I am going to be installing a new wooden privacy fence. I will be adhering to all local codes concerning height, building materials, etc. I am on a corner lot. I have to neighbors, one on the long side, and one on a short side. The long side neighbor is a great guy, we have discussed fence and he will tear down his delapidated chain link fence and even though we ae installing the fence more on my side of the line now, he has no problem with that. However the short side neighbor goes out of his way to be unpleasant about everything. His fence (a ratty, crappy chainlink) (which is about a foot inside his property line) will remain and then I will install my fence about a foot inside my property line. The big question is who maintains the middle? There will be about a 2 foot strip, lined with a fence on both sides. Too narrow for a lawnmower, etc. Spray periodically with grass, weed killer? Weed eater? Thanks. Perry bentcajungirl
why not move the fence in a little further? just enough to get the lawnmower through. at least it will get mowed. no matter who does it you both benefit from it being mowed. can you spell snakes? maybe you and he can split the responsibility of lawn care. if you leave the strip too narrow to mow it will grow up cause nobody will want todeal with it and that will look bad and lower property values for all. just mho. george
How big is your lawn mower? A two foot strip is 24 inches (I know, duh..) and my 22 inch cut lawn mower (I just measured) is 23 inches at its widest point. If the two foot is just a guestimate and your lawn mower won't fit, then I suggest a good weedeater every week or so, maybe even longer.
Putting a fence on a property line is not always a good idea, especially in a situation where your neighbor may not be too neighborly. A second survey can require you to move it, you will not have any access to the other side for maintenance (which would also be a problem with just one foot between fences). It also may not comply with local codes that often require a setback from the property line.
Perry, find the metal survey stakes and run a line then put the fence just a couple of inches inside the line on your side. Then hang the fence with the ugly side facing his property. I know if possible the good looking side goes toward the neighbor, unless there is another fence hampering your insulation. Then forget the trimming, let grouch take care of it. If you hang pressure treated or cypress there will be no maintenance required for many years depending of course where you live. Muff
It's called adverse posession. Commonly called squatter's rights. It varies by state as to what constitutes "posession" and the time period required, but generally an "open and notorious" uses of land by a non-owner can result in ownership interest. Open and notorious means it has to be obvious, and the true owner has to not object. Something as simple as a No Trespassing sign negates adverse posession, since it's a stated objection to occupation and use.
awwwww Trent she lives in Louisiana where they do have home steader laws and you can take possions of a piece of land if you put a house / camp / or building up and go down to the court house and file a unknow land owner claim and wait 7+ years and take possion of it. You have to pay the taxes on it and have it fenced off and keep a building up on it bigger than 20' X 20' for the 7 years. the timber company will not let you put up a fence or building nowhere on their land at all. hey will give you 30 days to move it or they bull dozer it.
Now in the city , land lines. this is not legal. They only take the servey and fences make no difference. If they live outside a city limits it may take effect.
Trent have you read the Home Stead laws in Louisiana lately. i have and i had a camp on a lake near here and I fenced in 3 acres and I really own 1 acre. It was fenced in for 15 years and I paid the takes on it. The servey included the 3 acres servey and the real 1 acre land area and I have been paing the taxes for 15 years on the 3 acres. The Timber company found out about the 3 acres but it was too late to do anything about it. I filed unknow owner on the other 2 acres. It's mine now.
Trent here is your proof and if the Girl lives in a city limits. She is fine for any fence to be put up. Now if she live out side a city she can take his land if the fence stays there 7+ years and she files on it.
Come on down to Allen Parish , Louisiana and go to the court house and they have some good reading material down there on Home Steader Laws. It could be all crap but I really just go along with them down there at the court house.
Joseph , here in Louisiana You can put a fence any where on your property you want it as long as nothing hang over or touches the vertical plan of the property line. You leave one inch of land where the right to access laws takes over. It you need to inter you land by way of nabor you have the right , but You have to give him 24 hour notice before entering. This is Louisiana laws and other state may very. He can't stop you from getting to that 1 inch of land. You send him a registered letter and then call the law over to be there when you want to paint it or fix the fence. He can not stop you from going to that 1 inch of land.
Then your city rules are much different than in my city.
I'm curious then...and you may not be able to answer this question. But...
Who does the property line BELONG to? It can't belong to BOTH of you. I mean...you BOTH can't put a fence on the property line.
That's why there's an offset.
I mean...you couldn't even dig a HOLE *ON* the property line. The outer circumference of the hole would have to butt up to the property line.
Its sounds like yer knowledgeable about your regulations...but it sure sounds weird to me...especially since you said that your neighbor's fence is offset about a foot. Why would he do this?...or whoever put it up...if it could have been put right on the property line.
To me, that doesn't make sense. And a fence is a structure.
There should be no concern whatsoever. There should be a spec for this situation. Remember, you have few rights to the property near the roadway. All you do is pay taxes on it. lol You should make sure you know what is actually property under your control...and what is actually right-of-way.
In my city, anything at the corner cannot obstruct the view of traffic. This usually means no more than about 2-3 ft. high...and usually pertains to anything from the inside portion of the sidewalk (nearest the house) to the curb.
Why not talk to the neighbor?...and ask him if he would like to take his fence down. Maybe this might be a chance to change things around...and be his friend. Stranger things have happened.
At any rate, it sounds like the limbo area is gonna be 1 foot his and the rest yours...whatever final width you decide to make it. Will he let you cut his grass?...because that's exactly what yer doin' now. Its not as OBVIOUS now, of course...because of only 1 fence. But it might be a sore point once your fence goes up.
You can always make the area wide enough to get a mower in. And you SHOULD...no matter who lays claim to the opening. At least make it large enough to walk into with a weed eater.
Are you gonna put a gate there?...or just keep it open? lol Who's gonna paint his side of the gate? Will he allow you to latch the gate onto his property line? lol
Its interesting the situations we get ourselves into...simply because we can't get along.
Good luck, buddy!
Have a nice week...
Trent
Help keep down the world population...have your partner spayed or neutered.
It's plain stupid to have two fences with a space between them that neither one or the other or both wants to maintain. That is why around here (for the most part) neighbors use a common fence on the property line. I know that varies thru-out the country.
At my house in Lake Charles, had a very similar situation with the back-door neighbor. Previous owner of my house down there apparently put the stockade fence a foot into neighbor's yard. Neighbor wanted to tear down the fence and replace it with cyclone fence, which my father (who occupies the house) detests. Not wanting to get involved in a long feud, I told my father to just hire a couple guys and move the fence, if neighbor agreed. They exchanged a few frosty notes with each other, but then neighbor apparently forgot about it, and the fence is where it always was.
In the case of a pissy neighbor, rather than fence with a DMZ that requires upkeep, I'd plant a fencerow of fast-growing pines trees or something, so I didn't have to look at him or hear him, with some sort of no-mow groundcover between the tree line and the property line. If he doesn't cut between his fence and the line, the ground cover will eventually take over the space.
I would keep the fence 1' on your side of the property as you described and at the same time, I would plant some bamboo on the grump's side of your fence. Let it go - let it grow. It would more than likely look a *lot* better as a backdrop to your new fence - shield some noise over the top, and act as a great divider amongst the "ones who care - and the ones that don't).
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