Got a wee bit of a property line issue

[joshuabardwell]

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

IMO, unless his belief about the location of the property line was based on a survey, it was a gamble. If he had a survey done years ago and just misremembered, I'll agree that's not gambling, just human error. But a lot of people think they know where their property line is because the previous owner told them that was where it was, or obviously it must be the stream, or something like that, and that's just silly.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

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.

How wide is the easement?

 

[Ted Summey]

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

In NC the owner of the trees is entitled to 3x the value of the erroneously cut trees. My wife's uncle collected on a similar situation.

 

[milkman636]

Not to hijack this thread, my brother's neighbors own survey they showed him agreed. They still would not agree even though they measured with him working from their own survey. The wife grew up in the house and swears that she knows where the line is. He is working with a lawyer to pursue his options. He left the fence at the recommendation of the attorney. Still a PITA just to get an enforceable court order that will keep them off the land, and any judgement for damages will be partly offset by some attorney and surveyor costs. Part of his issue also involves who people are in relation to local politics. Sorry to the OP for interjecting here.

 

[dave1949]

Not to hijack this thread, my brother's neighbors own survey they showed him agreed. They still would not agree even though they measured with him working from their own survey. The wife grew up in the house and swears that she knows where the line is. He is working with a lawyer to pursue his options. He left the fence at the recommendation of the attorney. Still a PITA just to get an enforceable court order that will keep them off the land, and any judgement for damages will be partly offset by some attorney and surveyor costs. Part of his issue also involves who people are in relation to local politics. Sorry to the OP for interjecting here.

They measured together from the neighbor's survey and still won't agree? That's stupid. I am not sure how I would deal with that, probably not well. :laughing: Must have been an interesting conversation. "Yes, I see what the tape measure says, but I grew up here, and I know where the line is." WTH?

It would be an odd survey that measures from the back of the house to the line I think.

 

[riptides]

They measured together from the neighbor's survey and still won't agree? That's stupid. I am not sure how I would deal with that, probably not well. :laughing: Must have been an interesting conversation. "Yes, I see what the tape measure says, but I grew up here, and I know where the line is." WTH?

It would be an odd survey that measures from the back of the house to the line I think.

Maybe elevations come into play with the tape measure? Just kidding. Pretty odd situation.

 

[milkman636]

Yes it is a "pretty odd situation". Her survey dated from when her parents owned the place. My brother has since paid for a surveyor to come out and reestablish the boundary line and place new pins. The difficulties are proving what was there and who actually removed it, and having an legally enforceable way to prevent them from continuing to enjoy the extra 20' so it can revert back to nature. How many of us take pictures of the back of our woods?

 

[dave1949]

Yes it is a "pretty odd situation". Her survey dated from when her parents owned the place. My brother has since paid for a surveyor to come out and reestablish the boundary line and place new pins. The difficulties are proving what was there and who actually removed it, and having an legally enforceable way to prevent them from continuing to enjoy the extra 20' so it can revert back to nature. How many of us take pictures of the back of our woods?

Not me, good point. Fortunately I guess, a lot of the land boundaries in this area follow the old stone walls. That makes it hard for them to "move".

 

[ovrszd]

My neighbor to the East built 1/4 mile of new fence last Fall. It borders a public roadway that is on an easement of our land. He moved the new fence 8 feet our direction. That effectively moved the land boundary 8 feet. He hired the fence built and it was completed before I saw it. I went to him and said "Kevin, your fence is illegal and has to be moved and you know why". He didn't reply, just stared at the ground. I said it again. He didn't reply, just stared at the ground. I said "Kevin, the 15th of April your fence will be removed from our property, you can do it or I'll do it, it's your choice". He said Okay. The 14th of April the fence was still standing. I went to his house and said "Kevin, your fence will be removed tomorrow". He gave me several excuses for not having moved it yet. I said "Kevin, your fence is on our property and legally is mine. Tomorrow morning I will put my Grapple Bucket on the tractor, cut the wire every 100 feet or so, pull the steel posts with the Grapple and pile all the metal in the scrap pile. Then I'll pull the Hedge posts with the Grapple and block them up for firewood". All with a calm and mature voice. He said "I'd rather you didn't do that". I said "Then you need to remove your fence, it's your choice". The next morning at 8 a.m. he was removing fence and by that evening it was being built back on the property line where it belonged. I have no tolerance for neighbors/people who deliberately try to do something like this. I was patient but deliberate in my actions. There was no doubt in Kevin's mind that I would tear out his fence. I didn't need a surveyor or lawyer. If Kevin forced my hand then he would have been the one having to hire a surveyor or lawyer to prove he was right. He knew he was wrong so there was no argument. I say the OP's neighbor also knows he's wrong. If I were in the OP's shoes I would give his neighbor the same option I gave Kevin.

 

[milkman636]

I agree. My brother is overly cautious in his approach. My personal approach to both his and the OP's situations would be more similar to yours.

If I were the OP my first conversation with the neighbor about "my" fence would go something like this. Hey.... since I cleared this brush out on my property I really don't like seeing this fence here. It looks like it would fit nicely on your property. If you think you could use it I'll help you put it up along the property line. If you don't want it I'll probably just cut it up and use it for a bonfire. You should come over and have a beer while we burn it.....