My cousin told me to just file in small claims and "see what happens" and I cannot stop turning that over

Your instinct about small claims is correct. Small claims in Georgia caps out around $15,000 and handles money judgments, not recorded property agreements. It would not get you what you actually need.

Here is the practical ladder between "let it go" and full litigation.

Option 1: Recorded encroachment agreement. This is a written, signed, notarized document that acknowledges the pad crosses the line and spells out the terms, who maintains it, whether it can be expanded, what happens if the property sells again. Once recorded with the county, it runs with the land, meaning it binds future owners too. This is probably your cleanest path if the seller cooperates. It does require an attorney to draft it in Georgia because something recorded and enforceable needs to be done right. The good news is that drafting one straightforward encroachment agreement is a limited, defined task, so you can ask for a flat-fee quote. In middle Georgia you might hear $400 to $800 for that scope of work. That is a guess, not a quote, so call two or three real estate attorneys in Macon and ask specifically about flat-fee encroachment agreements.

Option 2: Title insurance endorsement. Your title company may be willing to issue an endorsement that covers you for losses arising from this specific encroachment. That does not remove the problem, but it protects your money. Ask your title company directly whether they will insure over it and what the endorsement costs.

Option 3: Closing extension or price reduction. You are under contract. March 14 is the seller's target, not a law. An attorney can send a letter citing the survey and requesting either a recorded resolution or a price reduction before closing. That changes the negotiation.

The thing worth confirming with a Georgia real estate attorney, not me, is whether the 2019 date creates any adverse possession exposure under Georgia law. A licensed attorney is the right person for that question.

Which of these three feels closest to what you want to push for first?

Four feet is not a rounding error and the fact that the seller is not disputing the survey is actually your leverage, use it hard before March 14 because that date is theirs not yours.

The middle road that actually has teeth is a recorded encroachment license or encroachment easement drafted by a real estate attorney, not litigated, just drafted. I did something similar on a warehouse acquisition in Chattanooga in 2021, the encroachment was a retaining wall, about six feet over the line, seller same posture yours is taking, just wants to close. What I did not do was get the agreement recorded before we closed because my attorney said we could handle it post-closing with an agreed order and the seller seemed cooperative. Seller closed, pocketed the money, stopped returning calls inside of three weeks. Spent $11,400 in legal fees over fourteen months to get a court-ordered easement that I probably could have had drafted and recorded for $1,200 before closing if I had just held the line. On a $187,000 purchase your title company absolutely should be taking a written position on this because if that encroachment clouds title they may have to defend it later anyway. Call your title underwriter directly, not just the closing agent, and ask them whether they will insure over it and what their written exception language will say. If they will not insure over it clean that is your hammer, the deal cannot close without clear title insurance and you have just made the seller's problem into a shared problem with a deadline. Do not let March 14 make you sloppy.