built drew international attention.
“I think the fact that my home was featured on Zillow Gone Wild and that there used to be a ‘For Sale’ sign in the yard both drew a lot of attention,” Cavanagh said.
He knew that he wanted to buy it as soon as the real estate agent showed it to him.
“The home is 10 feet wide and 1,547 square feet, with two bedrooms and 2½ baths. Despite its narrow layout, the exterior has great curb appeal,” Cavanagh explained. “Inside, it has a modern feel, with beautiful flooring and tile work throughout. The same day I toured the home, I made an offer.”
Cavanagh thinks the price of the property could continue to go up because of its proximity to the beach and the neighborhood.
The house built out of spite became someone’s dream home in a twist of fate.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this story.