After 55 years we're tearing down a fence my dad built in 1971. It's amazing that it has survived this long.

The neighbors on the west side have agreed to split costs on that section of the new fence. No problem there.

Here's the potential problem. On the east side, the former neighbors' kids have let the house go on the market. Their dad had taken out a 2nd mortgage on the house, but then passed away a couple of years ago. Their mom eventually wound up in assisted living. The kids had no choice but to just let the house go. Now to the really tricky part....

When my dad built that section of the fence, he supposedly built it about a foot inside the property line. If I go to publicrecordsdata.us it appears to show this. I'm sure that's not official however.

I am not at all worried about reclaiming our missing yardage or anything like that. My concern is what happens if the realtor decides out of the blue to do a survey, or they roll up and decide they didn't want a new fence? We've tried to contact them but so far have not heard back. The fence crew is set to start this week.

My thought is IF the fence really is a foot inside our property line, they have no say in the matter. What say you? And oh BTW how much would a survey cost?

THIS
Very wise,
also b/c surveys have differed in old parts of Aggieland, as well as surveyor quality.

TexAg1987 said:

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Equinox said:

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My concern is what happens if the realtor decides out of the blue to do a survey

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If the house is for sale, chances of a survey are very high as the new lender will probably require it.

Not sure of your concern.

Are you worried they won't help pay for that portion of the fence? Contact the realtor to negotiate. A new fence should increase property value. Or build it on your side of the property line and pay for it yourself. Put pretty side to you.

Are you worried they don't want a fence at all? Is that typical in your neighborhood? Not much they can say if it is on your property. A fence has been there since 1971, how are they going to argue?

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1st bolded- Mainly I'm just being overly cautious/paranoid. I can't imagine anyone would complain about a shiny new fence.

2nd bolded- to be honest we were going to put the pretty side outside on all three sides (I'd rather have the rails inside so people can't easily climb over the fence from the outside). Explain your statement to a first-time fence builder like me.

Equinox said:

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TexAg1987 said:

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Equinox said:

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My concern is what happens if the realtor decides out of the blue to do a survey

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If the house is for sale, chances of a survey are very high as the new lender will probably require it.

Not sure of your concern.

Are you worried they won't help pay for that portion of the fence? Contact the realtor to negotiate. A new fence should increase property value. Or build it on your side of the property line and pay for it yourself. Put pretty side to you.

Are you worried they don't want a fence at all? Is that typical in your neighborhood? Not much they can say if it is on your property. A fence has been there since 1971, how are they going to argue?

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1st bolded- Mainly I'm just being overly cautious/paranoid. I can't imagine anyone would complain about a shiny new fence.

2nd bolded- to be honest we were going to put the pretty side outside on all three sides (I'd rather have the rails inside so people can't easily climb over the fence from the outside). Explain your statement to a first-time fence builder like me.

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If you share a fence with a neighbor who also has a fence around the rest of their yard, generally you aren't concerned about them climbing over to get into your yard. Front facing fence usually has smooth side out for your reasoning. If there is no fence at the neighbor's house and you are worried about fence climbers, put smooth side out on all sides.

If you are paying, the idea would be you get the smooth (pretty) side. If you prefer the other side, no harm, do what you want.

If the neighbor has the rails side and prefers the smooth look, they can always double side it at their cost. Usually, the payer gets to pick the direction. If you are splitting it, then it is a negotiation.

If you had time, you could wait until the property sold and go off the new survey after they close.

Got it. Unfortunately there is no time to wait. It's happening now.

Did some research on the "realtor" and they seem to be a rinky-dink little company. I don't think there will be issues.

Equinox said:

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Got it. Unfortunately there is no time to wait. It's happening now.

Did some research on the "realtor" and they seem to be a rinky-dink little company. I don't think there will be issues.

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I couldn't follow why a realtor is involved. Is one of you selling their property? If not, get a new realtor. They should be hungry enough to build a relationship now so they have earned the listing when you sell later.

ravingfans said:

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Equinox said:

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Got it. Unfortunately there is no time to wait. It's happening now.

Did some research on the "realtor" and they seem to be a rinky-dink little company. I don't think there will be issues.

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I couldn't follow why a realtor is involved. Is one of you selling their property? If not, get a new realtor. They should be hungry enough to build a relationship now so they have earned the listing when you sell later.

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The realtor is for the house next door. They've shown it a couple of times and nobody has said a word about the ongoing fence construction. I was just being paranoid trying to account for all possible scenarios.

Fence is almost finished. I'll deal with whoever buys the house next door when/if it sells.