Gates and adverse possession

[MossRoad]

I agree with Charlie and John. Get a lawyer.

And I also agree that, if you decide to fence, you should fence the property up to the property lines after you have it surveyed. Don't give up anything by fencing off the property further onto your property. It just makes it easier for the other guy to gain a foot hold.

 

[RSeymour]

I would thing that a legally executed and recorded easement would preclude any adverse possession attempt. My neighbors have a 66’ (recorded with Livingston County) access and utility easement across my frontage (actually across all of our frontages) and I’ve been told that one must jump through lots of hoops to make any change. Luckily we all get along just fine, but are considering changing the easement to 33’, which is the minimum driveway easement in our county.

However, as the others have stated, get a good attorney.

 

[Charlie_Iliff]

Don:
I just reread this thread in flat mode and couldn't help laughing. Your initial post asked about how to construct a gate. I could only find a couple of quick mentions of the gate, buried in suggestions how to solve a legal problem that you didn't ask any of our opinions about.
Although our preference is lightweight metal gates, usually riveted from hat section aluminum or galvanized, we have built a few. Nearly any lumber works, so long as it is protected enough that it doesn't warp too much. We use 1x4, 1x5 or 1x6, and just make sure any rectangle has a diagonal, dividing it into triangles. You can double the verticals with thin boards, sandwiching the horizontals, for a nicer look. You can have verticals at only the ends, or one ot two in the middle, as well. 6 or 8 foot widths aren't a problem, larger starts to get heavy and a bit floppy. I am sure there are plans around, but we just eyeball the layout and nail it up on the shop floor.

 

[TerryinMD]

Hey Charlie,

I started this mess and immediately after rereading the original post I amended my post. Silly me. /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

But, what the heck, most posts are like a wandering stream through a meadow. Start somewhere and end somewhere. What happens in between is serendipitous. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Terry

 

[Alan L.]

I thought this was gonna be about Microsoft vs people who use Windows without paying.

 

[TerryinMD]

Alan,

No, it's about the people who have Microsoft products and wish to "chat" with Mr. Gates... /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Terry

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Thanks for the link. That one looks pretty good to me.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Sorry to hear about your experience in court. When I was younger and
more naive I thought about taking a couple of folks to court -- like a
crooked accountant -- but every lawyer I know personally says the same
thing, that if you want to go to court, you have to do it right, which means
risking a lot of time and money.

Anyway, the real problem with the gate is that the very end of the
easement is a few yards past where it's convenient from my own driveway.
This is why the gate has to be so wide, because I will have to make
sharper than a 90 degree turn to go through it. Stupid.

As for limiting the neighbor's use, I did have my lawyer send him a
certified letter saying that he should remove his own gate (at the other
end of the driveway, on the road), take down his satellite dish, etc,
and stick to the terms of the easement. He got a lawyer, who sent back
a letter saying agreed. Their lawyer went on to point out that I should
split maintenance costs for the driveway, as per the terms of the
easement. This would be fine, but morally I shouldn't have to as I don't
use the durn thing. It's just a nuisance to me. His kids are nice, and
I wouldn't want to ask them to stop playing there.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I did do a survery. It's something I'd wanted to do anyway. Who would
have guessed it, but my decades-old cattle fences are within a foot,
and that goes for a half mile of fencing!

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Another problem is that he could go to court and have something
recorded on my title such as he has the right to park there.

That's what I dislike about this process -- I don't really mind if he parks
there, but on the other hand he paid for one type of easement, and if
wants more he should pay for it.

Really he should just buy the land from me, but I don't think there's any
chance of that happening.