Texas man, 75, is set to be evicted from his hand-built lakeside retirement home thanks to bizarre dispute about underwater land

A Texas man is being kicked out of his lake house after his neighbor purchased the underwater land that his residence encroached on.

Art Burnevik, 75, purchased a piece of land off Lake Buchanan and spent the last six years hand-building his dream home.

Part of the retiree's home extends onto submerged land - that is land below the lake's contour line which is the elevation level of the lake when it is full.

However, the submerged land is owned by Burnevik's neighbor who took him to court and had him evicted for building on the underwater property, reported KXAN.

'This is my little dream. This is all I could afford. After all the years that I worked, this is all I could manage. But this was all I ever needed,' Burnevik said.

Art Burnevik (pictured), 75, is set to be evicted from his dream home over an underwater property dispute

Burnevik purchased a piece of land off Lake Buchanan (pictured) and spent the last six years hand-building his dream home

Property records show Underwater Land LLC obtained the deed to a 46-acre tract of submerged land on the lake in 2021, including where Burnevik build his house

His neighbor Brad Beneski is listed as the only member Underwater Land LLC, according to the local news station.

Beneski sued Burnevik Burnet County court claiming his construction crossed into his land.

A justice of the peace ruled in Beneski's favor in March 2024. Then on appeal, a judge sided with Beneski again and signed a writ of possession, giving Beneski the right to evict Burnevik in June.

Burnevik's neighbor purchased the underwater land that that 75-year-old built a portion of his home on and a court ruled he could be evicted

'My client has given him ample opportunity to move off the property, but he has refused and forced our hand,' Beneski's lawyer Austin Shell told KXAN. 'We've been as courteous as we can.' 

Burnevik said he offered to buy the land underneath his home, but Shell said 'under no circumstances' would his client sell. 

The 75-year-old feels he was not given a fair shot but had started moving out of his house.

Pointing to his car, Burnevik said: 'That was going to be my new home right there.' 

His neighbors have stepped up and offered him a place to stay. 'It wasn’t until they said, "You’re not going to live under a bench." That’s when I broke down,' Burnevik said.