My first Property Line Fence Issue...

[two_bit_score]

I would consider filing to have the tree removed and use it as a
Bargaining chip with the developer.

 

[mapper]

If the tree is starting to heave the floor of the garage you will probably need to repair it. While that section of floor is removed in preparation for repouring the roots will be exposed for trimming. Paint the cut ends with some good herbicide to prevent them from regrowing....
I guess there is a good reason I don't live where my neighbors are in my hip pocket

 

[ultrarunner]

^^^ and these are consider spacious as the lots are 42 by 125.

The only place I feel not boxed in as in Washington where my home sits alone on 17 acres...

 

[MossRoad]

The pictures are from the Realtor... and they are of my neighbors property that is being flipped.

They were taken last week... winter time here in between the rain.

Gotcha. So that's your garage on the other side of the fence. Bummer. That's one of the problems with being allowed to put buildings so close to property lines. Your neighbor can do the same thing, then neither of you can do maintenance.

I'd imagine if you had to do maintenance, you might be able to force them to allow you to take the fence down temporarily while your repairs are made, as long as it's put back up undamaged, in like condition, and in a time-line.

At our first house, right after we got married, we got a dog. I wanted to fence in the yard and their garage was like yours. The neighbor, an old guy that had lived there about 30 years, showed me the property line, a post near his driveway, which was about 3' south of the garage. I had the fence company located the actual pins. It was 2.5' further north, putting the property line 6" from his garage. Had I fenced that, he'd never have been able to take his trash out to the alley, paint the side of his garage, etc... Since I liked them, I showed them everything and just put the fence 3' in on my side, effectively gifting him the 3'. It wasn't worth losing a good neighbor over.

In your situation, it would have been nice if they had discussed it with you first, and talked about making removable panels (really easy with planned brackets and removable hardware), but it is what it is.

Hopefully, their increased property values will also increase yours and you can benefit from it in the long run.

 

[fried1765]

Gotcha. So that's your garage on the other side of the fence. Bummer. That's one of the problems with being allowed to put buildings so close to property lines. Your neighbor can do the same thing, then neither of you can do maintenance.

I'd imagine if you had to do maintenance, you might be able to force them to allow you to take the fence down temporarily while your repairs are made, as long as it's put back up undamaged, in like condition, and in a time-line.

At our first house, right after we got married, we got a dog. I wanted to fence in the yard and their garage was like yours. The neighbor, an old guy that had lived there about 30 years, showed me the property line, a post near his driveway, which was about 3' south of the garage. I had the fence company located the actual pins. It was 2.5' further north, putting the property line 6" from his garage. Had I fenced that, he'd never have been able to take his trash out to the alley, paint the side of his garage, etc... Since I liked them, I showed them everything and just put the fence 3' in on my side, effectively gifting him the 3'. It wasn't worth losing a good neighbor over.

In your situation, it would have been nice if they had discussed it with you first, and talked about making removable panels (really easy with planned brackets and removable hardware), but it is what it is.

Hopefully, their increased property values will also increase yours and you can benefit from it in the long run.

Flippers are unlikely to see any value in being "nice".

 

[Diggin It]

^^^ and these are consider spacious as the lots are 42 by 125.

The only place I feel not boxed in as in Washington where my home sits alone on 17 acres...

Funny our perceptions and scope. I grew up on 30 x 60 lots. Graduated to a gigantic 60 x 120 lot. Wow those places all had a lot of grass to mow!!! And the 40' driveways barely wide enough for a car? How did we ever shovel those?

Now on close to 5 acres, I find myself wishing every day I had another 20 or more so I could be further back off the road.

 

[Jstpssng]

I would have a very hard time spending the money on a fence like he did without having a surveyor come in first, to check te lot lines and put stakes where the fence can go. It's funny how things like pins move over the years. There was a case downstate years ago where a contractor didn't do that, and build a McMansion slightly too close to a sideline so that it violated the zoning ordinance. One of the abutters wouldn't sign off on it, so they somehow had to move that entire building 11 inches. I was doing mortgage loan inspections at the time, and it was some yuk like me from another company who discovered it as the new owners were trying to get their final loan approved.

With tolerances that close I would be talking to the Code Enforcement Officer if I was the OP, and if the tree is destroying your garage I would find out what, if anything, can be done.

Being neighborly has to be a two way street.

 

[zzvyb6]

I used to know the answer to this question. It's been asked before here. SF is in the middle of a quake zone. Do the property lines move with the soil or with the GPS delineations ? That may now be YOUR fence !

 

[Diggin It]

That may now be YOUR fence !

Looks like the fence is the OPs now, even if the flippin' flipper didn't mean for it to be.

The fence by the garage is on the line.

Hard to see but the fence just before the garage was built 100% on my side several inches... as the 4x4 post attaches to my garage well under the eves and then jogs out 6" to the property line ...

 

[MossRoad]

The fence by the garage is on the line.

Hard to see but the fence just before the garage was built 100% on my side several inches... as the 4x4 post attaches to my garage well under the eves and then jogs out 6" to the property line and continues "Through" the tree.

That tree as been a bane for some time... it is square on the line as far as I can tell... garages were all there first... ;-)

Tree removal requires $250 permit application, public placarding and public hearing... in order to proceed... probably why they went around it.

If I sold I would loose my established Prop 13 tax basis which is no small consideration... I have about 80k in it and if their 950 square feet sells for 650k I wonder what my 1150 square feet would bring?

Of course the home for sale was gutted to the studs and I have pictures...

If that front part of the fence was built on your side of the line, tell him you want it moved to his side now. Don't wait. Also, call code enforcement on the overheight issue now as well. It's not tit-for-tat, it's the law.