Living beside a river is lovely for nature lovers and those who enjoy scenic walks, but one Wisconsin homeowner didn’t account for the unwanted visitors their property would see. These weren’t people trespassing for the sake of trespassing either. According to Reddit user Basket_of_crests in their r/legaladvice post, the county was allegedly directing tourists to their private driveway as they went kayaking on the river.
“A few weeks ago I started finding random people unloading kayaks there,” Basket explained, adding that one group even just left their truck parked behind their garage for hours. The reason for this is that the county had recently put up signs telling people to use this homeowner’s driveway and had it “marked as a public launch on their recreation map.” OP says they bought the house just last year but didn’t see any records of a public access easement in the deed or title paperwork.
Needless to say, Basket contacted local officials, and they simply responded by agreeing to investigate by requesting the homeowner keep their driveway open to the public “until they figure it out.” OP evidently appeared a little frustrated: “Meanwhile, people keep showing up and walking across my property.” Their question is whether they have the right to set up a gate on their property, not to mention the concern that one of the kayakers could get injured, leaving them potentially liable.
Apparently, old records of the property show that the driveway was indeed used as an access point to the river, but that was clearly before Basket bought the house, uninformed of the situation. And just because government-made maps or signs tell the public to use someone’s private property doesn’t give officials rights over said property. On the flip side, the lack of an easement might not settle things if the site has had historical, long-term use. Whatever the case, things are messy.
Reddit Urges the Homeowner to Get a Lawyer And Stay Off Social Media For this One
Commenters told OP that they were looking for help in the wrong place. “You need to talk to a real attorney not Reddit,” wrote a Redditor. “Seriously. The government is not going to investigate their own mistake and somehow wind up ruling against themselves. Take it to court and stop messing around,” suggested another. “I’m an attorney and I wouldn’t dream of providing any advice here except: consult an experienced real estate attorney licensed in your jurisdiction,” remarked a third.
In the end, they are right: Basket needs to get a lawyer involved and do as much research as possible before making any rash decisions that’ll put them in legal trouble. The downside is that they will still have people constantly using their home as both parking and a launch point for their boating activties. They can only hope the government is putting some priority into this ‘investigation.’
