OT- line fence and neighbor

Is there anyway to petition a line fence between neighbors?I've lived on this farm for 60 years and have a new neighbor that won't stay off my property.He rides his four wheeler on my side,cleans up his yard and throws his leaves and other trash on my property,he had a bon fire and dumped the ashes in my field.I called the sheriff,but i'm not sure if he even showed up.He said he would talk to him.There's about a 1000 ft gap in the line fence between us.A previous owner tore it down because it was rusty with out my permission.If i put a fence up myself he would probably tear it down.

Put in a new 3 strand wire fence. Set it back 3 feet from the propwerty line so it is all on your propwerty. Post some No Tresspassing signs.

You need to contact your county University Extension service. They generally have guide sheets or summaries of the lates state fencing laws. The fencing laws vary by state. Here in MO. a big factor is if one neighbor has livestock and the other one does not. There are also specification as to what constitutes a legal fence. It also will describe how to determine which half of the fence belongs to which neighbor. In Missouri, you stand on your property, looking over at the neighbors. Your legal part of the fence is on your right. Each party is supposed to maintain a "legal fence" unless one party has livestock, and the other doesn't.

Good luck, Gene

Then you just given him 3000 square feet of your property.

In wisconsin, if you want a fence, you are responsible for 1/2 of it. ( as you face you are responsible for the right half, them the left. If he refuses to put up the fence, you contact the township board. they give him time to put it up. If he fails, they hire it put up and add it to his tax bill

A body is free to put a fence over on his line versus the boundary if he wishes, but if you build it in a location and treat and maintain that line as the boundary and the neighbor does likewise for the statutory period THERES A RISK (subject to laws and protections) THAT MAY RIPEN INTO THE NEW LINE AND YOU LOOSE 3 FEET. Id hire an attorney to research the Legal Doctrine of "Adverse Possession" in your area BEFORE I did that and wouldnt hang my hat or risk property losses on opinions here..

Best wishes n God Bless

John T Country Lawyer

In some states the Township Trustee can order the neighbor to build a legal fence (subject to circumstances) and if he refuses they hire it done then place a lien on the persons property. You might first check your county officials. If they cant do you any good Id consult with a local trained professional real estate attorney (versus any opinions here, too much at stake) for advice.

My non researched and free advice is to get a fence built (at his expense or shared or even yourself subject to the law and conditions and location),,,,,,,post NO TRESPASSING SIGNS,,,,,,,,,,Use cameras or video to catch him trespassing,,,,,,,,,,,Report it to the Prosecutors office and sheriff etc if he violates it..........

NOTE laws vary state to state and theres a ton of common law plus statutes covering this complex subject (sure cant be covered here) so dont rely on advice INCLUDING MINE here, consult legal counsel THEN MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION

God Bless n best wishes

John T Country lawyer

Invite a bunch of hunters over to sight in their Deere rifles real close to your line.The take the front end loader and dump all his crap back on his side while the sightin is in progress

I had the same issue so I put up a chain link 3inches on my side(not telling my neighbor that) just to make sure I didn't encroach on his side. I had a friend in the busines so all I did was pay for the fence. He's the one that suggested the 3 inch deal. I was supposed to get a permit but at the time our township was in chaos and quite lax. I know you must follow type guidlines, ie no pallets or as one guy did, a row of those metal stand up shop desks (ha ha). In hind sight i should have just used page wire because now it looks like she put up a nice fence for herself, where as, I did it. She frequently flings her dog p@@p on my side and used to come over and get a shovel of dirt whenever she wanted. Oh, after a year or so, I had to have my friend come over and raise the whole fence 1 ft off the ground. Since her yard slopes towards my field, she decided my fence was an ideal barrier to fill in against to start building up her lot. Not gonna happen. Raised it so nothing could build up. Oh, she also decided to us it for a clothesline. Good fences make a-holes tolerable

Ray, Find the platt of your place. Call your Surveyor and have him flag your line there. Be sure your there when he does the flagging. Set a good heavy corner post at each end, and at any bends if any.
The reason to just set the corner/end post and any bends too is so the so-called neighbor can't pull them up by hand.
Then build a new fence, ASAP, like that day or the next at the latest to keep him and his no-count family off your place! use 4ft net and 2 barbed or something of equivalent height.
Put it up a little on your side. So if there is any question to ownership the survey line doesn't lie! Put up a game camera to photo the neighbors if they destroy or vandalize the fence.
tell him politely to stay off your place, He and his family do not own it, Put every head of cattle, horses, sheep hogs in that pasture you can beg borrow or seal then you have reason to need the fence in shape! it is none of his business why you need the fence up in shape, you pay the taxes on it, enough said!
The $OB is trying to and running roughshod over
you. This has to come to a screeching halt. or the fist fight will have to begin
Oh remember the game camera above it makes nice pics to take to the Local D.A. to indite on vandalism charges.....
Later,
John A.

There can be some adverse possession issues, but in SC generally a fence does not make a line and if you build your fence 3 or whatever feet on your property you still own the property outside the fence, absent adverse possession issues which would arise after some additional acts from the theiving neighbor. However, if you build a fence at the property line and want it to be your fence it must be 6 inches inside your line.

There is no requirement that I'm aware of to force someone to share fencebuilding responsibility with you. The presence of cattle makes no difference. You have cows, you build a fence, if they get out, it's your problem.

I'm not even a retired lawyer like John T so my comments should not be accepted as settled law in SC.

KEH

If you have it, look at your original real estate purchase contract. Mine has a specific clause in it that says if any of the neighboring land owners decide to put up a fence bordering my property, I have to pay half the cost. The same goes if I want to put one up. It's also the law in Iowa.

In Iowa I believe the fence line becomes the land line. Barry.

Ray, have you tried talking to the guy? If you haven't, that would be my first step. I don't mean be overly nice with, "Howdy neighbor...", and I don't mean jump him either with, "You low down, no account...". He is your neighbor and is likely to be for a long, long time, so you don't want to have to be bothered with him every time you turn around. First go over and introduce yourself, and point out that he has been doing things on your property that even you don't do on your own property, and attempt to come to terms.

As Old Geezer pointed out where he lives, its the same where I live in Indiana. As I look at the property line, the right half of the fence is mine, the left half is his, and if it has to be put up for one of us, it will get paid for by the owner that it got put up for. And as John T pointed out, it needs to be on the line, because if its set back, or set over, and neither party complains about it for x-ammount of years, then it is assumed to be the property line, and no one wants to give up 3' of his property, especially after having been the one to pay for it.

Sure it should be surveyed. No arguement there, but surveyors are not cheap. Could cost you in the thousand$ like it did me. Them permanent markers are great, but they cost me in the thousand$ to be sunk. If it were my problem, I were in your shoes? If that 1,000' gap is just a partial gap in a much larger fence, I would just mend it with a 1,000 section of closer and be done with it. Fence aint cheap though, and with what I fully expect to be a rise in inflation on our already week economy, its only going to get more expensive, so buy it and put it up now and cut your losses.

If it gets that far, I mean really carried away out of control not going to get along or adhere, what's the cost of an attorney to send him a letter of cease and desist with a law firm's letter head on it?

I have to tell you something though Ray. The four wheeler on my property would have me upset, bt dumping is trash on my property? Ohhhhhhh man. That would get me over there quick, but nice, and firm..."I'm your neighbor and plan to be for many enjoyable years or decades, but I have to tell you, that you are doing things to my land that I haven't in the 60 years that I owned, maintained, and respected it, and never would...". That should do it. If it doesn't, well, then it progresses as far as he wants it to, by his choice, not yours.

There is one other way. Could get a couple of friends to slick back their hair and put on some turtlenecks and sport coats, then drive over to his house in a Caddy with Pennsylvania plates, knocking on his door and telling him that their names are Vinnie, Rocco, and Luigi, all from Philly, and that their boss, your brother, had them drive all the way to your town what for to make him an offer that he cant refuse...knock it off, or take a one way ride with them to a rock quarry they passed about 500 miles back. Trust me, he will knock it off.

Good luck.

Mark

I know here in the Township I live in in Ontario the Township has a fence inspector. They will look at the fence line, say where the fence goes and what kind of fence is ok. The 6 inch rule is used here also, keep fence 6 inches on your property. Had to point this out to a neighbour a number of years ago.
Have a neighbor on one side of me, no fence between us but only a couple of problems. They keep trucks on the property, run a business. One year they kept pushing snow about 3 feet onto my property. Have fence posts on the corners so easy to just eye the fence line up. I would take the M and push the snow back onto their property after I told him about it and he kept doing it. He brought a backhoe in one day and made a big pile of snow on my property. When I got home and seen that I just took the Farmall M with an 8ft blade on the front, worked away at the pile of snow till it was all pushed back onto him, never gave it time to freeze in. That seemed to fix the snow problem.
Last year I came home and saw he just put crushed stone all over his yard and onto my lawn a couple of feet, dozer just got loaded back onto trailer ready to pull out. I walked over and asked the guy with the dozer and truck what the hell he was doing putting that stone on my lawn. He said he just put it where he told. Told him to get that &*^%ing dozer off the trailer and get the gravel off my lawn or cops were being called and I would be pressing charges for tresspassing and destroying my lawn. He went and talked to the neighbour, neighbour had to come talk to me, we had a bit of a chat, more or less civil but dozer came off the trailer and gravel scrapped off my lawn. A bit of a mess but knew what grass was tore up would grow back.
Haven't had any problems since, he even had one of his men this spring rake up the gravel that had got onto my lawn a bit from the snow plowing. think most people will behave when they know they can't get away with something, they just need to know your going to be firm and you don't put up with BS.
Good luck, see a lawyer, talk to the county, township and see what they can do for you.

I would pay him a visit first and ask him politely, but firmly, to stop.

Good advice. My issues reached a head when I had my lot surveyed. My dad sold the lot to me and had the survey done to seperate it off his farm. The surveyor pounded a nail in the center of the road as his benchmark and then ppounded his wooded stake in my lot to mark the line and also did the corners. We had just bought my dad a Polaroid camera for his birthday recently so he was going around snapping pics of this and that. For the heck of it he snapped a pic of that stake in front of her house. By God if the next day it wasn't moved a good 1 to 1 1/2 foot in her favor and the hole carefully disguised. He went to her door and demanded an explanation. The husband says we're good neighbors you are wrong. My dad whipped out that pic and that ended that talk. The engineering firm was nice enough to come back and reset the stakes at no charge. My road is only two miles long and EVERY single person is respectful and gets along EXCEPT my neighbor. And the funny thing is they sold their farm which is on the other side of ther lot to the neighbor accros the road and they NEVER encroach or spoil his land!

Same thing happened to me. I bought my property out of foreclosure and the bank had it surveyed before I even walked it. One corner stake was by a creek with a little wooden bridge over it that indicated the bridge was on the neighbor's property. After buying the land and clearing the area of brush, etc. I was able to see some other markers and the iron rod by the creek appeared to be way off and the bridge was actually on my property by about 35 ft. I used my transit to determine the actual corner and put up some posts and started to fence in the boundary. Neighbor lady came out hollering. She pointed to the iron rod and stake with flag waving in the wind. I told her in no uncertain terms that "someone" must have moved the stake. I kept building the fence. She kept hollering. I then called the surveyor who came out and "reset" the iron rod to within an inch or 2 from where I had calculated the corner to be. He told me that "yup, 'somebody' moved it". Cost me $200 but money well spent. We took pictures and another neighbor told me later that the woman had admitted to him that she had moved the stake. I've got about 150' more fence to put up and I'll have a clear boundary indicator between our properties. I've also planted about 300 Christmas tree along that line as a "visual" barrier over time. She's actually mellowed since the first encounter, so hopefully we can live in peace. As the old saying goes "good fences make good neighbors".

It depends on where you are in WI. A lot of townships are doing away with that rule.
We put up a fence between us and the new nighbor and he didn't have to pay half because he wasn't raising cattle. Apparently the law requiring that two neighbors have to split the cost of the fence is only required if both nighbors are using it to control their own animals.

I have a neighbor that seemed to think he could put up a fence between his cabin and mine, only he didn't bother to survey, and decided that about 8' of my property was his. When I found his fence, my wife went ballistic. I surveyed my lots, luckily the back line has 4" Pipes Cemented into the ground at the lot corners, I set the front corners, my wife and I went to Tractor Supply, picked up T-posts, wire, insulators and a 23 mile fencer, we put up a hot wire fence right on the property line, I buried the lead from the fence into the cabin where I attached it to the fencer and plugged it in. My survelience cameras that I also installed captured that wonderful moment when the jerk from the city grabbed the wire.... It truly was a kodak moment....

Where are you located Ray; if you're in Illinois, I can provide some guidance as I'm an attorney in rural West-central Illinois. If you're in another state, I'd suggest you contact an attorney in your area for advice.

(quoted from post at 16:48:35 08/15/11) Is there anyway to petition a line fence between neighbors?I've lived on this farm for 60 years and have a new neighbor that won't stay off my property.He rides his four wheeler on my side,cleans up his yard and throws his leaves and other trash on my property,he had a bon fire and dumped the ashes in my field.I called the sheriff,but i'm not sure if he even showed up.He said he would talk to him.There's about a 1000 ft gap in the line fence between us.A previous owner tore it down because it was rusty with out my permission.If i put a fence up myself he would probably tear it down.

Click to expand...

You've already got your answer. The property line USED to be fenced, and that fence was torn down without your permission. All you need to do is put the fence back up. If you want to be nasty, put a lawsuit against the guy who tore it down in the first place.

(quoted from post at 16:48:35 08/15/11)A previous owner tore it down because it was rusty with out my permission.If i put a fence up myself he would probably tear it down.

Click to expand...

Why not just make up a nice tray of milk and snickerdoodles and take it over and ask him if you can put up a fence on your property...Make sure you say "Pretty Please" too............

No wonder the country's going down the tubes......

Dave2, I'm thinking that you and my wife would get along great... My neigbors at the cabin stay well away from our electric fence now... She really has great people skills...

(quoted from post at 11:38:19 08/16/11) Where are you located Ray; if you're in Illinois, I can provide some guidance as I'm an attorney in rural West-central Illinois. If you're in another state, I'd suggest you contact an attorney in your area for advice.

Click to expand...

dittmerku,

I would like to here your opinion and advice on this topic, as I live in west central Illinois and am considering putting some fence back up that has been removed and used to define the property line between farms. Your input would be appreciated.

Big 86