My first Property Line Fence Issue...

[MossRoad]

Damage to my irrigation and the cost to replace the rhododendrons and Camellias I planted back in 1985...

I clearly showed the property line and that everything removed was on my side.

The fence that was built was on the line so nothing I can do about that... 10" between the side of my detached garage to the 6' fence the flipper built...

OK. Thanks for the details.

Back when we bought our first house, the wife wanted a "free puppy"..... $900 for a fence. I found the stakes. Had I put the fence on the line, I would have left my neighbor with about that same 10" between the fence and the garage. So I put it 3' into my yard so that he could maintain the side of his garage, with the understanding that it's still my yard on the other side of the fence. Of course, we're talking $20-30K houses and not the $$$ your house is in. Every foot of property out there is pretty much worth its weight in gold!

 

[4570Man]

If the garage builder wasn’t willing to give up 2.5 feet of his property to allow himself access why should you give up 3 feet of your property to give him access?

 

[MossRoad]

If the garage builder wasn’t willing to give up 2.5 feet of his property to allow himself access why should you give up 3 feet of your property to give him access?

The houses were built in the 50's. We bought the house in the 80's. The elderly couple that lived next door were there since the house was new. They welcomed us to the neighborhood with open arms (and beer). We'd go for Sunday drives with them. I'd go fishing with the old guy. Our wives made pies for each other. I repaired their TV. They mowed our lawn for us. I shoveled their sidewalk, driveway and alley in the winter...... our houses were so close together that I could sit at my kitchen table eating breakfast with the window open, and if my spoon clinked my bowl, Ben would hear it and ask what I was having for breakfast. I'd say Cheerios. He'd say Irene made pancakes. Want some? :laughing:

It's called being friends and good neighbors.

He passed away after we were there about 8 years. Irene moved in with her daughter, survived two rounds of cancer, and lived another 10 years. They sold their house to their grandson, who we also got along with very well. We moved when we needed a larger house. I still miss them to this day. :thumbsup:

 

[turnkey4099]

OK. Thanks for the details.

Back when we bought our first house, the wife wanted a "free puppy"..... $900 for a fence. I found the stakes. Had I put the fence on the line, I would have left my neighbor with about that same 10" between the fence and the garage. So I put it 3' into my yard so that he could maintain the side of his garage, with the understanding that it's still my yard on the other side of the fence. Of course, we're talking $20-30K houses and not the $$$ your house is in. Every foot of property out there is pretty much worth its weight in gold!

That sort of agreement, basically granting your neighbor and easement, should be put in writing and renewed every few years. Only takes one sale to a new tenant and you could lose the land.

 

[ultrarunner]

So what would you gain if he cut some off the top of the fence? You still couldn’t work between it and the garage. That sounds like a you problem for having a garage 6” from the line.

There are 284 homes in this subdivision built in 1922... each and every home has a detached 12x18 single Model T Ford garage in the same location... the eves of the garage are on the property line... with the wall set back 9-10" from the line.

All of the homes have fences and the fence jogs in the 10" to the garage wall... so each property has 10" along the neighbor's garage in their fenced yard... not a single home of the 284 have a fence running down the line where the garage wall is except for me now due to the Flipper that Flipped the home next to me... he also got a pretty price for it... 975 square feet, 2 bedroom 1 bath sold for $640k on a 41x120 lot...

My comment is the fence placement was unnecessary and a waste of money...

It won't affect the value of my place... I bought for 65k in 1985... 3 bedroom 1 bath premium home as the 3 bedroom with 10x10 laundry basement were called...

Currently you could argue a 10x price increase over 30+ years ownership... current rent is 2k which is way under market.

 

[hawkeye08]

MossRoad, I think I would have still put the fence on or nearly on the property line and made it so the section next to the garage could be removed should the garage need maintenance (such as painting every 25 years)..

 

[Jstpssng]

That sort of agreement, basically granting your neighbor and easement, should be put in writing and renewed every few years. Only takes one sale to a new tenant and you could lose the land.

I find that hard to believe. While laws vary from state to state, we have property lines which have been identified by spotting trees for 125 years or more, yet if a survey shows that they are in the wrong place I still can be held liable for timber trespass. Still, a visit with a title lawyer might be worthwhile for anybody in that type of situation.

 

[MossRoad]

That sort of agreement, basically granting your neighbor and easement, should be put in writing and renewed every few years. Only takes one sale to a new tenant and you could lose the land.

Nope. It's all surveyed, recorded, etc... we maintained the 3' on the other side of the fence and paid the taxes on it. Only problem would occur if neighbor started using it on a regular basis and we didn't say anything. For example, when the grandson moved in after he died, he wanted to put up a fence on his yard to fence it in for his kid and dog. I told him he could not connect to our fence because it's 3' into our property. And that was that.

 

[MossRoad]

MossRoad, I think I would have still put the fence on or nearly on the property line and made it so the section next to the garage could be removed should the garage need maintenance (such as painting every 25 years)..

Not easy to do with chain link. Anyhow, they were like family to us from day 1. Almost the entire block of about 40-50 homes was original owner old people. There was one rental property on the block when we bought the house from a dead relative's children. We were the youngest people on the block. I repaired many TVs, appliances, lawn equipment, etc... for about half the block at one time or another. We felt very welcomed and it was like having dozens of grandparents all the time. Man, our first kid got spoiled! :laughing:

 

[ultrarunner]

Not easy to do with chain link. Anyhow, they were like family to us from day 1. Almost the entire block of about 40-50 homes was original owner old people. There was one rental property on the block when we bought the house from a dead relative's children. We were the youngest people on the block. I repaired many TVs, appliances, lawn equipment, etc... for about half the block at one time or another. We felt very welcomed and it was like having dozens of grandparents all the time. Man, our first kid got spoiled! :laughing:

Very much the same experience... my neighbors were mostly original owners from the 1920's... amazing... no one moved...

I was made most welcome and I was 50-60 younger...