Neighbor won't replace fence

Sometime between signing the contract for buying my house and closing, the

6' privacy fence separating my yard and the next door neighbor's yard completely fell down (and was removed from the property). The previous owner and the neighbor figured out that the fence was owned by my neighbor, who submitted it to her insurance and was reimbursed.

I thought that there wouldn't be any problems, and didn't talk to my lawyer about it before closing, which I am now thinking was a mistake.

I had been thinking that the fence would be replaced "soon" as the neighbor keeps on insisting. However, it is now over two months since we closed on the house, and "soon" doesn't seem to come.

The problem is that I have a pool, so I need a fence for liability purposes. The neighbor's yard is completely fenced, except for between our properties) so this hasn't been such a concern. But in recent days, she has had a large number of children at her house in the afternoons (she is a school teacher, so I'm guessing she's running some summer daycare thing.) So, I am suddenly very concerned.

I am thinking that she's hoping that I'll rebuild the fence, so she can pocket the insurance money and still have a fence. But if I have to build a fence, the only thing I can afford is one of those orange plastic ones, after buying this house.

This seems to be a very complicated situation, and I'm really unsure of how to precede. What are the laws on this sort of thing?

Reply to
Ammonium
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Well, your neighbor is smart -- she knows you're screwed and MUST have a fence. It's only a matter of time before there's a) a complaint, b) a tragedy.

The rules are generally that fences ON a property line are 50% owned by either owner. If a fence is WITHIN your property it's 100% your responsibility, and subject to setback rules and the like.

Assuming you weren't hoping you could get off scot free yourself with your neighbor putting up a new fence (but that's what it sounds like), your next step is to sound out your neighbor on a 50/50 split. She'll probably say no, since she doesn't HAVE to have a fence, and YOU do.

Failing that, your best bet is to find out what your neighbor absolutely hates in a fence (orange mesh, perhaps?) and put that up until she gives in to the split. Otherwise, eventually you're going to be stuck with the whole cost of a fence.

Reply to
Dan Hartung

look on the survey plan of the house.. you should have gotten one when you bought the house.. if the fence was on her property then its her fence and the location of the fence will be shown when they did the survey and will show if a portion of it or any part of it was on your property.... if it was on her property then you cant force someone to put up a fence, but the county, city or where you live can force you to put up a fence due to the pool in the yard.. in my area you need a 7 ft fence with a pool in the yard... you might just want to put up a fence just around the pool to cover yourself???? if the neighbor just wanted to take it down and it was on their property they can do that..........

Reply to
jim

Your neighbor might have a problem with fraud where her insurance company is concerned. They paid for the fence and she didn't replace it. In the very least, her insurance has the right to put a restrictive rider on her policy regarding the fence.

Tell her since you just moved there, you're needing to change insurance companies and ask if she would recommend her own. When she does, contact them and report her ass to them. She'll either end up replacing the fence or having a rider put on her property with no reduction in premiums.

Reply to
Lost-In-Translation

Her fence was damaged, they paid. Unless the policy says otherwise that is the end of it. The neighbor may have no requirement to replace it.

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

Your pool, your responsibility to provide a fence to protect it. In most areas you are required to provide a fence. It's not your neighbors responsibility. In all cases it would be very wise to have that fence as the possible legal and moral problems in the event of an accident are serious.

It seems it was determined that the fence was not yours to begin with. So you need your own fence. I would not suggest repairing the existing one as it is not yours.

Contact a local attorney to determine what your responsibility are and drain or otherwise protect the pool until the problem is resolved.

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

If you're the one with the pool, you need to a fence, and the only way you're guaranteed one is to have it installed yourself. Don't rely on others to put you in compliance with local regulations - it's your responsibility.

Reply to
Kyle Boatright

I think if you were to contact your attorney , he would tell you that 'there are no laws on this type of thing' . Your neighbor isnt obligated to replace anything which is on his property or...put up anything that fell down. If you want a fence for your pool, then, its you who will have to provide it. Get a cheap one for now, then a better one later.

Dave

Reply to
HVAC IsFun

Get your fence installed, and then worry about the legalities. It is much simpler and cheaper than dealing with a neighbor kid wandering in....

Reply to
Buck Turgidson

In Florida, even a drained pool must be fenced off. Most insurers won't touch you unless it's fenced, and if they find out after the fact that a fence is gone, they'll cancel. In South Florida, major insurers are forcing homeowners to remove slides and diving boards in order to get coverage, or they end up with a rider of no liability for the pool and any accidents thereof.

Reply to
Lost-In-Translation

Right. Insurance is to make you whole - reimbursement for the lost value. There is no requirement to actually replace or repair the item.

Banty

Reply to
Banty

In article , "Ammonium" wrote: [snip]

Then YOU need to erect a fence. It's not your *neighbor's* responsibility to provide a fence for *your* pool.

Reply to
Doug Miller

How is that fraud? As long as the loss and claim are honest, I've never seen a policy that says the policyholder has to then replace the item after the claim is paid.

In the very

Reply to
Chet Hayes

As was already pointed out, if the fence was on the property line, in general, it's a 50-50 responsibility. If it's on the neighbor's property, then it's generally up to the neighbor, whether to replace it or not.

I'd go to the municipality and inquire about any ordinances covering fences. You'll need to do this anyway if you have to put up your own to find out about any special setback requirements, etc. I'd also get out the sales contract for the property and read it for any requirements on the seller, like the property must be in compliance with all codes, etc. If it has that kind of clause, then you have recourse against the seller.

And here's a good question, when did the seller get a certificate of occupancy? This is typically required as part of the sales process. Was the fence already down? If it was, it's hard to imagine how they could have gotten a CO. If it came down after, I think you have an excellent case against the seller, to pay for a fence, if you wind up having to do it yourself. After getting all the facts you can, I'd contact your lawyer, as he should give you an opinion for free, since he handled the sale.

Once you know where you stand, I'd try to work with the neighbor, explaining your problem and asking what it takes to get them to do it quickly. If that doesn't work, then you'll have to put up a fence yourself. I'd make sure something is done immeadiately to secure the pool, ie keep it covered, etc.

Reply to
Chet Hayes

Reply to
Tommy & Megan Price

clipped

It is relatively simple. You are most likely required to have a fence of certain dimensions on account of your pool. She may be required to have a fence on account of the daycare. Call state/county to find out daycare license requirements. Then have her cited. Just make sure she will have to get the fence up before your are required to if the inspector cites you. I wouldn't turn a hazard into a game of chicken, I'd get the fence up in a hurry.

Reply to
NorMinn

Call your realtor and tell them you want your money back and your moving. This will get the ball rolling. Fences are put on property lines in my experience. You need a plot map which you should have gotten with your closing papers. If the fence is on the property line then it is the sellers responsibly to provide what you saw on the walk through. See line one.

Got an HOA? call them.

Call an attorney and go that route if the neighbor is unwilling to deal with it.

Personally I would do line one. Your in for a rough time in my opinion with the "Neighbor from Hell" I recently moved because of that.

Reply to
SQLit

The insurance company paid for the loss -- the old fence. Why would it matter if the fence was replaced? When someone ran into the back of my old truck and did $1000 worth of damage, their insurance company wrote me a big check. I spent about $40 to replace the bumper and pocketed the rest. The truck was worth quite a bit less now, but that was OK because I was compensated for it.

BTW, the orange plastic fence sounds lovely. :-) The neighbor will hate it. She will put her own fence back up to hide it, and OP can take the plastic fence down. Or at least OP will be in a better position to negotiate splitting the cost of a real fence right on the line.

Bob

Reply to
zxcvbob
  1. In my area, unlike some of the other postings, fences are not on the property line.

  1. You applied for a new insurance policy before you closed on the house, right? (If you got a mortgage, you almost certainly did.) You would have had to tell them there was a pool. And they would have asked about a fence. You are walking on ice that is not only thin, but melting fast.

  2. Most codes will not allow you to put up an ugly fence. In most cases, you must put the "attractive" side facing your neighbor, i.e. the framing is on you side, the solid stockade is on her side.

  1. If you can do chain link fencing, you can actually rent it quite inexpensively. That would save you some upfront costs and, if your code allows chain link (most do) then that may be ugly enough for her to put up a decent fence. (Then you can stop renting the chain link fence and enjoy her new one.

You don't even want to know how many children drown in pools each year. And if you are even suburban, let alone rural - you now have the neighborhood's largest drinking pool for all of you four-legged friends. Shine your flashlight out there tonight.

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Reply to
bill

You had better be concerned. You do not want to be liable for one of those brats the rest of your life.

If there is one thing I have learned about christian neighbors, delusion.

Plant vines next to your bright orange fence and grin at her when they start to spread allover the place. Violet goes great with orange.

The laws are good if you can steal enough money to pay for them.

Death to the christian jew cop government.

Reply to
Colonel Polyps

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