Got a wee bit of a property line issue

[riptides]

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Also remember MDBARBs long story on TBN.

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GOOD suggestion.

That should be a required read any time property "issues" is the topic. I suggest the OP go read it.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/rural-living/14251-help-i-need-legal-advice.html

 

[whistlepig]

I've heard about that 7 year rule.
But, I've never heard of it applied.

Around here, whenever there is a property dispute, it generally goes back to the original survey.

What is the definition of "maintained"? Some people like "natural". Some people want it to look like Central Park NY.

I was the bad guy for doing this once. I fenced in a small corner of a property that belonged to someone else. Just to keep my fence lines straight. Less than 1/10 of an acre. This property belonged to a billboard company. The owner stopped by a couple of weeks later and said that he noticed that I had fenced off some ground that belonged to him. I admitted doing so. He was the one that told me about the seven year rule. He said that if I kept it fenced for seven years and took care of this land I could legally claim his land as my own. He was a true gentleman. He said that if I would sign a document stating that I had fenced in his land and was caring for it with no right's to ownership and this was filed with the county courthouse I could leave my fence where it was. We worked things out.

 

[phiferpharm]

Well, the bottom line for the moment is the surveyor will be here next week, so we can at least figure out what is legally correct. The fence was put in less than two years ago when I was still only up here once a month, but the wife had already moved in. She remembered one other tidbit - the neighbors wife told my wife they had just fenced in the easement since nobody was using it.. That is even crazier as my survey shows the easement is actually on the OTHER side of the old fence line according to my survey. Lets see what the surveyor has to say.

 

[whistlepig]

Well, the bottom line for the moment is the surveyor will be here next week, so we can at least figure out what is legally correct. The fence was put in less than two years ago when I was still only up here once a month, but the wife had already moved in. She remembered one other tidbit - the neighbors wife told my wife they had just fenced in the easement since nobody was using it.. That is even crazier as my survey shows the easement is actually on the OTHER side of the old fence line according to my survey. Lets see what the surveyor has to say.

Sounds like you are going the right direction. Although the hassle and cost seems to be on you and not the offender. I would be very interested on how this works out. I'm on your side.

 

[milkman636]

It is a shame that it is so common for people not to respect boundaries. My brother just found out over this winter that his "neighbors" had cleared about an extra 20 feet of trees off his back property line and erected temporary fencing. They argued with him when he went to discuss things and then proceeded to produce a survey that showed distance to the property line from the back of their house. They all measured together and found that my brother was correct about the boundary. They still wouldn't remove the fence and the township government/police won't intervene in civil matters. He will have to proceed to court to remedy the situation.

The moral of this story is just to say that they bought a very specifically bounded piece of property when they purchased their place. Whether they intentionally encroached on your property or not, a decent person would want to make things right with you rather than expect you to yield property to them. If they are not willing to take their fence down after they are made aware of the encroachment, than they are probably not worth having a good relationship with. You shouldn't have to buy good neighbors. I'd give them an opportunity to make it right, but that fence would be gone soon if it was on my property. It would be treated just like the other junk that was cleared out to improve the place.

 

[joshuabardwell]

They still wouldn't remove the fence and the township government/police won't intervene in civil matters. He will have to proceed to court to remedy the situation.

Really? They both agree that the fence is on his property. Seems like he would be well within his rights to simply disassemble it and, if he was feeling gracious, leave the posts/etc... on their side of the line.

 

[whistlepig]

It could be a simple oversight from the neighbor. Nothing malicious. Maybe. These things do happen time to time with folks with a little acreage. I plead guilty to this myself. phiferpharm is handling this like a good neighbor and with the knowledge on how best to handle this. Not an easy thing to do. World could use a few more folks like him. He could be my neighbor any day.

 

[dmccarty]

Seems like a heck of a gamble, unless you just like building fences and are dying for the chance to build it again.

It was not a gamble. The guy thought he knew the location of the lines which he did not.

I have all sorts of stories about that place but I keep those stories off of TBN.

Later,
Dan

 

[dmccarty]

It is a shame that it is so common for people not to respect boundaries. My brother just found out over this winter that his "neighbors" had cleared about an extra 20 feet of trees off his back property line and erected temporary fencing. They argued with him when he went to discuss things and then proceeded to produce a survey that showed distance to the property line from the back of their house. They all measured together and found that my brother was correct about the boundary. They still wouldn't remove the fence and the township government/police won't intervene in civil matters. He will have to proceed to court to remedy the situation.
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Have your brother check his state laws about removing timber. In NC it is a criminal offense to remove ie steal, someone's trees.

Later,
Dan

 

[dave1949]

Have your brother check his state laws about removing timber. In NC it is a criminal offense to remove ie steal, someone's trees.

Later,
Dan

I think here you get triple the wood value for timber trespassing, plus the possibility of other fines.