Mowed a section of land on neighbors property

[EddieWalker]

When my neighbor bought his land, he hired a crew to install a 5 strand barbed wire fence. At that time, the trees were really thick, so he had them build the fence through the trees, and as close to the property line as they could get.

When I got my goats and horse, I decided that I needed a fence that would keep the goats in and the horses safe. I also didn't want any trees close to my fence that would fall on it or drop branches on it.

Fortunately, there was a crew working on the Natural Gas Pipeline on his property, and they had a surveyor in the crew. They found the corners for us and I was able to set a wood post there.

After removing some of the trees, you can see how far off the line he was. My land is to the left of this picture. The space between the line and his fence goes from 30 feet at this corner, to 8 feet at the other end, 860 feet away. He gave me permission to remove the trees on his land, and he even helped with a few of them.

Now his land is for sale and I'm wondering what he is going to do with his fence?

 

[dodge man]

I’m a land surveyor and one question I got asked a lot does a fence define a survey. The answer is always maybe. Surveying is walking a fine line between blindly following old fences a saying they are the boundary and ignoring them and putting the line where it theoretically should be. The courts often like old fences to be the boundary if they are close.

 

[Jstpssng]

^^^^

True. However, if the deeds of record reference corners which can be found or reproduced and there is no mention of said fences, they don't mean squat. That is the situation which the OP describes.

 

[HamishMacCheap]

Decades ago, I bought a couple of acres from a good friend whose house was next to the property he sold me. He told me where he thought the property line was and when my wife and I built, we had a septic system installed and a well drilled. Some year after that, my friend sold his property and moved back into town. The new owner had a survey done and I discovered my well was on his property by maybe twenty feet or so. I offered to but a strip of land but he refused. I had to have a well drilling company drill a new well and move the pipes and well pump. It was not money that I had just laying around but it was necessary.

Since then, after I buy a property or tract of land, I use a Registered Land Surveyor to do his professional thing. I think the surveyor starts at the county clerk's office with research before he goes to the field. In any event, although expensive, its is necessary.

I have bought and sold a number of hunt properties in the last twenty plus years and I have paid a surveyor to provide a plat in each case. Every time.

You can't rely on speculation or what someone in the family says are property lines. Until you have a professional surveyor complete the survey and provide a plat, every thing is uncertainty.

 

[Jstpssng]

^^^^^
The first step though, is to read your deed.

 

[two_bit_score]

I’m a land surveyor and one question I got asked a lot does a fence define a survey. The answer is always maybe. Surveying is walking a fine line between blindly following old fences a saying they are the boundary and ignoring them and putting the line where it theoretically should be. The courts often like old fences to be the boundary if they are close.

Then the question arises "how close is close enough"? The answer is "it depends".

In Texas we have a great resource. Texas AgLife from the Ag Extension Service. tag based on what is being viewed. We filter the output of wp_title() a bit - see agriflex_filter_wp_title() in functions.php. --> <title> Home - Texas Agriculture Law

Property owners can get good answers to these situations through her blog and the materials published by Texas Ag Extension Service.

 

[two_bit_score]

Since then, after before I buy a property or tract of land, I use a Registered Land Surveyor to do his professional thing. I think the surveyor starts at the county clerk's office with research before he goes to the field. In any event, although expensive, its is necessary.

You should do it before you close the sale of the property, not after. This is usually done as a contigency in the Contract for Sale if the buyer is not furnishing a current survey and you are paying for the survey. You make the sale contigent on a survey that you are satisfied with represents the boundry claimed by the seller.

 

[tradosaurus]

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In Texas you won't acquire any legal rights to anything under those facts. Even a layman like me knows that.

Will aren’t u so smart. [emoji[emoji[emoji6]][emoji6]]

 

[tradosaurus]

It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. Walking on somebody else property after they improperly built a fence is not a crime in my book.
If it ever comes up say you assumed the fence was on the property line.

I really didn’t know it was their property until a year later. When we moved in I just assumed their fence marked the boundary line.

Our walking trail that is on their land isn’t that long and we rarely walk the trail.
I’m not interested in opening a can of worms by bringing the issue to the neighbor as it’s a non issue for me.
45 acres is enough for me.

 

[tradosaurus]

I guess I come from a different place than the OP. I would contact the neighbor and apologize for being on his land in the first place, explain my mistake in locating the property boundary, offer to show him what and where I made "changes" to his property and ask him what, if anything he wanted me to do about it (to remedy/fix the changes I made).

Then I would cut a new trail ON MY OWN SIDE of the friggin' property line and move on with my life.

Sounds complicated. I’m moving on with my life regardless.
Really a big nothing burger that a few posters are acting like I’m living on the extra 10’ x 100 ft of their land.

That section has always been on the other side of the fence for a long time.

I probably did the neighbor a solid by removing brush next to that section of fence. And keeping limbs off of the fence.