Your Land is my Land

[EddieWalker]

...

One other thing is that this guy is on our local town board as well as the farmers co-op board of directors!! :fiery:

I'm not familiar with what a local town board does, or what a farmers co-op is, but I might be tempted to go to one of their meetings and ask them for advice in how to deal with your situation without naming names. Bring pictures of what's happening, show the survey, and ask what would they do if this was happening to them on their land?

 

[newbury]

<snip>
One other thing is that this guy is on our local town board as well as the farmers co-op board of directors!! :fiery:

It took 58 posts to get to one of the main problems - the "offender" is a "respected" member of the community who thinks he can get away with anything.

Extreme and expensive, but would be effective.....

http://www.belson.com/Concrete-Traffic-Barriers-and-Barricades

This reads like one of the best solutions if the OP can move the barriers around.

Repurposed materials shows a 1,400 lb one for sale for $50 . Concrete Barrier Barricade - materials - by dealer - sale and I've seen full sizeones pop up on CL a few time, but they weigh twice as much.

 

[oosik]

Like Eddie - I can only guess what those two governing groups do - - but what a brilliant idea. Bring it up to the board or co-op and let them make suggestions. It probably will not require any further action on your part. Word of mouth & peer pressure will - most likely - do what needs to be done.

 

[ericm979]

I could see the neighbor lying (if he really knows that he's tresspassing) to his fellow board members and them believing him over the OP, who is not in the club. And then he'll be looking to retaliate. Didn't the OP say that local law enforcement refuses to do anything? They certainly know the neighbor's a local big man.

Get the survey and then get a lawyer who is experienced with this sort of thing. Or maybe get the lawyer first. The neighbor may pull out the survey stakes.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

How old is the "old" survey? Did it use trees and rocks as points of reference?

How big is your place? Did your land used to belong to his family?

Keep us "posted" on the goings on...

I like the welded pipe fence idea, but a pain to keep the rust and corrosion down so that it stays white.

 

[sixdogs]

Because they're too busy reading books about dispute resolution. And what the crazy neighbor is "feeling".

This guy obviously thinks he's above the law, and doesn't respect his fellow man, or his neighbors.

OP, by all means get your survey done. Probably should have hit this situation hard 7 years ago, and not waited so long. After the survey, you can either keep trying to help your neighbor get in touch with his feelings (bring him a puppy, or a stuffed bear), or you can decide you actually want to do something about it.

Oh, my. I suggested a book about dispute resolution as a way to avoid escalation. I don't give a rat's backside about anyone's "feelings". I'm just saying that this can go wrong and it's best to listen to the tales of others who have actually been there and done that rather than the trial and error thing. Books can be the collective wisdom of the personal experiences of others in the same shoes.

This guy probably believes he owns that parcel and now that we know he's in a couple of positions of authority, he has a degree of local respect that has to be considered. Get the survey yes, and then try to ask why he does this. There's always time to be tough but you have to live in that community and other things can go your way or not go your way based on the perception of others. "Feelings"? Nah, don't lump me in with that batch.


Oh, my suggestions come from having done it the wrong way decades ago and then successfully navigating a few other issues over the years the right way. Easy is always better than difficult but that's a learning experience.

 

[goeduck]

Can you run livestock on your place? I doubt he would knock a fence down if it will let cows, horses, or a bunch of hungry goats into his vineyard.

:rotfl::rotfl:

 

[dmccarty]

This is the key. You do not want to be putting your fence on his land. Have the surveyor flag the line every 4th row with rebar and put a tpost just inside that rebar, then drop half of a 10' stick of 1.5" PVC pipe over the tpost.
Then put your fence 6" inside that line.

Aaron Z

Yes. ^^^

On the day the surveyor visits the OP needs to be there. Having said that, if the "neighbor" sees the surveyor he will likely get confrontational, so let the surveyor handle the situation. When the "neighbor" sees the flagging and posts he is likely to loose it. Seems like he already has done so in the past and this will likely set him off again. Also have the surveyor put a pipe below grade every X feet. If the markers are seen, it is likely that the "neighbor" will pull them out of the ground....

If'n it was me, I would put up a couple of trail cameras to watch the property line, and make sure that at least one or two of the survey markers were easily found, and in view of the cameras. Messing with a survey markers is a criminal offense in NC and I would think it is in NY as well. Furthermore, I would set up the cameras prior to the surveyor arriving. If the neighbor, as my MIL would say, show his a....s while the surveyor is there, having that recorded could be helpful...

In no way, shape or form should the OP cross the property line and/or do anything to the other property, crop, "neighbor," etc. That is asking for big trouble, especially since the "neighbor" might have some connections in the local power structure. Take the high road and stay there. The "neighbor" has more to loose than the OP. Having connections and being on boards is a double edged sword...

For people saying to do things to the "neighbors" property go read the MDBARB thread I posted earlier. My reading between the lines in the MDBARB saga, is that he lost his temper once or twice, understandably so, but it cost him dearly. One does not want to go down MDBARB's path or the path of escalation. People get killed over this sh...t.

Later,
Dan

 

[Steppenwolfe]

I'm not familiar with what a local town board does, or what a farmers co-op is, but I might be tempted to go to one of their meetings and ask them for advice in how to deal with your situation without naming names. Bring pictures of what's happening, show the survey, and ask what would they do if this was happening to them on their land?

Most excellent advice, Eddie... Seriously probably the best course of action I have heard so far. Bring this out into the open...

 

[dodge man]

Now we have gone from a boundary problem to the neighbor being a nut job in a position of authority that will pull all the survey markers. I think we are jumping to conclusions.