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A Minnesota homeowner has hit a fork in the road when it comes to options for her new driveway - one of which could leave her with a 1000-foot stretch of pavement to maintain.

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Dawn Cooper's driveway debacle began innocently enough, following the death of a relative who lived in Maple Grove in 2022. Cooper told local NBC affiliate Kare 11 that the home had been in the family for more than six decades, so she and her sister-in-law decided to“save it” by purchasing it themselves [1].

To Cooper's surprise, however, she says the empty lot behind her home became a hub of construction activity shortly afterward, as builders prepared to erect a new townhouse development.

Cooper contends that she didn't know about the development when she purchased the home, though the city says that they did notify her now-deceased relative about it. Even worse, the section of the main road that her driveway exits onto - Fernbrook Lane - is going to be permanently closed due to the new development.

“I'm just frustrated and sad about the whole situation,” Cooper explains in the story.“We pay taxes just like everyone else and they just put the development around and just didn't care that it's going to significantly impact us."

Now, Cooper faces two new, undesirable driveway options that essentially leave her between a rock and a 1000-foot long place.

The cost of undesirable driveway options

For her new driveway, Cooper has two choices: allow a new one to be built that would exit into the townhouse development and, thus, possibly fall under the Homeowners Association (HOA) purview, or allow the city to turn all 1000 feet of a portion of Fernbrook Lane into her personal driveway.

Cooper says that the former option is not ideal because she's worried that“the HOA (can) make decisions on the access to our property, because the road would be owned by the HOA.” She's also concerned that the new driveway would“take out a significant portion of her property.

The latter option, meanwhile, is even worse. A 1000-foot driveway, Cooper says, would cost her $4,000 a season to plow, as well as the price of eventually repaving the former road.

According to HomeGuide,“the base cost to repave an asphalt driveway is $1 to $3 per square foot for a new overlay only” [2]. It's unclear how many square feet her driveway would be, but it appears wide enough for two lanes.

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City representatives told Kare 11 that they provided all the details, as well as“visuals,” of the options to Cooper. For her part, Cooper claims that“she has not received adequate information to make an informed decision.”

As such, a deadline imposed by the city for Cooper's driveway decision came and went, meaning officials are prepared to move forward with the HOA driveway option. Cooper says that it could work for her“depending on what the agreement says,” and that she plans to meet with the city this month to continue discussions.

Still, as Cooper looks for an off-ramp from this driveway drama, real estate experts agree that there are ways to avoid such unwelcome surprises before finalizing the purchase of a new home.

How to avoid costly surprises when buying a home

The 2025 American Home Buyer Report from Clever Real Estate found that 65% of buyers between 2023 and 2025 had“regrets about their home purchase” [3]. Forty-four percent of these buyers who experienced remorse said they“discovered problems after moving in that weren't previously disclosed.”

While Cooper says she was unaware of the pending townhouse development when she purchased the home, Caro Federal Credit Union, which helps customers with home loans, notes that“the neighborhood is as important as the home itself” and that“failing to research the area can lead to dissatisfaction with your new home and buyer's remorse” [4]. They add that it's just as important to research any new developments or rezoning in the area as it is to explore things like local amenities and crime rates.

And while that sort of due diligence could help avoid headaches in cases similar to Cooper's, unwanted surprises can pop up anywhere when buying a new home.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR), for example, offers a handy checklist for things to look out for when considering a home purchase - everything from maintenance costs and the structural integrity of the house to the age of appliances and any odd odors that could signal bigger (and costlier) underlying issues [5].

Rocket Mortgage adds that“knowing the rules of the neighborhood you might be moving into is critical” [6]. For example, if you're considering a home in a community with an HOA, they note that you may run into restrictions for what you can and can't do on your own property, such as building a treehouse for your child.

Home sellers are also required to disclose certain information to potential buyers, which the NAR describes as“any completed repairs, information about natural hazards, property defects, missing essentials, land-use limitations, HOA guidance, deaths on the property, and any other conditions that might negatively impact the property's value” [7].

In addition, state disclosure laws vary, from New Jersey's termite and dry rot disclosure to Missouri's meth production disclosure (yes, really) - helping buyers make informed decisions about the homes they buy.

And while there's no way to guarantee that unwanted surprises won't pop up after buying a new home, doing proper research about the property and surrounding area will help lessen the chances that any problems - or 1000-foot driveways - arise once you move in.

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Article sources

We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.

Kare 11 (1 ); HomeGuide (2 ); Clever Real Estate (3 ); Caro Federal Credit Union (4 ); The National Association of Realtors (5; Rocket Mortgage (6; The National Association of Realtors (7

This article originally appeared on Moneywise under the title: Minnesota homeowner may be left with 1,000-foot driveway to plow, maintain - how to avoid a similar scenario

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.

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