New fence issues with neighbor. Best way to resolve.

9,303 Views | 35 Replies | Last: 7 yr ago by BrazosDog02
Satellite of Love
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To avoid a long post, I will cut to the chase. We surveyed our property to put up new privacy fence on one side. Old chain link was wonKY and rusting plus we wanted to extend fence down driveway to close in new automatic gate. We told neighbor our intentions and did not ask for any money. Talk to fence company and told them we have stakes in place and put posts so there is zero portion of neighbor's yard is on our side.

Side note, AC unit is on side of their house and is just outside of the path of new fence (no fence was previously there). Well new fence is constructed and neighbor claims fence in over the line and too close to AC unit. My survey measurements show in several spots that line is on other side of pickets but posts are on line (not dividing equally). Neighbor wants us to move fence back to give more gap for "fat man" to get around it for service. The other side has a chain link and bushes blocking access on their property. Non issue in my mind to take down fence clean up bushes. We even offered to build a gate for them to seal off back yard from front and clean up bushes and remaining fence. They balked at that and said move the fence.

Neighbor had new survey done to check work and it looks like all the pickets are on our side of the line, so some posts are on line to their side. It sounds like they are not happy about posts sitting some on their property and will ask us to move 100% fence to on our property.

Is it pretty normal for posts to be placed on property line? I feel like since we paid for the fence we got the pretty side and posts are where they are. Would arbitration be over the top to resolve complaint? Anyone else have headaches building a new fence?
Satellite of Love
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Also my survey shows their AC unit is about 12" from property line. Tape measure is 13" and change from back of fence to side of unit.

Other parts show property line is 4 to 5.5 inches behind face of pickets on my side.
Whitetail
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AG
Popcorn in hand...
histag10
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If it is a shared fence, I could see them being in the middle, but since it is just yours, I see where they are coming from.

Maximus_Meridius
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I'm building a fence now (I live north of Philadelphia about 2 hours), and I'm having to maintain a 2 foot gap between the property line and the fence row.

Incidentally, digging post holes in the middle of the "slate belt" is a real b****.
Satellite of Love
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It is a shared fence.....why wouldn't it be? It divides the two yards.
AggiePlaya
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So let's say you had the fence moved 4 inches to be completely on your side. You would be well within your rights to have it there, so how exactly will that change much with the neighbor's A/C being too close? I personally would tell the neighbor to pound sand over 2 inches of encroachment
histag10
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quote:
It is a shared fence.....why wouldn't it be? It divides the two yards.


I guess I should have said a boundary fence (I've always heard it called a shared fence in residential neighborhoods) Where both property owners own the fence, and both are responsible for maintaining it. That is not what you have. You put up a fence that you are solely responsible for, and you encroached on your neighbors property.

Shirt of you getting am easement from your neighbor for this, and it sounds like he won't sign that, you will likely have to move your fence. Otherwise, it could be a headache when either of you go to sell.
ItsA&InotA&M
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You put your property on his property and asked what was the best way to resolve. The answer is to move your property off of his property and on to your property. Life's too short to deal with the neighbor's bs. .
Terk
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quote:
To avoid a long post, I will cut to the chase. We surveyed our property to put up new privacy fence on one side. Old chain link was wonKY and rusting plus we wanted to extend fence down driveway to close in new automatic gate. We told neighbor our intentions and did not ask for any money. Talk to fence company and told them we have stakes in place and put posts so there is zero portion of neighbor's yard is on our side.

Side note, AC unit is on side of their house and is just outside of the path of new fence (no fence was previously there). Well new fence is constructed and neighbor claims fence in over the line and too close to AC unit. My survey measurements show in several spots that line is on other side of pickets but posts are on line (not dividing equally). Neighbor wants us to move fence back to give more gap for "fat man" to get around it for service. The other side has a chain link and bushes blocking access on their property. Non issue in my mind to take down fence clean up bushes. We even offered to build a gate for them to seal off back yard from front and clean up bushes and remaining fence. They balked at that and said move the fence.

Neighbor had new survey done to check work and it looks like all the pickets are on our side of the line, so some posts are on line to their side. It sounds like they are not happy about posts sitting some on their property and will ask us to move 100% fence to on our property.

Is it pretty normal for posts to be placed on property line? I feel like since we paid for the fence we got the pretty side and posts are where they are. Would arbitration be over the top to resolve complaint? Anyone else have headaches building a new fence?
Assuming that I understand this right:

You had a survey done and had them put stakes in place so that the line was properly defined. Or, did you set the stakes yourself?

The posts are in some (probably minute/but unfortunately relevant) portion on your neighbor's property.

Runners and pickets are all on your side.


Trying to work it out sounds like it won't work. Move posts is the solution. Sounds like your neighbor is a REAL *****. I'd be doing cartwheels if my neighbor just up and built a nice fence without asking me for anything!
If your survey guy set the stakes and another survey company is showing that they were wrong, start there.
If your fence guy put the posts in the wrong spots due to his error with properly located stakes, go after him.
If you set your own stakes and they were wrong, cough up the cash and fix it yourself.
Satellite of Love
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Stakes were set by survey company. Second survey showed stakes in right place. Filunny thing is the back stake is behind my back neighbors fence and neighbor has several feet missing from theor yard, but i dont think they know this. They rent this place out and have plans to sell in a few years.

I don't understand histags comments on it being my fence. If anything it is shared property. It replaced the old fence that was in poor condition and not being maintained.

From the get go the comments my by the neighbor were my property is my property and theirs is theres. Having everything on my side would then give them part of my yard. If they want it moved, they can tear down and replace. Posts can be placed on my side and they can have the pretty side.

The owner seems to be very alpha personality and not OK that power to control everything is not in their hands.
G. hirsutum Ag
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How much of the posts are over the line?
Terk
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If the stakes were in the right place and completely in your yard, did the fence company put the posts down the middle (half in/half out) of both of the yards?

Yes, if you build the fence with everything in your yard, you lose some yard. Unless this is a huge place, it's kind of a silly point to make.

Extreme example:
2" x 1,680" (140') of border = 3360 in^2 or 23.3 sqft "lost". That's only if you have 140' fenceline and spaced the posts pretty far into your yard.

More realistic example:
1" x 960" (80') = 960 in^2 or 6.7 sqft "lost"


If you built in his yard without permission, you are wrong. In most instances, you could just reason with the good neighbor, maybe even buy him a sixpack, and it would be done. But, your neighbor kinda sucks. You could spend the $$$ to go to mediation, deal with your fence company, or look up the fencing code with your local AHJ (if it's even in there). What are you leaning toward?
Satellite of Love
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They knew we were going to replace the chain link fence with a new fence and we're OK with that.

The only time I see the owner is when they bring up issues about the fence and telling us what to do about it. I didn't know it was a rental until after we put up the automatic gate and started talking about a new fence with the renter. Owner lives elsewhere in the neighborhood and is moving away soon.

If anything, fence is a huge upgrade over old one and adds more appeal to future buyers not having to put extra money into a rennovation. I feel I should tell them to rip out whole fence. Put posts on my side of the line and they take the finished side. They should cover 80% of the costs. Fence line we are talking about is 122'.
histag10
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I don't see how you don't understand what I am saying. My neighborhood does not require fences. My neighbor does not have his yard fenced. I do. If something were to happen to the fence that borders his property, it us my issue, not his, because it is not his fence.

Was the chain link fence only on your property? If you want this to be a shared fence, did you both sign an easement giving the fence line that bit of property? Did he have a say in what type of fence you built/what materials were used?

To me, it sounds like you built a fence on your neighbors property without permission, and when he got mad, you think he should eat the cost to move it. Trust me on this- that is not how it works. You will be responsible for moving the fence off of his property, and you alone will be responsible for all future repairs.
Satellite of Love
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The old fence was on the property line up until the front where we had a chain link gate across the driveway. That portion of the fence turns out was on our property. The owner kept claiming that last post was on the line but in fact was not.

The new posts should be 50/50 in most spots, sometimes it's more on my side. None of their yad is on our side. That was the main issue when I presented a simple fence solution before build the whole new one. Owner said their property was their so new fence does not adversely poss any of their yard. Pickets and baseboard is 100% on our side.
aggiebq03+
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quote:
I don't see how you don't understand what I am saying. My neighborhood does not require fences. My neighbor does not have his yard fenced. I do. If something were to happen to the fence that borders his property, it us my issue, not his, because it is not his fence.

Seems like if your neighbor comes onto your property and damages your fence while he's there, he'd be responsible for replacing your property that he broke. How else could he break it other than trespassing if the fence is entirely on your side?

And to OP, I'd tell your neighbor to pound sand. If he wanted more of a say in the fence he should have done the decent thing and paid for half of the cost of the shared length. If you love the fence 2" and he has 14" instead of 12" next to the AC it won't gain any meaningful access.
histag10
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quote:
quote:
I don't see how you don't understand what I am saying. My neighborhood does not require fences. My neighbor does not have his yard fenced. I do. If something were to happen to the fence that borders his property, it us my issue, not his, because it is not his fence.

Seems like if your neighbor comes onto your property and damages your fence while he's there, he'd be responsible for replacing your property that he broke. How else could he break it other than trespassing if the fence is entirely on your side?


I think you misread my post, but to answer your question- yes, if my neighbor comes onto my property and damages my property, he would be responsible for it, as that is a legal issue.

And yes, my fence sits roughly 3" inside my property line.
Gigemags05
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OP, while it sounds like your neighbor is a jerk, you are technically in the wrong. It doesn't matter that most of it is in your yard or if it's an upgrade or that the pickets and runners are on your property. You encroached on the neighbors property and that is your responsibility to fix. That's black and white simple.

Now, I'm shocked that a landlord homeowner is giving you any sort of grief over this. I would be more than happy to give up an inch or two of property to get a free fence. Is there something else to this story?

Side note, is your fence really crooked? How are some posts in your property and some partly on his?
AggiePlaya
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quote:
OP, while it sounds like your neighbor is a jerk, you are technically in the wrong. It doesn't matter that most of it is in your yard or if it's an upgrade or that the pickets and runners are on your property. You encroached on the neighbors property and that is your responsibility to fix. That's black and white simple.

Now, I'm shocked that a landlord homeowner is giving you any sort of grief over this. I would be more than happy to give up an inch or two of property to get a free fence. Is there something else to this story?

Side note, is your fence really crooked? How are some posts in your property and some partly on his?
horse***** It is not uncommon to have a 1 or 2 inch variance.

The neighbor is splitting hairs only because they realized how it affects their A/C walk space. I would make them spend thousands in legal fees if they wanted...POUND SAND
Gigemags05
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Pretty sure everyone agrees that it's a crap thing to do. But what I posted is accurate.
AggiePlaya
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quote:
Pretty sure everyone agrees that it's a crap thing to do. But what I posted is accurate.
The original poster did everything they could in good faith to get the fence in line with the survey, how is that a crap thing to do? I bet you would find 1-2 inch variance on the majority of homes if you survey them. The crap thing to do is beotch about 1-2 inches...
Agmechanic
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We refuse to do fence dispute surveys. Tired of getting drug in to stupid crap like this.
bdgol07
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quote:
quote:
Pretty sure everyone agrees that it's a crap thing to do. But what I posted is accurate.
The original poster did everything they could in good faith to get the fence in line with the survey, how is that a crap thing to do? I bet you would find 1-2 inch variance on the majority of homes if you survey them. The crap thing to do is beotch about 1-2 inches...


Tell that to my wife
histag10
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quote:
quote:
Pretty sure everyone agrees that it's a crap thing to do. But what I posted is accurate.
The original poster did everything they could in good faith to get the fence in line with the survey, how is that a crap thing to do? I bet you would find 1-2 inch variance on the majority of homes if you survey them. The crap thing to do is beotch about 1-2 inches...


The op tried to put up a boundary fence half on each property without the consent of his neighbor.

Everyone is saying the neighbor *****ing is a crap thing to do, but op is still in the wrong, and will likely have to fix the issue at his own cost.
dubi
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We built our own fence on the property line.

When house next door was surveyed the guy even mentioned that the fence was almost perfectly on the line and that was very unusual. He said typically +\- up to 6".

Seems your neighbors are *******s.
aggiebq03+
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quote:
The op tried to put up a boundary fence half on each property without the consent of his neighbor.

Everyone is saying the neighbor *****ing is a crap thing to do, but op is still in the wrong, and will likely have to fix the issue at his own cost.

He said his neighbor was fine with it until they after the fact saw how close their AC was to the property line.
Satellite of Love
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No. We informed the owner that we were going to remove the old fence and put up a new fence. They were aware of the project. Issues came up because they have this preconceived notion of where the property line was in their mind versus reality. I will post a little later the beginning of the story.
Gigemags05
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quote:
quote:
Pretty sure everyone agrees that it's a crap thing to do. But what I posted is accurate.
The original poster did everything they could in good faith to get the fence in line with the survey, how is that a crap thing to do? I bet you would find 1-2 inch variance on the majority of homes if you survey them. The crap thing to do is beotch about 1-2 inches...


You apparently really struggle with reading comprehension. Reread the thread and my posts.

What you are saying is exactly what I'm saying. I'm just pointing out that by the letter of the law the jerk neighbor is in the right. ridiculous for the neighbor to raise a stink, but he has he law on his side.



AggiePlaya
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I misread it. I normally don't struggle with reading comprehension lol
Complaint Investigator
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Tear the fence down entirely and just don't have a fence on that side. That will learn them.
AlaskanAg99
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So the issue isn't the replacement of the old fence, it's where you extended the fence. There is no such thing as shared property. I used to work for an assessors office and property line disputes are all too common. Even more so are trees on property lines. A survey is a professional opinion on where a line is. Which is why you can have 2 surveys that are both legal but differ. This is usually not the case within a subdivision, because there are better control points. I had one neighbor at an old house I spoke to about replacing an old and crappy chain link fence. I asked about splitting the cost along the shared portion and they just laughed. Actually laughed in my face and said, "Why would we ay when we will get a free fence?" So I left the hurricane fence in place and just built it on my side and I kept the 'good' side of the fence.

Anyway, you shouldn't have built it on the line but a few inches back. Good luck.
Craigy
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Try to buy his house at a discount. It would cause some problems for him when he tries to sell it if a fence encroached his property. If he is moving out of the area it my entice him to sell, plus save on commissions.
Satellite of Love
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That really does seem to be the issue. After Friday's new survey. Fence company royally screwed up. They will have to come back out and move ~20% of the fence back to our side.

We did agree that even before the new survey that portion needed to be moved. There shouldn't be an issue with the rest of the fence when speaking to the crew on Friday. They agreed on the front and back stakes.
RDV-1992
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quote:
Also my survey shows their AC unit is about 12" from property line. Tape measure is 13" and change from back of fence to side of unit.

Other parts show property line is 4 to 5.5 inches behind face of pickets on my side.
Sounds like you should redo the fence so its 100% on your side of the yard. Put posts on your side, pickets as close as possible to the survey line. So at least 1" closer to their AC unit. Make fence 10 or 12 feet high, or add lattice to top of 8' tall fence. Then tell neighbor to pound sand if they ask you for anything else. They have broken that relationship by being a-holes. Let them know that as well. Finally, let them know that since it was unacceptable for your fence to encroach on their property, it is also unacceptable for their fat AC repairman to be on your property without your prior, express permission.
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