Fencing etiquette?

[paulsharvey]

So, if your neighbor had a fence, set 3 or 4 or 5 ft back on their property, is ridiculous to install your own fence, 5 ft away, 4 inches on your side? We are talking field fence/livestock fence, not privacy.

Thats what im going to do, but it seems kinda stupid too. With that, they didnt abandon that 5 ft on "my side" of the fence either.

If your neighbor has a fence all along your entire line, set back multiple feet, not 2 ft; but also not 20 ft; would you bother fencing your side?

 

[bcp]

I would be first be finding survey markers to verify for myself, then talking to the neighbor about the dilemma.

Bruce

 

[rontaki]

The space between the two fences might make a great hideaway for kids or critters.

 

[shooterdon]

I must not understand. There is already a fence and you want to run another one parallel to it? Why?

 

[jaxs]

Based only on what you've said here I consider it a waste to build another fence. Why don't you tell us the rest of the story?

 

[ultrarunner]

Some set fences back due to easements or to be able to clear a break outside the fence to the line…

 

[Furu]

My neighbor talked to me about sharing a fence build on our common line. They wanted a 4 strand barb wire for their cattle, I wanted field fence with a wire strand on top. They said that their cattle would not honor a field fence and that only a barb wire fence would work.
Well I have had cattle honor a field fence for decades in another location without an issue but that was the owner's choice and her foreman was just the middle man but he was of the same opinion.
My dogs will not be stopped by a 4 strand barb wire and I had no use for the barb wire fence. There was an old, 40- 50 years old, barb wire fence there already, just not on the property line. It was in real bad shape and would not stop any cow or any other animal. Since we could not come to an agreement to cost share they put the 4 strand barb wire 6 inches on their side and I am putting a field fence on my side. Seems stupid yes, but their needs were radically different than mine. Sometimes you just do what you have to do.

 

[alexpops]

Furu -- Who's going to mow/maintain the 1 ft swath between fences? Wouldn't it have been simpler to share the cost of posts on the line and each of you put the material of choice on your own side of the posts?

PaulHarvey: same question, who will maintain the 5-6 ft of No Man's land between fences? I think (if it were me and the fencing material wouldn't harm my dogs) I'd leave it alone & run an extra mowing pass on his land given that the fence is already there. Now ... If the fence is in bad shape & he won't repair ... that's a different story.

 

[lman]

When we moved here about 30 years ago there was a fence about 8 ft on the neighbor's side of the property line. Both sides are wooded with an open lane on my side. Part of the lane belongs to the neighbor. I have always kept the lane open, mowed and removed fallen limbs fro the top of the fence. The neighbor was a single older woman when we moved in so I didn't expect her to do much. I never thought about maintaining the property since the neighbor's woodlot wasn't maintained. I've eliminated the invasive honeysuckle on my property but it's a mess on the other side of the fence. When the new neighbor moved in there were no changes. I never saw any reason to object about the location of the fence or taking care of it.

 

[dodge man]

I’m a land surveyor and did a survey on rural farm ground, something like 80 acres. She intentionally built her fence offset, something like 10 feet. The adjoiner auctions off their land several years later and the surveyor doesn’t find the markers I set on the line but just uses the fence line. She talked to the auctioners and acted like it was her fault for not putting the fence on the line.

There is nothing saying you have to build a fence on the line. For the OP if you want to put livestock on the ground you should build a fence on the line.

 

[Eagle1]

My neighbor talked to me about sharing a fence build on our common line. They wanted a 4 strand barb wire for their cattle, I wanted field fence with a wire strand on top. They said that their cattle would not honor a field fence and that only a barb wire fence would work.
Well I have had cattle honor a field fence for decades in another location without an issue but that was the owner's choice and her foreman was just the middle man but he was of the same opinion.
My dogs will not be stopped by a 4 strand barb wire and I had no use for the barb wire fence. There was an old, 40- 50 years old, barb wire fence there already, just not on the property line. It was in real bad shape and would not stop any cow or any other animal. Since we could not come to an agreement to cost share they put the 4 strand barb wire 6 inches on their side and I am putting a field fence on my side. Seems stupid yes, but their needs were radically different than mine. Sometimes you just do what you have to do.

I know that with my cattle it don't matter..... Barb, field, electric, cattle panel, gates, piece of string. They honor it all until they don't... When one wants to get out they do and do it fast.

 

[WM75Guy]

My neighbor talked to me about sharing a fence build on our common line. They wanted a 4 strand barb wire for their cattle, I wanted field fence with a wire strand on top. They said that their cattle would not honor a field fence and that only a barb wire fence would work.
Well I have had cattle honor a field fence for decades in another location without an issue but that was the owner's choice and her foreman was just the middle man but he was of the same opinion.
My dogs will not be stopped by a 4 strand barb wire and I had no use for the barb wire fence. There was an old, 40- 50 years old, barb wire fence there already, just not on the property line. It was in real bad shape and would not stop any cow or any other animal. Since we could not come to an agreement to cost share they put the 4 strand barb wire 6 inches on their side and I am putting a field fence on my side. Seems stupid yes, but their needs were radically different than mine. Sometimes you just do what you have to do.

We have 1100' of no-climb horse wire fence with one strand of slick wire down one side of our property. We have horses and the neighbor has horses and cattle. Currently he has a Bramha bull and a heifer he is trying to get bred. The only time we have had a problem was when one of his horses started chasing a heifer around the pasture and pushed her into a corner. She jumped the fence into our pasture. Wouldn't have mattered what type of fence there was, she was going over it.

 

[Bill Guenthner]

My neighbor talked to me about sharing a fence build on our common line. They wanted a 4 strand barb wire for their cattle, I wanted field fence with a wire strand on top. They said that their cattle would not honor a field fence and that only a barb wire fence would work.
Well I have had cattle honor a field fence for decades in another location without an issue but that was the owner's choice and her foreman was just the middle man but he was of the same opinion.
My dogs will not be stopped by a 4 strand barb wire and I had no use for the barb wire fence. There was an old, 40- 50 years old, barb wire fence there already, just not on the property line. It was in real bad shape and would not stop any cow or any other animal. Since we could not come to an agreement to cost share they put the 4 strand barb wire 6 inches on their side and I am putting a field fence on my side. Seems stupid yes, but their needs were radically different than mine. Sometimes you just do what you have to do.

Dogs? How big an area are you fencing? Are you starting a dog farm?

 

[RandyT]

Something to think about when offsetting fence lines. If your neighbor can use that portion of the property for their own use at a future date they maybe able to legally claim that portion as their property.

 

[paulsharvey]

Maybe this explains it, the solid line is my property line. Our property appears to have been the first one fenced, but they didnt follow the property line, and kinda fenced a rough rectangle, following the path of least resistance, only fencing the home/yard (about 1 acre), and the pasture (about 1 acre). The northern neighbor has a very nice, professionally build fence, 6 ft goat-sheep, built 12 ft north of our shared line. On the east side, two neighbors recently (it was in progress when we purchased), did some amateur fencing, about 2 ft on their side. The one is 5 ft chain link, but stapled to vertical wooden posts; and the other is pallets screwed together to form a fence.

The northern neighbor does have a walk gate through his fence to the 12 ft strip of his property on the outside of the fence.

 

[MossRoad]

...

If your neighbor has a fence all along your entire line, set back multiple feet, not 2 ft; but also not 20 ft; would you bother fencing your side?

Are you planning on keeping animals in?

If so, you can't cross the property line to attach to their fence to keep your animals in without permission. If they give you permission to attach to their fence, splendid. If not, you'd have to fence your own property.

Some states have laws that require adjoining property owners to share the cost of a fence. If your state is one of those (I don't thing FL is, but you'd have to check) you could force them to pay for half of a fence directly on the property line.

When we bought our first house, we got a puppy. We wanted to fence the yard. I had it surveyed. Part of the neighbors driveway and all of the shared trash can pad in the alley were on my property. His garage was 6" from the property line. If I wanted to, I could have put my fence right on the property line, he'd have never been able to maintain the side of the garage facing my lot, he'd have lost about 5' of driveway apron at the alley, and have to move his trash cans to the other side of the driveway.

Fortunately, we liked them. I explained the situation and that we would fence 3' onto our side of the property line, I didn't care that his trash cans were on a pad on my property, and I'd maintain both sides of the fence, with the understanding that they wouldn't attach to my fence if they ever fenced the yard. Easy peasy and thank goodness for good neighbors.

 

[scootr]

I bought our place 26 yrs ago fenced with 2x4 wire. After 8 yrs the neighbor built a home and had a survey done that showed my fence 150' onto his property at one end of our common line. Seems that when the original fence installed in 1979 the contractor used a street radius marker instead of the property line. The pie shaped piece in question was about 1.25 acer. The new neighbor insisted I move the fence.
Long story made short. Legally we owned his property by uncontested use and improvement. As a good neighbor I allowed him to move the fence using a contractor of my choice, the existing steel posts, and new wire. He was happy to get his land back (after almost 40 yrs) and we got a like new fence.

 

[paulsharvey]

Are you planning on keeping animals in?

If so, you can't cross the property line to attach to their fence to keep your animals in without permission. If they give you permission to attach to their fence, splendid. If not, you'd have to fence your own property.

Some states have laws that require adjoining property owners to share the cost of a fence. If your state is one of those (I don't thing FL is, but you'd have to check) you could force them to pay for half of a fence directly on the property line.

When we bought our first house, we got a puppy. We wanted to fence the yard. I had it surveyed. Part of the neighbors driveway and all of the shared trash can pad in the alley were on my property. His garage was 6" from the property line. If I wanted to, I could have put my fence right on the property line, he'd have never been able to maintain the side of the garage facing my lot, he'd have lost about 5' of driveway apron at the alley, and have to move his trash cans to the other side of the driveway.

Fortunately, we liked them. I explained the situation and that we would fence 3' onto our side of the property line, I didn't care that his trash cans were on a pad on my property, and I'd maintain both sides of the fence, with the understanding that they wouldn't attach to my fence if they ever fenced the yard. Easy peasy and thank goodness for good neighbors.

Yeah, this is basically what im thinking; just bite the bullet and fence my line.

If I wad in the neighbors shoes, I wouldn't want someone basically taking a 12ft x 400 ft strip of my property, for their use. Once or twice a year to cut a fallen tree, or something, yeah, but year around use foe there animals, nope

 

[MossRoad]

 

[scootr]

The space between the two fences might make a great hideaway for kids or critters.

I have neighbors with 4' between identical 4 rail white wooden fences. Looks stupid to me...lots of weeds and not much painting going on in the middle? Plus too small to run any good size tractor down it and oddly closed off on both ends. No mans land