Encroaching Neighbor (1 Viewer)

[MarkMel]

The other neighbor is nuts too. This piece of property was in between us, 2.5 acres, a very narrow long piece of land. A nice buffer. I though who would want to build there? Until they built the house.

Horses; My wife has owned and ridden horses her entire life. One of our goals is to put a barn on the property for a couple so I have no problem with them. The other neighbor, has horses and occasionally they get loose and wander over. No big deal to me. Unless they fall into the pool. But they'd have to jump the fence to do that.

 

[Sami Kallio]

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

And getting wider by the day! File a police report, even if you don't press charges. You need to have official documentation of this so that when she decides to build a barn on your property she can't just say you were okay with it. There are laws governing property rights, and removing pins must have some legal repercussions - use them. She should also have to pay to have the pins surveyed and relocated, otherwise you may be on the line for it should you decide to sell.

Hitting her up for restoration costs would send a good message too. If she gets too pissed off, she can always move.

 

[Tim L]

Sami-You guys are killing me with my own quotes-I should be more careful when I type or just read the damn threads and keep my mouth shut

 

[Tim L]

Okay I have a new one- I know that Marks neighbor was pulling out his survey markers- but tonight my lovely neighbor is putting his own in-but the kicker is there are already 2 sets (one from the wooden stakes that the surveyor put in and I put in heavy duty metal rebar painted orange to match the flags). I'm trying to understand why we need 3 sets of markers now. Is he afraid I am goin going to take mine out- after I paid to have it surveyed? I think he is losing it big time-oh well thats my little neighbor story for today.
Tim

 

[Henry Gale]

Uh..Tim...
Why was it suitable for you to add markers, but not suitable for the neighbor? It's his propery line too.

 

[Henry Gale]

Double post

Hey! Get it? Double post!

Could have been MORE interesting if it was a triple.

Speaking of a triple, once, well really twice, I had three wo....sorry, wrong forum.

 

[Jeff Loughridge]

Another reason to document your situation, and your objection to it, is the potential for her to gain title to it via adverse posession.

Adverse posession is when one person openly occupies another's property for an extended period and the owner does nothing about it.

After a sufficiently long period, somewhere between years and decades, depending on where you are, the occupier can gain legal title to the property, the original owner being considered to have abandoned it by his inactivity. This returns it to the 'unowned' state, so by the aquisition by use theory a new occupier can gain title.

You can read the entire message I quoted from here.

 

[Kirk Gunn]

Hmmm.... she cuts down your trees so she can have more front footage for her horse ? Seems to imply her intent to allow the horse on your property ?

I'd rent a bobcat, drag all the cut trees onto her property and build a fence ASAP. (in addition to briefing the authorities on her activity) Yes it will cost some $$$, but it looks like you are being setup for further contention with these people. First it's a horse, then goats, pigs, sheep, rottweilers, llamas... who the heck knows ????

Good Luck. This thread has made me appreciate my neighbors a whole lot more !

 

[Colton]

Yeah, she's thinking you a sucker. You give her an inch and she'll take a mile of your land. These kinds of people won't stop unless you make it physically impossible for them to continue. Build that fence. It will be a constant reminder where her boundaries end. You can get the law involved - you have every right to do so, but I would still build that fence just for the peace of mind.

What did they do with the trees they cut down?

- Colton

 

[MarkMel]

She considerately piled them in the land she cleared on my property.

 

[Colton]

I'd send her a bill for hauling those dead trees off your property ASAP! I'm actually surprised that you haven't blown your temper by now. She cuts your trees down and piles them on your land. How much more can you take?

- Colton

 

[Joe Szott]

Use the wood to start building a fence

 

[Tim L]

Henry- I don't care that he put the markers in,I just think its strange to have so many now- there's like three at each point-besides If I hadn't paid to have it surveyed in the first place he wouldn't know where to put his in anyway. Silly man...silly man.
Tim

 

[Jeff Loughridge]

An interesting article, ironic in its timing here:

"Split Fence"

In case it's not available, A resident of a wealthy area in Richmond, VA, didn't like the fact someone was building next door to him so he and his wife put up a 249 foot long, 6 foot high chain link fence on their property line, then covered it with black plastic.

The guy's a prominent lawyer in Richmond, too.

Here's another link, that has the picture, but it may not work after today.

Original article

 

[Mike Frezon]

MarkMel:

I followed your thread with interest and wonder now how things have been going.

In the meantime, the following article was in the New York Post on May 4, 2005:

Chop-aholic tycoon in tree spree

By Kieran Crowley and Selim Algar

A wealthy Long Island businessman has been charged with arranging to have more than a million dollars worth of his neighbor's trees cut down or radically slashed while they were away -- to get a better view of scenic Stony Brook harbor.

Walter Jack Radgowski, 74, a grandfather and widower, is charged with having a tree service decimate dozens of trees -- including century-old oaks. His motive was to improve the dramatic view from his $5.5 million estate, said Suffolk County DA Thomas Spota's spokesman Robert Clifford.

Clifford said one neighbor was on vacation and the other was away on business when the $1.2 million in damage was done. Radgowski was arrested on charges of criminal mischief.

"He was not happy with the view. He caused a lot of damage to the environment, his neighbor's yards, and to the bluffs overlooking the harbor" in the exclusive waterfront hamlet of St. James, said Clifford.

The tree company that did the work said Radgowski hired them and claimed to have his neighbor's permission, according to victim Mark Hyland, who, ironically, owns a landscaping company.

Hyland, 46, said he returned home after a two-week February vacation in Mexico and was stunned to see the devastation.

He said as many as 14 trees had been completely cut down and a dozen more were chopped back to the trunk.

"I feel totally violated," said Hyland. "I really can't believe that someone would do this without getting any sort of permission first."

Radgowski, an electronics firm president, said he gave no orders for the tree destruction and blamed the three service he hired. The company could not be reached for comment.

Any parts of that sound familiar?!

 

[MarkMel]

I've been periodically checking to make sure that she has stopped chopping. I need to get to town hall to make a formal complaint to have in writing. And I'm going to replace the pin. She seems to have other concerns now as she's digging a new well. 900 ft so far and no output. I'm just glad she passed by my water-table, by a long shot. My well's only at 125'.

She knows I'm on the watch, I make sure they see me poking around when I'm up there.

 

[todd s]

Just saw this thread for the first time. I would definitely get something in writing with the town. Just to cover your arse.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

Sorry, but in this csae the tree company is 100% at fault. Regardless of what the neighbor asked them to do, they had no right to cut anything on someone else's property without permission from the land owner. If this guy had instructed them to jump off a bridge, would they have?

 

[Alex-C]

I am not defending the tree company at all, but sometimes the location of property lines is difficult to ascertain, especially if there are no clear signs or markings.

Here in California, with our "postage stamp" lots, a lot of residential property is fenced in, but in other areas of the country, the property line is often not clearly defined and I doubt whether the tree company pays to determine the p.l. They probably go off of the client's word. "oh sure, that is on my property, go ahead"

What is interesting to me about cases like this one is:
after all is said and done, after this guy is charged and let's assume he is found guilty of whatever the crime is....then what ?

He pays a fine ?
Maybe they re-plant ?
whatever the outcome, he still gets his view, at least until whatever they re-plant grows, but imagine a case where someone cuts down very old trees.