JimR
Elite Member
Build your fence right on your property line. That way there will be no misunderstanding as to where your land ends and the neighbors begins. If you build it short of the line. He may think his land starts there.
Neighbor's new septic over prop line
- Thread starter Seat_Time
- Start date
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guyrj33
Silver Member
Looking at the pictures, I'm guessing the contractor thought the fence was on the property line. I don't know why the contractor didn't ask about the stake, maybe he thought it marked the corner of the leach field.
KYErik
Platinum Member
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Seat time + All - my apologies for complicating/confusing everyone by stating my own situation in this thread. Thanks to all for the advice on my case.
Cowboyjg
Silver Member
It's not like there is some grey area here. What happened is wrong! Basically they (wether it's the neighbor, contractor or both) showed no respect. They should have informed you that it was that close and at least given you the opportunity to say "Hey, no problem". What concerns me is that they have now taken away your ability to do many things with that area of your property. If the neighbor claims ignorance then, in legaleze, it's really neglagence. He has a certain obligation to ensure that his neighbors are protected from his use. The contractor is equally at fault and I'm sure there is enough blame to go around. The real question is will they be stand-up people and afford you some remedy? The persuit of happiness isn't supposed to come at a cost to others.
Please don't get me wrong. I am a live and let live kinda guy. I also have enough respect for my neighbors that I think about if what I'm doing is going to infringe on thier ability to use thier place as they wish. Even if I'm at odds with my neighbor I'm gonna try to do the right thing.
I really hope you don't take this too lightly and, more importantly, that your neighbor is a stand up guy.
Best of luck in your situation.
Please don't get me wrong. I am a live and let live kinda guy. I also have enough respect for my neighbors that I think about if what I'm doing is going to infringe on thier ability to use thier place as they wish. Even if I'm at odds with my neighbor I'm gonna try to do the right thing.
I really hope you don't take this too lightly and, more importantly, that your neighbor is a stand up guy.
Best of luck in your situation.
JimR
Elite Member
guyrj33 said:
Regardless of the fence or any posts. Any Decent Responsible Contractor will check his job and the layout of the property before doing a job like this when it is that close to someone else's property. I would even go as far to say that they would not reccommend even putting it that close to a property line in case there is a problem in the future. Then you have the idiot contractors who will do anything for a buck. Like the one that messed with my property when he worked on the neighbors. Their payday is coming soon. Beware of neighbors that don't care about your land. They will cause you more trouble than what they are worth as neighbors. Only pure ignorance leads to work like this that infringes onto someone else's land. I wouldn't be surprised if the landowner blames the contractor and the contractor blames the landowner.
MikePA
Super Moderator
Get your surveyor to come back out and
1. Reconfirm the location of your property line.
2. Locate the sand mound, including the bottom of the slope and the top of the mound.
3. Locate the existing fence.
4. Locate any other significant objects, such as trees, house, etc.
5. Create a plot plan that has all this drawn on it plus the set back lines, which the surveyor should know.
Take this plot plan to the county/township and ask them if it meets code. If it does, end of story. If it doesn't, the county/township will deal with it. Discussion about who's at fault (neighbor or contractor) is irrelevant and not your problem.
All the posts about secrecy, not wanting to mention names, posts about property rights, etc., is, at best, premature, since you're not even sure there's a problem, at worst such posts might end up causing you more problems.
1. Reconfirm the location of your property line.
2. Locate the sand mound, including the bottom of the slope and the top of the mound.
3. Locate the existing fence.
4. Locate any other significant objects, such as trees, house, etc.
5. Create a plot plan that has all this drawn on it plus the set back lines, which the surveyor should know.
Take this plot plan to the county/township and ask them if it meets code. If it does, end of story. If it doesn't, the county/township will deal with it. Discussion about who's at fault (neighbor or contractor) is irrelevant and not your problem.
All the posts about secrecy, not wanting to mention names, posts about property rights, etc., is, at best, premature, since you're not even sure there's a problem, at worst such posts might end up causing you more problems.
Further Update:
Just met with my neighbor and apparently he had been out of town until this morning, thus no return call from him over the weekend. Either way, I'm sure he took my weekend message to heart as he had drawn his own line, using a string (he says) between my two survey stakes ("corner stake" and "by the boulder" stake) and set his own new
n the line" stake...right along the slope. He (today) had been correcting the slope such that it ended right at the property line. I'm sure this has been a pain for him to dig/fix by hand. In our conversation, there were a fer back peddles, half truths etc., he acknowledges that the line was breached and is attempting to fix it. Unless someone can give a solid argument as to why I don't even want the slope's "toe" on the line, I'm going to let this be by-gones with a lesson learned. I want a good relationship with the neighbor, I think he knew this contractor's performance was on the edge of acceptable, I think that had I not said anything nothing would have been corrected. Lesson learned: good fences make good neighbors, honesty is the best policy, and you have to watch out for what's rightfully yours.
Just met with my neighbor and apparently he had been out of town until this morning, thus no return call from him over the weekend. Either way, I'm sure he took my weekend message to heart as he had drawn his own line, using a string (he says) between my two survey stakes ("corner stake" and "by the boulder" stake) and set his own new
n the line" stake...right along the slope. He (today) had been correcting the slope such that it ended right at the property line. I'm sure this has been a pain for him to dig/fix by hand. In our conversation, there were a fer back peddles, half truths etc., he acknowledges that the line was breached and is attempting to fix it. Unless someone can give a solid argument as to why I don't even want the slope's "toe" on the line, I'm going to let this be by-gones with a lesson learned. I want a good relationship with the neighbor, I think he knew this contractor's performance was on the edge of acceptable, I think that had I not said anything nothing would have been corrected. Lesson learned: good fences make good neighbors, honesty is the best policy, and you have to watch out for what's rightfully yours.HappyCPE
Gold Member
I respect your decision and it may seem wise to keep a neighbor happy. But as far as "good reasons" go, how about these:
- Septic systems require a setback from property lines. You don't have one.
- Down the road, the system will reach the end of its life span. When it fails, you may have contamination on your property.
- Your well also may have a lifespan. Where will your new well go? It can't go anywhere yor neighbor's septic. He's limiting your options.
- The principle of the thing. What's yours is yours, what's his is his.
I'm not trying to stir up trouble but I do ask you think about the future, if/when something else goes wrong. Now is the time to get things straightened out; later on, the first question the authorities will ask is, why didn't you do something at the time?
- Septic systems require a setback from property lines. You don't have one.
- Down the road, the system will reach the end of its life span. When it fails, you may have contamination on your property.
- Your well also may have a lifespan. Where will your new well go? It can't go anywhere yor neighbor's septic. He's limiting your options.
- The principle of the thing. What's yours is yours, what's his is his.
I'm not trying to stir up trouble but I do ask you think about the future, if/when something else goes wrong. Now is the time to get things straightened out; later on, the first question the authorities will ask is, why didn't you do something at the time?
JimR
Elite Member
Happy tells it like it is. I would also make him correct this problem. I bet he knew very well about the line breach and is just covering his butt. It is truly a shame that you can't trust people to do the right thing these days.
hockeypuck
Silver Member
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- Lakes Region New Hampshire
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From the pictures I do not see the leach field dressed with soil and seeded with grass. That is a must in my part of the woods. Be a hero and tell you neighbor about this problem and tell hime to have his contractor come back and fix his mistakes. I still do not understand how the septic designer placed this field so close to the property line. Around here, if you come with in 20 feet of a boundary line, you have to have that line surveyed by a licensed surveyor. I would have your neighbor put pressure on the designer and contractor. Make it an us against them thing instead of getting in a fight with your neighbor. Threaten the contractor by calling the BBB if there is no action taken. Septic installers have licenses around here, if that is the case in NJ, you may have that avenue to persue with the state.
Puck
Puck
