New Home Begins

[dstig1]

It's great to see that old eyesore go away.

View attachment 288843

WHAT?!?!?! Just look at that place! Heck it even has one o' them new fangled "green roofs" they pay big bucks for over in the big City! A shame, that's what it is, I say!

:laughing:

 

[mjncad]

Yeah, I noticed the moss growing on the roof too. I'll bet the OP is a hero to his neighbors for cleaning up that property.

 

[tkappeler]

Yeah, I noticed the moss growing on the roof too. I'll bet the OP is a hero to his neighbors for cleaning up that property.

I am waiting for an accident to happen in front of the house from people driving by, looking over and losing control as they see it finally gone.

I know the township is ecstatic. My next door neighbor has been really helpful and nice overall. The other day, he flew off the handle because the BH operator pushed a tree over that clipped one of his trees. Arms flying, f-bombs could be heard over the noise of the machine, yelling at me as if I did it.

He will calm down ... I hope. I don't want to become the Harfields and McCoys before the house is even done.

 

[TnWV]

I've following this thread since it started. You have made tremendous progress and the property is looking great. Enjoyed the demo pictures, and it will be a similar view at my place in a few weeks or so. I'm currently striping an old house that I have hired a contractor to demo and haul off in preparation for my build. Enjoying the thread and keep up the good work!

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I am waiting for an accident to happen in front of the house from people driving by, looking over and losing control as they see it finally gone.

I know the township is ecstatic. My next door neighbor has been really helpful and nice overall. The other day, he flew off the handle because the BH operator pushed a tree over that clipped one of his trees. Arms flying, f-bombs could be heard over the noise of the machine, yelling at me as if I did it.

He will calm down ... I hope. I don't want to become the Harfields and McCoys before the house is even done.

Did it damage his tree or was he just over reacting? Regardless I would think he would be happy to see you improving the lot and also understand you didn't do it and I doubt the contractor didn't intentionally try to clip his tree. Hopefully he does calm down, bad neighbors just take the fun out of living somewhere.

 

[mjncad]

If the neighbor doesn't chill out; buy him a case of the cheapest crappy beer you can find and see if that changes his tune. If that doesn't work; just do your best to ignore him, and eventually plant some sort of fast growing screening hedge along your shared property line.

 

[tkappeler]

If the neighbor doesn't chill out; buy him a case of the cheapest crappy beer you can find and see if that changes his tune. If that doesn't work; just do your best to ignore him, and eventually plant some sort of fast growing screening hedge along your shared property line.

Well, I do have some ace's up my sleeve. I have the upper hand no matter what.

1) He has become accustomed to using our property, while it was vacant by the past owner, as part of his hunting ground (bow). There is a deer stand in one of our trees that has been there for a long time and recently used.

2) When we purchased the property and received the survey, his fence starts at the pin just fine, but the other end (about 300' down) is 5 1/2' onto our property. Yes, feet, not inches. He has offered to move the fence but I recognize that moving the fence to the line means also uprooting the cedars because they are on the property line. In addition, I like the fence and if I was putting on up, it would be inside my property line also, maybe not that much, but it would still be inside it

I am going to get the advice of a real estate attorney to insure that adverse possession does not enter in. I want to retain my rights to the encroached area.

 

[srs]

Tom, if I were you I would have him move the fence and then you can replant with some fast growing Leyland Cypress trees. Leylands grow fast, are very strong regarding a windbreak and they provide excellent privacy. Check them out, you only need to buy a 2-3 foot tall tree. Buying some trees will be a lot cheaper then some kind of future court case down the road. Good luck with this issue. Also you can still let him use the deer stand (to be friendly) but seriously think about the privacy hedges or trees.

 

[Ranger Rick]

Well, I do have some ace's up my sleeve. I have the upper hand no matter what.

1) He has become accustomed to using our property, while it was vacant by the past owner, as part of his hunting ground (bow). There is a deer stand in one of our trees that has been there for a long time and recently used.

2) When we purchased the property and received the survey, his fence starts at the pin just fine, but the other end (about 300' down) is 5 1/2' onto our property. Yes, feet, not inches. He has offered to move the fence but I recognize that moving the fence to the line means also uprooting the cedars because they are on the property line. In addition, I like the fence and if I was putting on up, it would be inside my property line also, maybe not that much, but it would still be inside it

I am going to get the advice of a real estate attorney to insure that adverse possession does not enter in. I want to retain my rights to the encroached area.

The easiest way to maintain your right to the land is to give him permission to use the land (keep the fence where it is) and have him acknowledge it with his signature on your letter giving him permission. It also takes a long time of use, 30 years of use in New Jersey, for them to file a claim of adverse possession.
Interesting article in NY Time about this YOUR HOME - Acquiring Property By Using It - NYTimes.com

 

[sdkubota]

Well, I do have some ace's up my sleeve. I have the upper hand no matter what.

1) He has become accustomed to using our property, while it was vacant by the past owner, as part of his hunting ground (bow). There is a deer stand in one of our trees that has been there for a long time and recently used.

2) When we purchased the property and received the survey, his fence starts at the pin just fine, but the other end (about 300' down) is 5 1/2' onto our property. Yes, feet, not inches. He has offered to move the fence but I recognize that moving the fence to the line means also uprooting the cedars because they are on the property line. In addition, I like the fence and if I was putting on up, it would be inside my property line also, maybe not that much, but it would still be inside it

I am going to get the advice of a real estate attorney to insure that adverse possession does not enter in. I want to retain my rights to the encroached area.

Be careful or you could legally lose that property to adverse possession. I believe if someone use anothers property for 9+ years they have legal claim to it. Talk with an attorney and licensed surveyor knowledable in property law. Serious, serious stuff!

 

[tkappeler]

Well, regarding the fence. Here are some pics. In the first, you can see the pin (yellow cap on top of re-bar) vs the actual fence. My property is to the right. In the second picture, you can look down the line and see the trees are about on the line. For him to move the fence, he would have either put the fence on the other side of the trees or move the trees also. I am not asking him to move anything if I can avoid it.

The third picture shows the fence down the line. I will be calling the title company on Monday as they are on the hook at this point and get their advice. They will most likely just refer me to a real estate attorney, but they should be in the loop.

 

[tkappeler]

Just some more pics of the demolition progress. They even work on Sundays. gosh I love entrepreneurs.



One of my camera shy fiance and other "child" wandering the property.

 

[mjncad]

Well, I do have some ace's up my sleeve. I have the upper hand no matter what.

1) He has become accustomed to using our property, while it was vacant by the past owner, as part of his hunting ground (bow). There is a deer stand in one of our trees that has been there for a long time and recently used.

2) When we purchased the property and received the survey, his fence starts at the pin just fine, but the other end (about 300' down) is 5 1/2' onto our property. Yes, feet, not inches. He has offered to move the fence but I recognize that moving the fence to the line means also uprooting the cedars because they are on the property line. In addition, I like the fence and if I was putting on up, it would be inside my property line also, maybe not that much, but it would still be inside it

I am going to get the advice of a real estate attorney to insure that adverse possession does not enter in. I want to retain my rights to the encroached area.

As much as I hate lawyers, getting the advice of a real estate legal beagle is probably a good idea. A few years ago, a couple of shyster Boulder, Colorado lawyers used adverse possession to grab 1/3 of their neighbor's vacant lot to preserve their view of the Flatirons. There isn't enough land left for the owner's of the vacant lot to build what they had planned on being their retirement home.

 

[srs]

My next door neighbor has been really helpful and nice overall. The other day, he flew off the handle because the BH operator pushed a tree over that clipped one of his trees. Arms flying, f-bombs could be heard over the noise of the machine, yelling at me as if I did it.

He will calm down ... I hope. I don't want to become the Harfields and McCoys before the house is even done.[/QUOTE]

For him to move the fence, he would have either put the fence on the other side of the trees or move the trees also. I am not asking him to move anything if I can avoid it.

If the neighbor gets this worked up over one of his trees being clipped do you really think he will be reasonable regarding the property line? I would, at minimum, have him put the fence on the other side of the trees. The fence is really encroaching on property that you bought and should be able to use!!!!!!

 

[tkappeler]

Quick check with subs ... Stump removal today and tomorrow. Scraping off of top soil tomorrow also. Stakeout Wednesday. Foundation excavation Friday or Monday. Footings by mid next week.

:cool2:

 

[sdkubota]

Well, regarding the fence. Here are some pics. In the first, you can see the pin (yellow cap on top of re-bar) vs the actual fence. My property is to the right. In the second picture, you can look down the line and see the trees are about on the line. For him to move the fence, he would have either put the fence on the other side of the trees or move the trees also. I am not asking him to move anything if I can avoid it.

The third picture shows the fence down the line. I will be calling the title company on Monday as they are on the hook at this point and get their advice. They will most likely just refer me to a real estate attorney, but they should be in the loop.

View attachment 289496 View attachment 289495 View attachment 289497

Another thing to consider or at least an option is selling the neighbor the property to his fence. I would set a value of 4 times the going rate per acre and he must pay for all plats and re-surveys etc. It may be worth it to him to keep those trees and may not make any difference to you.

 

[dave1949]

Yeah, buy it or move it sounds harsh, but the neighbor created the problem. Not only the fence, there is no way those arbor vitae can be maintained within his property. He probably planted those to screen your property, I don't blame him for that, but he should have been more careful about locating things. If the surveyor pin is not new, and has been easy to find, he has no excuses. In any case, it's his responsibility to know where his property is when fencing and planting. There are cases of surveyors arriving at different results, that would be a mitigating factor if there is a history of that.

Whatever you decide, a well-fenced yard is the bee's knees if you have a dog. Keeps them safe and out of trouble, and makes letting them out a non-issue, allows the use of a pet door too, which is very handy depending on your schedules. If you think you might fence your yard someday, you could tell him now that when you are ready to do that, his fence will have to be removed, and some of his bushes are going to get damaged. He would then have time to transplant or replace them, or whatever.

 

[sdkubota]

The amount of property in question is proabably less then 1/10 of an acre. Charge him $1,000 plus survey costs and call it good. I would let him make the decision on which option he wants and explain legally it needs to be resolved to protect you and him.

 

[mjncad]

Another thing to consider or at least an option is selling the neighbor the property to his fence. I would set a value of 4 times the going rate per acre and he must pay for all plats and re-surveys etc. It may be worth it to him to keep those trees and may not make any difference to you.

Good idea.

I remember an ex-coworker bought a tiny portion of his neighbor's land because his new house needed the room as he built on an old mining claim. Although his land was about 5-acres, the mining claim is similar to the OP's property...long and narrow. Also he built in the mountains around 9,300 feet in elevation, and as I recall there was a drop-off that prevented him from placing the house totally within the boundaries of his property.

 

[EddieWalker]

My parents found out that one of their neighbors had put a fence well into their property line before they ever bought their place. They just assumed the fence was on the line and didn't realize the mistake until Dad got to looking for the corners to build another fence. The title company was worthless and getting the fence tore down wasn't really an option with everything that the neighbor had into it and then done with creating a patio/back yard area. The realtor suggested they do a land swap and the neighbor pay for all the fees. The title company did do their part for free, but the survey was paid for by the neighbor.

Eddie