How long should a former owner be allowed to stay connected to a property?
After purchasing her new home, a homeowner was excited to take advantage of the lush plum tree in her backyard. The first year they lived there, the previous owner asked if they could have some of the fruit since they’ve been making jam for the past 20 years. That time, she let them collect what seemed to be just a few plums, although they ended up harvesting the whole tree. The following year, when they asked again, she refused, causing the family to get very mad and upset.
When I read this story, a super familiar feeling came to me since this situation happened to my parents ten years ago. When they bought the house they live in now, there was a very old and very sick tangerine tree at the back of the garden. The previous owner was not a fan of plants, nor that fruit, so he didn’t care too much about it. My mom loves plants, so for the first two years of living in that house, she took care of the tree until it was ready to give some fruit.
One day, my parents were at the grocery store and came across the old homeowner, and they told him they were happy to see the first tangerines of the season coming out. He was skeptical at first, but ended up congratulating my parents and left the store. The next day, he showed up at their house and asked if he could have some of the fruit to gift his family members and friends. My parents refused, not only because they didn’t want a stranger in their home, but because there were only a few pieces of fruit and they wanted to keep it. Also, he doesn’t like tangerines, so it’s not like he was going to eat it.
Anyways, of course he got very mad and claimed that he was the original owner of the tree, so the fruit belonged to him. Needless to say, my dad kicked him out, and we never saw him again.
Author: Kayitsi.com
