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

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dabuddha said:
Curious about something. Let's say she puts up the fence and it is on her property, if she paints it some hideous color on the side facing the OP, can the OP do anything about it?
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didn't waggy do something like that? lol
 
thegimp03 said:
That is awesome. Did you just jump on a tractor and fly through it with them standing there or what?
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Yes, while the speakers I mounted on the tractor were blasting Ride of the Valkyries at full volume.


Always with the negative waves Moriarty, always with the negative waves.............


Actually no. You don't go tearing through barbed wire, or as we say here "bob war", fence at full speed. Oh you can, but you're likely to get fucked up in the process.
 
PingSpike said:
LOL...oh yeah!
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Kool-AidMan.jpg
 
Seriously... I'm surprised you really even had to ask. Not only would you be totally justified in telling her to GET FUCKED, but you could place a couple calls that would tie her up in court for the rest of the year. Surveyor... codes enforcement... Jeez... how do you NOT know you have the upper hand here?
 
If this is a shared fence then yeah, you should probably pay for half.

But if it's just for her, then yeah.. you shouldn't have to.
 
RbSX said:
If this is a shared fence then yeah, you should probably pay for half.

But if it's just for her, then yeah.. you shouldn't have to.
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It would only be a shared fence if they both agreed to build it and put it on the property line. If the neighbor is doing it unilaterally, she can put it on the edge of her own property (on her side of the line) and pay for it herself.
 
freedomsbeat212 said:
Here's a quick rundown:
My question is - do I have any liability here? Can she technically sue me to force me to pay half?
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<--------------- Attorney (but not licensed in New York and I specialize in patent law so don't rely on anything I say here)

In my opinion, No. Was there a contract? No (no offer, acceptance, or consideration). Can she sue you for quantum meruit (a equitable remedy designed to prevent unjust enrichment)? No.

The only possibility I see is if you and your neighbor's property are part of a larger commonly owned piece of property. E.g., if you and your neighbor were joint owners of a common plot, she would be entitled (in at least some jurisdictions) to contribution from you for things like maintenance, taxes, etc. But most courts are loathe to require one joint tenant to contribute to paying down the cost of an "improvement" that was initiated unliaterally by another joint tenant. In fact, there is a term for just that type of improvement, i.e. "ameliorative waste."
 
lxskllr said:
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.
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Absolutely this! 10 years in NY, but it's an uphill fight and most real estate isn't worth the legal/court costs associated with the fight.

The courts are generally loathe to grant title via adverse possession. The punch list of qualifying criteria is longer that most people realize. Miss any one mark and your DQ'd. Even with the full monte it'll cost you.
 
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waggy said:
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.
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This is the doctrine of adverse possession. The typical statutory periods are 10+ years long. Meaning that someone has to occupy the land in a continuous, open, actual, and hostile manner for >10 years (or whatever the stat period is) to gain title by adverse possession.
 
soxfan said:
This is the doctrine of adverse possession. The typical statutory periods are 10+ years long. Meaning that someone has to occupy the land in a continuous, open, actual, and hostile manner for >10 years (or whatever the stat period is) to gain title by adverse possession.
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heh i didn't say it was easy. i remember reading of a story where guy put a fence on about half an acre of a guys property. nobody really paid any attention to it. the guy mowed it, kept it up etc.

then laid claim in on it only then did the owners care and they lost.
 
Why would you be ? It is on their side of the Property Line ? ? If so, you don't owe a penny. Neighbor decided to build it, it is their cost and their fence. And in most areas, if a fence has a "good" and a "bad" side, the good side must face the neighbor (in this case you) .. Some fences are good on both sides and it will not matter.
 
Were i live you also have to have the "nice" side of the fence facing your neighbors. City rule, might want to look into this as well.

Edit
Somebody beat me to that.

If there are doing a wooden fence with 4x4 posts and vertical slats, you should not be able to see the posts from your house, they have to be on her side of the fence.
 
highland145 said:
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.
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Yep, look into this. You can put a fence right on a property line IF both owners agree to it. However if there is not a mutual agreement, there is frequently an offset that the fence has to be off the property line. You could really screw with her if she wants to be a bitch about it.
 
Sea Moose said:
Tell her to fuck off
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The proper legal phrase is Perite (the rough latin equivalent for fuck off).

Everything depends on your state's laws and local zoning regulations, but some general points:

1) Everywhere I have lived the zoning regs require the good side of a fence to face out. Also, zoning regs usually specify minimum and maximum heights for fences, and their location (ie, so many feet back from the property line).

2) She most likely needs a building permit for that fence.

3) She is within her rights to construct the fence solely on her own property but she (and the workmen) have no right to go onto your property without your permission.

Spite fences are a wonderful area of the law that ever ceases to amaze how petty people can be. I was once involved in a situation where two neighbors in a wealthy suburb each built a side yard fence six inches in from the property line-resulting in a one foot unmowable weed strip in between the fences.
 
jaha2000 said:
Were i live you also have to have the "nice" side of the fence facing your neighbors. City rule, might want to look into this as well.

Edit
Somebody beat me to that.

If there are doing a wooden fence with 4x4 posts and vertical slats, you should not be able to see the posts from your house, they have to be on her side of the fence.
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This is bullshit. I pay for it, I put whatever I want there. If they want a "nice side" then they can fucking pay for it.
 
Numenorean said:
This is bullshit. I pay for it, I put whatever I want there. If they want a "nice side" then they can fucking pay for it.
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Depending on the city/county ordinances, you COULD end up having to take the fence down and change it...

Here, most 6' privacy fences (and we all have them) are built in the "good neighbor" style with alternating pickets. One panel has the pickets on my side, next panel has the pickets on the neighbor's side...

_____------_____------_____------
 
I wouldn't give her anything.

I just built a fence around our backyard. Not only did I not ask my neighbor for any money, but I asked to make sure it was OK with him the type of fence I was going to be building, and if he wanted me to rip his part of the fence splitting our properties down. (it was falling apart).

I tore his down and built mine right overtop of where his was. It may well be partially on his property, but noone really knows the exact property lines anymore, and I didn't want to pay $500 for a surveyor to come and re-mark the lot corners.
 
BoomerD said:
Depending on the city/county ordinances, you COULD end up having to take the fence down and change it...

Here, most 6' privacy fences (and we all have them) are built in the "good neighbor" style with alternating pickets. One panel has the pickets on my side, next panel has the pickets on the neighbor's side...

_____------_____------_____------
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If it is entirely on my property, I don't see how anyone can say what I can do.

If they want to pay to put up slats on their side, I would have no problem with that, and since I'd be building it myself, I'd even put them up for them if they bought the materials. Otherwise I don't see how there is anything anyone should be able to do. If there is some sort of ordinance shit then it would need to be changed because that's bullshit that people shouldn't put up with. I will have a full side of slats on my side of my fence.
 
SunnyD said:
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.
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considering the previous sidewalk issue, her status as "business property?" then this sounds like an excellent idea.
 
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