5 Fire Engines. A Burning Coach House. And A Neighbour From Hell.
How one chaotic morning turned into a nightmare - and what it taught me about real estate and resilience.
Imagine this:
You're minding your own business.
Sipping your morning coffee.
When suddenly…
5 FIRE ENGINES pull up outside your house.
THIS IS NOT A DRILL.
Blue lights flashing.
Sirens blaring.
And I’m thinking, “Holy shit - my project’s on fire!”
I race outside. Heart pounding.
What the hell is going on?
BUT WAIT, IT GETS WORSE...
Turns out, it’s not my property.
The neighbour’s coach house is on fire.
Plumes of smoke, flames licking the roof. The whole deal.
And who gets the blame?
Me.
Of course.
Because when the neighbour from hell is involved, who else would they point the finger at?
FIRE + NEIGHBOUR FROM HELL = INSTANT BLAME
You know the type.
The kind who thinks every move you make is part of a grand conspiracy to ruin their life.
So naturally, this fire?
Must be my fault.
The neighbour’s screaming, “It’s YOUR construction! YOU caused this!”
(Never mind the fact my property is about 50 feet away and untouched.)
ME, SH*TTING MYSELF
At this point, I’m sweating.
Trying to figure out what the hell’s burning, and praying it’s not somehow connected to me.
Firefighters everywhere, street’s shut down, total chaos.
The neighbour’s yelling.
I’m just standing there, wide-eyed, like: “What the hell did I just walk into?”
THE FIREFIGHTERS SAVE THE DAY. BUT THE DAMAGE WAS DONE.
Thankfully, the fire didn’t spread.
They got it under control.
But now I’m dealing with five fire engines, a screaming neighbour, and the whole street staring at me like I just set the thing on fire myself.
THE LESSON?
In real estate, anything can happen.
From lawsuits to fires to crazy neighbours blaming you for everything under the sun.
One minute you’re drinking your coffee.
The next? You’re wondering if you just burned down a coach house.
DON’T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU
If you think this kind of chaos only happens to other people…
Think again.
Because when shit hits the fan, you better be ready to put out the fire.
Literally.
Matt