Bad Neighbors (Legal advice needed)

[Elmgrovegnome]

When I moved in here the neighbors closest to me were pretty nice. That was ten years ago. Five years ago we cut some trees down that were close to the property line. The neighbors always said that they were on my property. They also said that the stump on the other end was my property.

Well now that I paid to remove the giant trees and put down topsoil and fixed it up, they slowly started mowing closer and closer to the little wood shed I built close to the line. They were mowing well beyond the location of the huge trees. The trees were about 4' wide and I mowed between them and the wood shed.

On the other end Randy (neighbor) told me the stump was a tree that was on my side and he asked permission of the former owner to remove it. However there was still a stump there that I had mowed around for many years.

A few days ago a fence shows up stacked in their yard and they had a string set up over what they originally told me the line was. I wanted to talk to him about it but he instantly went into screaming mode. It all came about because I put a small planting bed around that stump. I didn't want to mow around it anymore so I covered it up and planted it. They claim that I put part of it on their land. I told him he should have just said something to me instead of stewing over it for 2 years and that I was only going by where he originally told me the line was.

He has not been friendly since I put the plants in, which he could have spoke up about before I actually finished it. So, recently he measured his property to arrive at the line he has drawn and installed the fence. I did the same and it turns out that the location of the line seems correct. I removed those trees on good faith and paid $3000.00 to do so. He wont talk or discuss anything he just yells like an irrational asshole.

So, is there any chance I can recoup that money by suing him? He already said that he really thought they trees were mine when I removed them. It is suspicious that he started claiming that land shortly after the grass came in. Or am I stuck for trusting him and proceeding without having it surveyed? Randy claims he is going to have an official survey done, but I don't believe him. He only measured off of the neighbors land with a tape. If the official survey shows that the trees were on his property I should be able to take him to small claims court shouldn't I?

 

[12intheBox]

Depending on the size of your lots, a survey is probably a good idea before you decide what to do. Going to court rarely makes anyone happy except for the lawyers involved - so I would make sure you are going to win before you cross that line.

 

[Selassie I]

Get your own survey done by a professional. That would be step #1.

Step #2... if the jackass yells and screams at you again... tell him to fuck off. Then ignore him going forward.

Hopefully he built this fence on your property and he'll have to pay to remove it and build it properly. I doubt you'll have any chance of recouping the tree removal costs though.

 

[bnw]

A survey is a great idea. However I wouldn't go to the expense of a surveyor until I did some checking of my own and on the cheap.

Go to the recorder of deeds office and get the dimensions of your lot. Preferably the original survey too if available.....it should be available (if not available go to the original surveyor as they always keep a copy of their work) and don't look at dimensions as much as the survey markers or pin location used to survey your lot. (Not only your lot but the dickhead's lot too. The real issue is finding the survey markers used in the survey. Individual lot survey markers can be as simple as a piece of rebar pounded into the ground. I wouldn't trust the dickhead's line since anyone can beat a piece of rebar into the ground. Get a cheapo metal detector and search around the area where YOU believe the survey marker/pin should be. Do that for each corner of your property. Depending upon the activities over the years the markers/pins could be covered by a few inches of soil. If hilly terrain markers/pins can move with slumping soil so take that into account.

I don't think you have any recourse other than verifying the original survey and hopefully it proves you to be correct. Best of luck to you. (For anyone else who buys a house get the surveyors to clearly mark each marker/pin used in their survey of your property. You should know where they are and what they look like. A-holes can create markers to serve their own end. It happens.)

 

[bluecoconuts]

Ask him to split the costs, if he says no take him to small claims court. That's about all you can do if the trees were indeed on his property. Like others suggested, have it measured correctly.

 

[Deadstock]

shoot em. nah jk, unless you're at your wits end.

 

[Rynie]

Tell them you know Rynie. The fear alone will change their attitudes and more than likely they'll bake for you once a week.

 

[RhodyRams]

 

[RhodyRams]

 

[RhodyRams]

 

[RhodyRams]

In all seriousness, everyone is right. First step is to find the official property line. Talk to the dude, see if he will go 1/2 on the survey, and have set contingency plans agreed to by both parties before the survey is done.

If you cant have a normal discussion with him, maybe wives can come up with a plan?

Good Luck

 

[Yamahopper]

Hire a licensed surveyor and have the survey registered and the recorder of deeds office or what ever they call it where your at.
BEWARE!!! No 2 surveys are exactly the same Not only may the neighbor be right he might be so right he might get a few more feet of what you thought was yours.
Bright-side? you pick up some of the neighbors property on the other side. Ha.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

In all seriousness, everyone is right. First step is to find the official property line. Talk to the dude, see if he will go 1/2 on the survey, and have set contingency plans agreed to by both parties before the survey is done.

If you cant have a normal discussion with him, maybe wives can come up with a plan?

Good Luck

His wife is even more of a belligerent screaming asshole.




I checked the line myself, based on the road setbacks. I have a corner lot. There is a thirty foot right of way for the road, so fifteen feet on either side then the property dimensions. According to that measurement those trees were 100% on my neighbors property.

The strange part in all of this is how much they hate me. We always got along. We would talk about hunting and fishing and I always let him dump weeds on my compost or throw branches in my landscape truck. It is hard to imagine that putting soil over a stump that he told me was mine is enough to get him to despise me like he does.

I just want to get my money back for removing his trees. When I bought the home, the former owner also told me that the trees were on my property. So, I figured that they were. So, I had little reason to think otherwise. But this guy was here longer than the guy I bought the house from. I bet he knew all along.

 

[Mister Sin]

This is why I'm happy to live in the country. My neighbor is several hundred yards away. Our property line goes as far as we cut the damn grass. Lol we all hunt each others land, use each other river accesses to fish. It's a great community.

I'm far to aggressive of a person to deal with stupid people. My trigger is easily squeezed and I usually make an ass of myself without much prodding. Lol so it's good to be where I am. Good luck to you sir.

 

[bnw]

His wife is even more of a belligerent screaming icehole.




I checked the line myself, based on the road setbacks. I have a corner lot. There is a thirty foot right of way for the road, so fifteen feet on either side then the property dimensions. According to that measurement those trees were 100% on my neighbors property.

The strange part in all of this is how much they hate me. We always got along. We would talk about hunting and fishing and I always let him dump weeds on my compost or throw branches in my landscape truck. It is hard to imagine that putting soil over a stump that he told me was mine is enough to get him to despise me like he does.

I just want to get my money back for removing his trees. When I bought the home, the former owner also told me that the trees were on my property. So, I figured that they were. So, I had little reason to think otherwise. But this guy was here longer than the guy I bought the house from. I bet he knew all along.

I'd still look at the original official survey of your lot before I'd take anything for granted. If it turns out that it was his property all along then he definitely knew. If you can show you have maintained that property over a certain period of time perhaps squatters rights or some other adverse possession might be a play for you. Certainly paying for the trees to be removed would bolster your case.

If you don't care about the ownership of the property and are only interested in recouping your money spent on the trees and topsoil then you should be prepared for the following: He could say he didn't give you permission to remove the trees or later to add topsoil but chose not to make it an issue. He might then countersue for the value of the trees but at 5 years I suspect the SOL has expired. He sounds like that type of sleaze bag.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

This is why I'm happy to live in the country. My neighbor is several hundred yards away. Our property line goes as far as we cut the damn grass. Lol we all hunt each others land, use each other river accesses to fish. It's a great community.

I'm far to aggressive of a person to deal with stupid people. My trigger is easily squeezed and I usually make an ass of myself without much prodding. Lol so it's good to be where I am. Good luck to you sir.

Consider yourself lucky. In my area the cost of houses is outrageous. We wanted to move to the country but couldn't afford the places that we looked at. The price was on the boarder of what we could afford but they all needed a ton of work. One didn't even have second floor electricity. Our first neighbors in the bordering town were terrible too. We can't win.

 

[Mister Sin]

Consider yourself lucky. In my area the cost of houses is outrageous. We wanted to move to the country but couldn't afford the places that we looked at. The price was on the boarder of what we could afford but they all needed a ton of work. One didn't even have second floor electricity. Our first neighbors in the bordering town were terrible too. We can't win.

We were lucky. My in laws gave us the house and land when my father in law died. Otherwise, yea, acreage in my area is about 4K per, without a well or septic. You talk about wanting 50 acres, your at 200k before you even put shovel to ground. I see some farmers in the area with several hundred acres and just wonder...how do you not sell and live it up?! Lol

 

[Ramhusker]

Have you considered building a chicken coop in that corner of the yard and stocking it with a few roosters? Would be fun to watch the reaction.

 

[bnw]

Have you considered building a chicken coop in that corner of the yard and stocking it with a few roosters? Would be fun to watch the reaction.

And build the coop to direct the noise right at their bedroom.

 

[bnw]

I see some farmers in the area with several hundred acres and just wonder...how do you not sell and live it up?! Lol

Taxes.