This is the only logical answer in this entire thread, given the wide variety of local ordinances. It is literally their job to enforce property line issues, and once informed of a situation, the onus is removed from OP entirely (other than the possibility of dealing with a pissy neighbor).
Jon
anything at
Sounds to me like an ass got a free fence - but by rights the fence should be 6 inches inside the property line according to MOST zoning - which requires 2 fences 1 foot apart to separate properties UNLESS there is an agreement to share the fence. What the OP SHOULD do is finish his side of the fence to his satisfaction and shut up. He didn't have to pay gor holes and posts.
the fence with the bad side facing your property. Unless you've got some strange fence ordinances where you live, the standard rules call for the good side to face the neighbors.
reposition it to be totally on their property. It could cause serious issues later on if you or they decide to sell.
fences? My town allows the fence to be right on the property line, but many municipalities don't.
out the property line and they still encroached upon your property, apparently without any further discussion. How did the property line discussion go when you brought it up? Best? case scenario (for the neighbour) is he pays to put a "good side" on the other side of the fence too.
Don,
Did you raise this issue with the property owner? Does your neighbor know that you are unhappy with the fence? Surely you didn't let them build the fence without complaining to the owner, not some workmen. Why didn't you order the workmen off of your property?
Dave M.
Nonsense. Someone can't build a fence on your property just because you didn't go over there and stop them from doing it. All that matters is where the property line really is. If the fence is on a neighbors land it goes.
I don't know why you would notify the architect. You should have sent a registered letter to the OWNER.
We are talking a couple
Again, why haven't you notified the owner?
I really doubt the owner has any
Seems rather odd that you know who handled what and are engaging with the wrong people.
Where were you when it was going up? If that 1.5" really bothers you so much, why didn't you go over there and tell them to stop. Tell whoever was putting it up that you want to speak to the owner. Call the police if you had to.
Unless there is some special issue here, being off by 1.5" doesn't seem like it would upset most folks. I sure would not cut any part of the fence.
You stated that they went the 1.5" so that they could clear a telephone pole that is on their property. And that if they had put the good side toward you, that the extra 1.5" would not be necessary. So, I would go to the local code officials and get a copy of the fence ordinances. As DerbyDad said, in many places if there is a difference in the two sides, the better looking side has to face out. If you're luck, that could be the case where you are. Then they have to redo it anyhow.
If that route doesn't work, then I guess you have to figure out how important that 1.5" is to you and if you want to have an angry neighbor. If it was a foot, even half a foot, I could see it. With 1.5" I'm having a hard time.
The neighbor would also have to be paying the taxes on the
1.5" of property, which seems unlikely.
Yeah, I can see that 1.5" having a big impact on the price.
ordinances? That is not how I have always understood it.
roof, it wouldn't prevent me from using my roof or any other part of my property. Does that mean I can't cut it to protect my investment?
vehicles, it wouldn't prevent me from using them or my driveway. Does that mean I can't cut them back so that I can enjoy my vehicles, not just use them?
You're right here. In most locations you can cut tree limbs that overhang onto your property back to the property line without any justification. You don't see it done much because usually it's not an issue.
It defies reason that you're emailing the contractor, the architect and not talking to the owner. If I was either of those guys, I wouldn't talk to you.
You're misinformed as to what courts and judges do. They aren't there to figure out what is fair. They are there to apply the rule of law. And I think you will find plenty of case law that says you can't build something on another person's property. 1.5" isn't much, but it's also clear why they did it. By doing it, they got their fence around a telephone poll. IMO, this would be a slam dunk win, and the fence would have to be moved. To follow your reasoning, a neighbor could build his house where it's not supposed to be, then because it's an inconvenience to redo it, he gets away with it.
Correct. The posts are on my side. His side is totally blank.
Don.
Since the neighbor has piled up 2 feet of dirt on his side of the fence, it has become a retaining wall. It doesn't sound like this 'retaining wall' was built to the proper specs to do that job. I'm quite sure that retaining walls would have very specific specifications and requirements. Might be that the danger of his yard collapsing into your yard, would mean that it should be torn down and built to proper 'retaining wall' specs. While he's rebuilding it to the proper specs, he could build it where it should have been built in the first place.
Larry
I went through this a few years ago.
In California, the law, as I remember it, is weird about the subtleties surrounding these two types of property disputes: a. prescriptive easement b. adverse possession
In the first case, your implied consent allowing the fence to overshadow your property line can be used in the future to allow a judge to prescribe an easement (usually for the *subsequent* property owner).
In the second case, the neighbor is knowingly overshadowing your property line, against your will, and you allow it for a long enough period that the neighbor actually can lay claim to the land.
In both cases, if you merely write a lease (e.g., for $1 a year), that allows the overshadowing, you maintain clear rights to the overshadowed land.
Why not just snap a picture?
I do it all the time.
Saves a lot of questions ... (just saying) ...
PS: I snapped pictures of my fence just this week (look in the record).
anything at
Then somebody is not doing their job.
A land survey has to "close" within something like 3 inches What you own is described - accurately- by the survey. The survey is "referenced" to permanent markers, called monuments, which are also described and referenced to others. If your property is "out in the boonies" and the survey is an old survey, it may be inaccurate - but with the "total statios" a they use today they can be accurate to within inches over miles of terrain.
Are they 100% accurate? No - but close enough to know if the fence is on his or your property - yes - because the survey deliniates your property according to the description on the deed. And he DID say both surveys were by the same surveyor and agreed, if I remember correctly.
So he obviously did not have a grading permit - is your municipality a zoned municipality? sounds like it. What effect will his grading have on your drainage? Will it divert water onto your propery?
If after talking to him, civily, he does not give you a satisfactory response your only recourse would be the building/planning department and bylaw enforcement. Sounds like his fence is overheight, which he tried to remedy by backfilling - and he is using a fence as a retaining wall, and he likely has not got a grading or drainage permit
- all of which are more serious than 1 1 1/2" encroachment.
Not that this really matters, but I grew up in a row house in Queens. I lived in the second "house" on the block which meant that where my back yard ended was the side wall of the first house on the side street. We knew the people in that house because their kids were same age as us.
When the brick wall of their house needed repointing, they hired a company that repointed the mortar, then painted the entire wall white and then went back and painted all of the mortar joints black. When they were done it looked like white bricks with black mortar.
Why, you might ask. They did it because the white wall brightened up *our* yard by reflecting the sun much better than the dark brick wall. That's what neighbors did for each other when I was growing up.
If this link to Google Street View works, you should see a white wall on the side of a row house in the center of the page. That's the painted wall and the house with the "A" in front and the black roof was where I grew up.
BTW That big school building and sports complex right across from my old house was an open field where we played ball and frisbee. I'm so glad I'm out of there.
Check your local regulations. Some say the good side must face the outside of the yard. It may not apply on a property line, but does on the outside by a sidewalk.
In any case, it sounds like your neighbor is self centered and does not give a damn about you or your property line.
I put a bit of effort into seeing that I used the same surveyor. I do not have a land survey. I have what is called a Stakeout Survey. When your entire property is 20' x 100' one doesn't think of it as land.
Don.
Good. Stay there; we don't want to look at a crappy fence. Laws like that exist in many communities.
In some historical areas, yes, colors have to be approved.
Its the right thing to do!
Land around here is about $800/sq ft. Or more. Actually it is 1 1/4". I made a mistake in my original post. Our properties overlap 15'. That comes to $1250 of land taken.
Don.
What inspection? Not every permit required an inspection. I have two permits and never had anyone even drive down my street. They just take your money for a roof, shed, some other smallish items.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.