New neighbor sues over encroaching fence, farmer puts a pig pen right next to their "shiny new" home: 'My eyes would start watering it smelled so bad'

Being cautious and conscientious about where you're buying property is extremely important. Ensuring that you're aware of any zoning, environmental hazards, or other possible issues ensures that you're going to not only make a good investment but enjoy a peaceable existence in your new home as well. Future-proofing is important too. Of course, you can't control all eventualities, but the last thing you want to do is get caught out, unaware that you were buying next to a plot of land that could be subdivided and developed in the near future or that you were buying next to a plot of land that could soon host hundreds of foul-smelling pigs ripe for slaughter.

If you were to buy next to a plot of agriculturally zoned land and you found that their fence was encroaching on your new property, it would be the neighborly thing to do to first strike up a friendly conversation and resolve things amicably—rather than taking an offensive legal stance right off the bat. If you go on the offensive, you might just find that you wind up with a whole bunch of the aforementioned pigs living right next to your home.