Nice neighbors, fence question

I totally agree. We have recently purchased a home and the fence on on side is literally falling down. The neighbors were very nice about it and made it clear that it faced them and it was our fence and we were expected to pay for it. We will do that as soon as possible, it just irks me that their dog bit my daughter through their broken gate and they have a bad attitude about a fence. If I were them, I would worry about the dog. In every home we have owned, we found that it kept us on best terms with the nieghbors if we just paid for the fence and forgot their share. Only one guy insisted on paying and he was a Muslim.The Christians on the other side refused to help or pay. Go figure. K

Reply to
<kbaudoin
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True, but unfortunately, we're living in a society full of people who, for some reason, never learned to be concerned about the consequences of their actions.

Reply to
Doug Kanter

You need to get to "point A". It can be done with or without a lawyer. I live in Rochester NY. A house closing without any sort of major problems costs $400-$600 with a pricey lawyer. You should be able to solve this problem for that price or less, unless your neighbor decides to be an asshole. Call your town justice and ask to set up a meeting to get his or her advice. If you don't ask, you'll get nothing.

Reply to
Doug Kanter

If you live in a neighborhood without existing fences, then it probally is not expected that one has to exist, and be paid for in joint.

Being on good terms with the neighbors is priceless. Tell them you have concerns about your kids and the pool, and ask them how high a fence they would be willing to accept. You might avert a fight by erecting, say, a 3 foot fence and not "blocking their view", your kids probally would not be able to vault it until they are older, and it is going to solve the dog problem, since, even if the dogs feel like vaulting it, the neighbors aren't.

Reply to
Scott Moore

I needed to replace an existing fence on one side of my city lot, so I just let my neighbor on that side know of my intentions about three months before we actually did it, and we used the same holes that the original posts had been in, so he didn't have to worry about the fence line moving.

Reply to
xymergy

When I built my fence, I went above and beyond what my neighbors would have done.

I designed and built my own wood fence which looks the same on both sides. It has pressure treated posts/runners, cedar panels, and lattice work along the top. The panels and lattice work are centered inside the runners and held in with square molding. I did the same with the gates, except one side has custom welded steel for the molding to support the gates so they will not sag.

Since I wanted a "fancy" fence, I thought I should pay for the entire thing. Also I didn't want my neighbors telling me what type/style of fence to build. And I wanted to "own" the fence and have the option of doing with it what I wanted in the future.

As it turned out, all of my neighbors really liked my fence when it was done. One neighbor liked it so much, she had me build a matching fence for her property. Another offered to pay half (after it was done) and I said not to worry about it.

So as it turned out, I improved relations with my neighbors with my new fence. Since I plan to live here awhile, this is very important to me. Note that I did get plenty of cakes, cookies, and pies (to maintain my strength) from my neighbors while working on this project.

Reply to
Bill

If my neighbor told me this I'd be steamed. The fence is a good idea for him, but VINYL ?!?! A nice wooden fence is another story. I don't know what the neighborhood is like but in my Boston suburban neighborhood a Vinyl fence would be considered an eyesore.

I recommend the movie "Blue Vinyl" about the environmental impact of Vinyl, cradle to grave.

regards Martin

Reply to
m

Excellent post, Jim!...and very good advice.

Have a nice week...

Trent

What do you call a smart blonde? A golden retriever.

Reply to
Trent©

Diving from a 6 ft. high fence into an above-ground pool?! lol

Have a nice week...

Trent

What do you call a smart blonde? A golden retriever.

Reply to
Trent©

Yet...you can't wait to see their faces when they realize they don't own as much land as they thought they did! lol

Have a nice week...

Trent

What do you call a smart blonde? A golden retriever.

Reply to
Trent©

The way things work here in Red Sox territory is that we don't have "town justices". There's a District Court System whose small claims services I occasionally have to use when a client living like they ought to be able to pay their bills just never "gets aroun' twoit".

The Commonwealth of Taxachusetts is in such sorry fiscal shape these days that the wait to get a case heard in small claims court is now over six months (and the filing fees have doubled this year.), as I found out when I initiated a suit against a non-paying client last month. And, when you do get a hearing, they zip through it too fast for anyone to present much of a decent case anyway.

Believe me Doug, I'm neither lazy or incompetent, but I'm a realist about how things work around here, and would rather not bang my head against a stone wall any more often than I have to. I'm not complaining either, I know there are plenty of places in the country where we could move ... where things aren't as bad in those respects as they are here, and the choice to stay here and live with it is ours.

Fo example, one of my friends here in town, living in what was originally a 17th century farmhouse, has a next door neighbor in another old house who is obviously running a sizeable business of some sort out of it, this in a neighborhood zoned "residential only." Large trucks pull up to the neighbor's house after midnight and tough looking guys load and unload huge amounts of boxes several times a week, waking up my friend and his family with their chatter, clatter and headlights. The town goonfaddles have turned a deaf ear to my friend's complaints for over a year now. Maybe it's because both houses are far enough back from the street so that the town people figure it's "out of sight, out of mind", or maybe it's because the "businessman" neighbor knows the right people. Who knows for sure?

I still bfeel that a little fencing will provide the easiest and lowest cost solution for protecting my property rights relative to the little encroachment situation I described.

Happy whatever holiday you may be celebrating this week,

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff Wisnia

You might want to mention this in advance of the project. Just a casual "BTW, I checked my survey and when I install the fence, it's going to be on the other side of those bushes."

Reply to
Frogleg

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