Neighbor Fence On My Land

[Pirate]

I take it this is a typical problem. I read many posts about it but here is mine anyway...

My neighbor has about 100' of fence on my property. It starts right on the line and then it ends up about 3' over on my property. He and the previous owner guessed at the property line when he put up the fence and after a survey a few years ago, they realized the mistake.

I get alone with him and don't want to have him take down his fence which is on some real steep land I don't use but I don't want to relinquish some of my land to him.

What about a lease or something like that? Would that work? I want to make sure that when he sells or his land changes ownership, the fence needs to be moved back to the correct property line. Any ideas? Thanks.

 

[TedLaRue]

Pirate,

How large are these parcels of land? Is this farmland, or 1/2 acre lots in the city?

Assuming the encroachment is a triangle 100' long and 3' wide, the area involved would be 150 square feet which is roughly 0.0034 acres. You say the land is steep and you don't use it. At $5000 per acre for that steep land, the value of the area of encroachment would be $17.22.

But I know how it feels to know that someone is encroaching on your land and impinging on your rights. You'll have to weigh your options and consider the value of the land and decide what to do.

If this is farm land or the plots of land are fairly large, the value of that unused sliver of land probably isn't as valuable as getting along with your neighbor. I can't think of a way of asking your neighbor to sign something legal without creating some tension. If you're talking small lots in a development or something, that would be a different situation.

You don't mention any dates, but there's such a thing as acquiring title to land by acquiescence. Around here that means that if my neighbor has used a piece of my property for more than seven years, and I know he's been using that property (even if I don't know he's using my property) and I haven't objected, then my neighbor now owns that property. The key points are

• the length of time (7 years here, maybe different elsewhere)
• Either I or prior owners of what is now my property have known he's using the land for that length of time
• Neither I nor prior owners have objected to his use of the land during that period of time

Your situation may be different if the owner has admitted that the fence was built in the wrong place (but is it in writing?). Sorting all of this out may require a lawyer, possibly another survey, and possibly loss of a good relationship with your neighbor.

If you Google land use owns fence encroachment acquiescence you'll find a lot of information about land acquiescence. And about a third of the way down this website you'll find a heading "If my neighbor puts up a fence that encroaches on my land, how should I react? What are my legal rights?" that might be useful.

I hope you get things straightened out to your satisfaction.

P.S. I am not a lawyer and I'm not offering legal advice!

 

[jinman]

I get alone with him and don't want to have him take down his fence which is on some real steep land I don't use but I don't want to relinquish some of my land to him.

Any ideas? Thanks.

I would present the problem to him just as you have done here and ask him if he is willing to sign a lease of the property for a small token fee with the lease expiring when he moves or sells the property or you sell your property. Make the lease able to be cancelled by either party at any time. After both of you sign the lease, I'd get it recorded and then keep the lease with my deed papers.

I would not involve a lawyer or make this a lot bigger deal than it is.

 

[teg]

"... I would not involve a lawyer or make this a lot bigger deal than it is..."

Ditto, that statement... A good freindly neighbor will pay for himself over time. I had my neighbors fence on my side of the creek and it drove me crazy... back when I bought the land... right now, it doesn't bother me and he's been a good neighbor.

 

[Pirate]

Thanks for the replies. This is a small wedge. The fence he put in starts on the line but eventually drifts off to be off by 3' a 100 feet later. It doesn't bother me but if I go to sell, the next buyer may not like it. I would rather just go the lease route and that way we both know the property is mine (which we both agree it is) but I don't want any crap when he goes to sell either.

 

[ScottOkla]

On our place the fence on one side starts correctly at the corner and is off by 3' after 1320' (quarter mile), and then by about 5' at 2000'. After that the fence was angled to avoid a rocky, forested hillside. That angle intentially ended with the fence being on their side of the true property line by a few feet at the end of the half-mile. The fence was constructed by them about 12 years ago with material we (parents) paid for. When the property sold, the survey indicated the errors.

As a whole we are out a bit of property, more so that I am comfortable with. But my parents didn't object when it was built and we were actually given (at least we all thought) a little land at the time. I think if I tried to do something about it now it would really make me look bad, as it should. Unless the entire fence comes out at some point, the matter will not be brought up. I think you have to look at it as if you are the other person and act according to what you would think was fair if that was the case.

 

[heehaw]

write up a simple lease for $1 a year, have him sign it and then have it recorded: very simple, if he'll sign it...
heehaw

 

[WTA]

If you are friends with the guy then I'd recommend going over to him and offering to help him move it just to prevent any problems in the future. I think it's best just go get it done and back where it belongs now rather than wait. He might get run over by a truck tomorrow and then where will you be?

Personally, I have done this twice now here after we bought our farm. We have one weird property line with a power line running through it. That line is supposed to be a 50 foot wide easement. One neighbor built his fence to the line and one left room for the easement. I went right to the line myself and put a big gate in for the power company. Oh well if they don't like it I figure. They have to go into my field anyway to service those poles and if I had put it where they told me to then there would not have been any way they could get to it without cutting wire.
Anyway, I helped those neighbors move their fence and everyone is happy. We ended up tearing down most of the old fences they had and now just share mine.

Another neighbor here just bought his place about a year ago. He made an attempt at fixing his old pig fence up and moved it onto my place by several feet. I asked him to move it back where it belongs and he didn't so I just moved it myself. It wasn't hard with a front end loader. What's he going to do about it if I am in the right? That fence line was on a back entrance I have that's only 25 foot wide and about 200 feet long. . It's rarely used but power company trucks need to get in there. That neighbor moved his fence all the way across it blocking any access down that old road.

The other fence we constantly have problems with is on a farm in another state. That neighbor fenced in nearly 40 acres of our property. He ran cows on it too. That would have been fine if he asked someone and paid something for it maybe but he didn't. I only asked him to move it once too.

 

[txdon]

I could be your neighbor, except I'm in Texas. We have about 100' of fence 3' on the neighbors property. The previous neighbor built that half, of the 1 mile fence line, to avoid a steep area.

The land was split and sold and now I have one neighbor of six that has that parcel.
If the new neighbor confronted me about moving the fence I would tell him the history and help him move it if he would do the steep part in the mesquite and cactus. Not a problem. We would use the same fence so nothing would have to be bought.

 

[Lloyd_E]

I would offer to help reposition the fence. Bring lots of good food, liquids and tools and joke the whole time. Than it is done and no worries. I would also mark the corners or survey pins clearly.

Lloyd