Neighbor already building fence - asked me to pay half. Am I liable?

Mar 15, 2003
12,668
103
106
Here's a quick rundown:
(This is in NYC, fyi)

1. This is for the BACK of a row house, which is not necessary and simply not done. None of my neighbors have fences on the back of their house

2. I already built and paid for my own fence for the front of my property, never asked her for a penny

3. She already started building it, she didn't communicate with me at all prior and I never agreed to pay for anything nor do I even want a fence back there - it's completely unnecessary

She approached me and bluntly asked for half of the money. I told her that a) I had no interest in a fence even being built, b) she did not make this request before she started building and discuss pricing, show me multiple estimates/ contractor options, etc. and that c) since I'm currently interviewing for work I can't even financially consider humoring her discussing this. It was perhaps a bit rude but she's not the best of neighbors - she demolished my front sidewalk without my consent and then denied doing so and refused to fix her error (she gave her contractors the wrong address!) until I called the cops on her. I don't like her, and she doesn't live here (business property) so I feel no reason to be a kind neighbor.

My question is - do I have any liability here? Can she technically sue me to force me to pay half?
 

SunnyD

Belgian Waffler
Jan 2, 2001
32,674
146
106
www.neftastic.com
Nope. She wants a fence, she pays for it.

Better yet, wait till the fence is up, determine that it went up on (any of) your property, take her to court and force her to take it down... at HER cost.
 

Jeraden

Platinum Member
Oct 9, 1999
2,518
1
76
There is zero percent chance you are liable to pay for any of it. In some communities, you need a permit to put a fence up. So if you wanna be a dick, wait til she's done and complain to the district you live in and maybe they'll make her tear it down, heh.
 

Demon-Xanth

Lifer
Feb 15, 2000
20,551
2
81
Are you liable? No. It's is neighborly though. My neighbor and I are going to split the cost in replacing our back fence that anyone could go koolaid man through.
 

waggy

No Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
68,143
10
81
Nope. She wants a fence, she pays for it.

Better yet, wait till the fence is up, determine that it went up on (any of) your property, take her to court and force her to take it down... at HER cost.

this.

tell her to pound sand. Make sure NOT a inch of the damn fence is on your property. In some states if a person takes care of a piece of property for a number of years they can legally claim it.

i have heard of people putting fence's on peoples property then claiming it as theirs.
 

shiner

Lifer
Jul 18, 2000
17,112
1
0
You don't owe her shit.

Sounds like you also need to make sure the fence isn't on your side of the property line.

People to the East of us decided to put up a fence this spring. I had the surveyors come out and make sure they were building it on their side of the property line. They weren't, in fact they were about 7 feet on my side. I went down with the survey results and asked them to remove the fence. There were some....umm....colorful metaphors....exchanged which resulted in me tearing through the fence later that day with the front end loader on the tractor.

Granted I live in the country, but the same thing applies. Don't give her a dime and make damn sure she isn't building on your property. If she is ask her to remove it. If she doesn't....tear that fucker down.
 

highland145

Lifer
Oct 12, 2009
43,973
6,334
136
Is there an offset that the fence has to be off the property line? 3' here. Might be a way to screw her when it's up.
 

waggy

No Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
68,143
10
81
Are you liable? No. It's is neighborly though. My neighbor and I are going to split the cost in replacing our back fence that anyone could go koolaid man through.

yeah thats fine. you guys are talking about it and planning it. its not a situation where one is building it and then demanding half. fuck that.
 

highland145

Lifer
Oct 12, 2009
43,973
6,334
136
In some states if a person takes care of a piece of property for a number of years they can legally claim it.

i have heard of people putting fence's on peoples property then claiming it as theirs.
25 years in S.C.
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
58,514
8,791
126
25 years in S.C.

Adverse possession isn't as easy to claim as many people think. There's a lot of very particular circumstances that have to be met to make a claim, and it's unlikely a claim will hold up in court.
 
Mar 15, 2003
12,668
103
106
You don't owe her shit.

Sounds like you also need to make sure the fence isn't on your side of the property line.

People to the East of us decided to put up a fence this spring. I had the surveyors come out and make sure they were building it on their side of the property line. They weren't, in fact they were about 7 feet on my side. I went down with the survey results and asked them to remove the fence. There were some....umm....colorful metaphors....exchanged which resulted in me tearing through the fence later that day with the front end loader on the tractor.

Granted I live in the country, but the same thing applies. Don't give her a dime and make damn sure she isn't building on your property. If she is ask her to remove it. If she doesn't....tear that fucker down.

You're as badass as your avatar - thanks! And thanks to everyone else as well.. Looks like I'll wait until she's done builiding it. If it looks good and adds at least visual value then I'll leave it be. Otherwise I'll break out the measuring tape and make some phone calls!

Thanks again for all the help, you saved me a call to my lawyer (who doesn't answer questions on the phone for free!)
 

BurnItDwn

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
26,234
1,720
126
If she was a good neighbor and you could afford it, you probably would have offered to pay 1/2 the cost of a fence. But, since she's a terrible bitch of a neighbor, don't even bother feeling guilty or having second thoughts.
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
58,514
8,791
126
You're as badass as your avatar - thanks! And thanks to everyone else as well.. Looks like I'll wait until she's done builiding it. If it looks good and adds at least visual value then I'll leave it be. Otherwise I'll break out the measuring tape and make some phone calls!

Thanks again for all the help, you saved me a call to my lawyer (who doesn't answer questions on the phone for free!)

It's generally best not to start shit with a surveyor. It can be costly, and end up biting you in the ass. If your happy enough with the fence, let it go. A couple inches isn't worth the hassle.
 

highland145

Lifer
Oct 12, 2009
43,973
6,334
136
Adverse possession isn't as easy to claim as many people think. There's a lot of very particular circumstances that have to be met to make a claim, and it's unlikely a claim will hold up in court.
I looked it up out of curiosity because I bought some property that had been divided by the county because of failure to pay property tax by the owner twice removed. So I have a 50'x800' strip I own then a like size I don't and then the rest of the acreage. I would have to fenced the whole thing and wait. Not worth the $$ or time.
 

waggy

No Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
68,143
10
81
You don't owe her shit.

Sounds like you also need to make sure the fence isn't on your side of the property line.

People to the East of us decided to put up a fence this spring. I had the surveyors come out and make sure they were building it on their side of the property line. They weren't, in fact they were about 7 feet on my side. I went down with the survey results and asked them to remove the fence. There were some....umm....colorful metaphors....exchanged which resulted in me tearing through the fence later that day with the front end loader on the tractor.

Granted I live in the country, but the same thing applies. Don't give her a dime and make damn sure she isn't building on your property. If she is ask her to remove it. If she doesn't....tear that fucker down.

lol we had something like that.

we had bad neighbors (hmm i may have posted about them...). the were driving on my property to get to a garage in the back. i asked them to stop and said it was there property and the line went to a tree (about 10 ft in my yard).

tehy said they were going to put a fence up and i said fine. soon as you get it up i will get a tractor and tear it down.

even after getting a survey they still claimed it was theres.

best day ever was when a sheriff arrived with foreclosure papers. woot! the town is nice again.
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
58,514
8,791
126
I looked it up out of curiosity because I bought some property that had been divided by the county because of failure to pay property tax by the owner twice removed. So I have a 50'x800' strip I own then a like size I don't and then the rest of the acreage. I would have to fenced the whole thing and wait. Not worth the $$ or time.

One thing that helps an adverse possession claim is to pay taxes on the land you're claiming. I think that's a requirement in some states, but I don't know about SC in particular.