We have a neighbor who has lived next door to us for about two years now. Just himself and his wife. Probably in their 60's. Before they bought the house this man that was living in the house and remodeling it at the same time removed the property line stake that was in front of the telephone pole between our property and that property. It was the property stake the city put there upon surveying the property. When we moved in this house back in 1994 this elderly lady lived in that house and had lived in it probably 30 years or more. She took us up to the telephone pole and uncovered the property stake buried in the ground right in the middle, showing it to us. Then covered it back up. First, he was just coming over around two or three feet into our yard, we figured it was because of him having to use our yard to turn his mower around. This morning upon mowing his yard he came 6 or 7 feet over into our yard mowing that section of our yard all the way down to our fence line at the back yard as if it is his yard. He mowed our entire side yard right by our bedroom window including all the way up to the street, a good 7 foot wide area. My husband says he doesn't care if he mows it as long as he is not trying to claim that part of our yard. I feel he is. I just went up there and put a pressed board stick that I spray painted red on the top part down in the ground right in front of that telephone pole to mark the property line. Should we say anything or let it go? We don't want to have to pay for another survey and have another stake put there, however I feel that stake does need to be replaced. We have a copy of the survey of the property when we bought the house showing where it starts. Just wondering what other people think. Thanks.
Replies
32
bean
We have a neighbor who has lived next door to us for about two years now. Just himself and his wife. Probably in their 60's. Before they bought the house this man that was living in the house and remodeling it at the same time removed the property line stake that was in front of the telephone pole between our property and that property. It was the property stake the city put there upon surveying the property. When we moved in this house back in 1994 this elderly lady lived in that house and had lived in it probably 30 years or more. She took us up to the telephone pole and uncovered the property stake buried in the ground right in the middle, showing it to us. Then covered it back up. First, he was just coming over around two or three feet into our yard, we figured it was because of him having to use our yard to turn his mower around. This morning upon mowing his yard he came 6 or 7 feet over into our yard mowing that section of our yard all the way down to our fence line at the back yard as if it is his yard. He mowed our entire side yard right by our bedroom window including all the way up to the street, a good 7 foot wide area. My husband says he doesn't care if he mows it as long as he is not trying to claim that part of our yard. I feel he is. I just went up there and put a pressed board stick that I spray painted red on the top part down in the ground right in front of that telephone pole to mark the property line. Should we say anything or let it go? We don't want to have to pay for another survey and have another stake put there, however I feel that stake does need to be replaced. We have a copy of the survey of the property when we bought the house showing where it starts. Just wondering what other people think. Thanks.
Maybe he's just being neighborly and helping you out with the mowing.
SoWal InsiderAuthor
Sorry the post was so long but I would like to hope so as this is the first time he ever mowed that entire side section like that. If that were the case, I wish he had done the upper part along the street also. 
SoWal Expert
maybe he is trying to send you a message to mow your yard. :funn:
I'm not sure on the legalities of moving a survey marker, but I doubt that is allowed in many states. Just a guess. Perhaps you should have a talk with them and if that doesn't work, build a big @ss privacy fence between you and him, and then he'll get the message.
I'm not sure on the legalities of moving a survey marker, but I doubt that is allowed in many states. Just a guess. Perhaps you should have a talk with them and if that doesn't work, build a big @ss privacy fence between you and him, and then he'll get the message.
SoWal InsiderAuthor
maybe he is trying to send you a message to mow your yard. :funn:
I'm not sure on the legalities of moving a survey marker, but I doubt that is allowed in many states. Just a guess. Perhaps you should have a talk with them and if that doesn't work, build a big @ss privacy fence between you and him, and then he'll get the message.
Well, we do mow our yard when necessary, we work fulltime, husband 12 hour days, and the man has all the time in the world to do yard work. I'm hoping my husband may have mowed that by our bedroom and not the neighbor. But I don't know.
Edited
Beach Fanatic
You might wanna tell him how great it looks and how hubbadebubba 
's it a lot but you just have to ask to make sure he doesn't have any building plans like to build a chain link fence in to your yard real quick one day while your at work. :roll: You can honestly tell him this happened to a friend of yours. 
A little proactivity might pay off in the long run and help you rest a little more assured. ;-) That fence WAS ugly in my yard. 
's it a lot but you just have to ask to make sure he doesn't have any building plans like to build a chain link fence in to your yard real quick one day while your at work. :roll: You can honestly tell him this happened to a friend of yours. A little proactivity might pay off in the long run and help you rest a little more assured. ;-) That fence WAS ugly in my yard. 
Moderator
You should be able to pull the plats from the county records. They may help visually.
We had a similar issue when the "S" house sold in Santa Rosa. We have the house next door to the east. The houses always shared a common driveway, and there were easement notes in the deeds; however, there was an error that was not in our favor. We wound up suing but settled out of court with the agreement that they build us a new driveway extension and put up a privacy fence. We had the drive built, and 6 months later they built the fence...on the wrong side of the driveway!! :funn:
That was over two years ago, and they have never fixed it. Too bad so sad!
We had a similar issue when the "S" house sold in Santa Rosa. We have the house next door to the east. The houses always shared a common driveway, and there were easement notes in the deeds; however, there was an error that was not in our favor. We wound up suing but settled out of court with the agreement that they build us a new driveway extension and put up a privacy fence. We had the drive built, and 6 months later they built the fence...on the wrong side of the driveway!! :funn:
That was over two years ago, and they have never fixed it. Too bad so sad!
SoWal Expert
Or he may do like one of my friend's neighbors, who cut down trees on my friend's lot, rather than his own. One afternoon, and he took out the entire row of trees on the east side of my friend's yard.
Beach Fanatic
I suggest you have another survey done. You could ask the neighbor to split the cost. The survey lines that were used/marked when we bought our property in '84 did not come any where near the ones that were posted when we had surveys done last year. The maps were so different that even the surveyor said that he was going to double check it. He came and shot the lines here on 3 different occasions and we came to realize that our entire property was actually off by 10'. The 10' feet to the north that we have ALWAYS used as a driveway was on the lot to the north and the 10' to the south was a scrub area that we had kept for privacy.
Go figure
Go figure
hmmmm......can't remember
If it were me, and if I knew exactly where the stake went, I would (as subtly as possible) put it back in its place. (And it sounds like that's what you did...)
My western property line is really funky, and I have two neighbors on it. None of the three of us really follow the property line when we mow; we all overlap the lines just to be safe.
But all of our iron pins are in place. That seems to be the important issue, if you ask me. As a gardener, that's one of the first things I ask a new client--where is the property line EXACTLY? They say that good fences make good neighbors. Established property pins are as good as a fence in most cases. (And I don't like shared fences or hedges for that matter. Someone's side of it is always neglected.)
Every once in a while, my crazy redneck meth-manufacturing foster-parent neighbors will breech the lines. The last time was kind of funny: I saw something lying in the yard and figured it was a bag or something that blew out of their permanent construction dumpster. (I guess trash cans would be too easy.) Dad went to investigate it for me, and came back grinning. It was a wind sock on a broom handle. In a fit of culture or something, they had dug a hole in my yard and put a plastic cup in it for putting practice. Dad asked them to move it off my yard, and they did.
Later I could see them out there hitting golf balls into the road--shirtless, in trucker hats, with cigarettes hanging out of their mouths. (Sometimes I wish that natural selection would speed up a little!)
My western property line is really funky, and I have two neighbors on it. None of the three of us really follow the property line when we mow; we all overlap the lines just to be safe.
But all of our iron pins are in place. That seems to be the important issue, if you ask me. As a gardener, that's one of the first things I ask a new client--where is the property line EXACTLY? They say that good fences make good neighbors. Established property pins are as good as a fence in most cases. (And I don't like shared fences or hedges for that matter. Someone's side of it is always neglected.)
Every once in a while, my crazy redneck meth-manufacturing foster-parent neighbors will breech the lines. The last time was kind of funny: I saw something lying in the yard and figured it was a bag or something that blew out of their permanent construction dumpster. (I guess trash cans would be too easy.) Dad went to investigate it for me, and came back grinning. It was a wind sock on a broom handle. In a fit of culture or something, they had dug a hole in my yard and put a plastic cup in it for putting practice. Dad asked them to move it off my yard, and they did.
Later I could see them out there hitting golf balls into the road--shirtless, in trucker hats, with cigarettes hanging out of their mouths. (Sometimes I wish that natural selection would speed up a little!)
Edited
SoWal InsiderAuthor
If it were me, and if I knew exactly where the stake went, I would (as subtly as possible) put it back in its place. (And it sounds like that's what you did...)
My western property line is really funky, and I have two neighbors on it. None of the three of us really follow the property line when we mow; we all overlap the lines just to be safe.
But all of our iron pins are in place. That seems to be the important issue, if you ask me. As a gardener, that's one of the first things I ask a new client--where is the property line EXACTLY? They say that good fences make good neighbors. Established property pins are as good as a fence in most cases. (And I don't like shared fences or hedges for that matter. Someone's side of it is always neglected.)
Every once in a while, my crazy redneck meth-manufacturing foster-parent neighbors will breech the lines. The last time was kind of funny: I saw something lying in the yard and figured it was a bag or something that blew out of their permanent construction dumpster. (I guess trash cans would be too easy.) Dad went to investigate it for me, and came back grinning. It was a wind sock on a broom handle. In a fit of culture or something, they had dug a hole in my yard and put a plastic cup in it for putting practice. Dad asked them to move it off my yard, and they did.
Later I could see them out there hitting golf balls into the road--shirtless, in trucker hats, with cigarettes hanging out of their mouths. (Sometimes I wish that natural selection would speed up a little!)
Well, unfortunately the guy that had lived there before this man who did the remodeling is the one who removed the stake and I assume threw it away. It never was put back.
hmmmm......can't remember
Well, unfortunately the guy that had lived there before this man who did the remodeling is the one who removed the stake and I assume threw it away. It never was put back.
Property line issues just get so ugly when they become disputes. If it was me (and not everyone does things like I do, and that's okay!) I'd leave the stick for a week or so. If he doesn't agree with your stick I predict that it will mysteriously disappear. That's when I would look into having a diplomatic discussion with the survey plat in hand.
Skunky
Might I suggest planting land mines by your bedroom window?
SoWal Expert
It seems like we all have this fear of openly communicating with our neighbors, which is like walking on eggshells. Maybe it stems from our nature of wanting to be "neighborly," not wanting to seem confrontational. It could be that we don't want to appear possessive of our things/property. I don't think that your situation of not openly and honestly communicating with your neighbor is a rare case. Once we learn to let down that barrier and comfortably talk with our neighbors, we will probably see that some of our fears were only self-made.
SoWal Insider
Here's my take on this ladyd -
My husband gets irritated that our next door neighbor does not mow his lawn regularly. Mr. JR is anal about how he thinks everyone's yard should look, in spite of their hardships. (This neighbor of ours does work a lot of hours too, has a couple of small kids, etc.) SO, when Mr. JR mows ours, he mows part of their easement section next to ours and the section between our driveways. And he ONLY does this, not to help them out, but he says he can't stand to look out our windows and see their scraggly unmowed (sp?) lawn next to ours and everyone else's.
So, I would say to try to keep your lawn mowed, and if this neighbor continues to mow yours, then I'd say there's definitely a different reason.
My husband gets irritated that our next door neighbor does not mow his lawn regularly. Mr. JR is anal about how he thinks everyone's yard should look, in spite of their hardships. (This neighbor of ours does work a lot of hours too, has a couple of small kids, etc.) SO, when Mr. JR mows ours, he mows part of their easement section next to ours and the section between our driveways. And he ONLY does this, not to help them out, but he says he can't stand to look out our windows and see their scraggly unmowed (sp?) lawn next to ours and everyone else's.
So, I would say to try to keep your lawn mowed, and if this neighbor continues to mow yours, then I'd say there's definitely a different reason.
Beach Fanatic
I suggest you have another survey done. You could ask the neighbor to split the cost. The survey lines that were used/marked when we bought our property in '84 did not come any where near the ones that were posted when we had surveys done last year. The maps were so different that even the surveyor said that he was going to double check it. He came and shot the lines here on 3 different occasions and we came to realize that our entire property was actually off by 10'. The 10' feet to the north that we have ALWAYS used as a driveway was on the lot to the north and the 10' to the south was a scrub area that we had kept for privacy.It'd be cheaper just to put a stake back in on your own, especially if your not the one who's
Go figure
.Hubba was then asked by our neighbor's dad if we'd pay half for a survey only to find out he was indeed yards over. He still never moved the dern thing. We were still friendly but we never did really trust him as a neighbor. Our gulls babysat their little ones who were precious. A couple years into it they were splitsville and the first thing the new guy did was tear down that ugly chain link fence, which,btw their dog dug under, the other jumped over, and slept on my patio all the time anyhow. After the new guy teared down the fence I didn't even care when I saw his girlfriend pull the stake out when mowing. Well guess what ? Now after 8 years he moved just last weekend. I'm committed if the new peeps start building fences in my yard I'm going to let them know as nice as I can right away, where exactly the line is. If they just want to mow though we'll that might be okay? :scratch: Sounds kinda hypocritical but its their choosing to do more mowing. Why? Maybe it makes their yard look bigger. It's that territory thing, I think. Hmmm. :roll:
Beach Lover
Why not just be playful about it and thank him for mowing your part of the yard and offer to hire him as your lawn boy.Skunky
Tell him he missed a spot and demand he do it again until he gets it right.
SoWal Insider
I am mindful that, like neighbors, I can't pick family members either. I'd plant a hedge or put in some ground cover on the border.
Beach Lover
well...i'm 'elderly' and bored...have a John Deere...and when I mow the weeds
that make up my 'lawn'...I mow the whole neighborhood...cuz the county doesn't
keep the right of ways in the 'hood mowed...it's a 'man/machine' thing...he's just
being neigh'bored'ly, methinks...(I have yet to file a 'claim' on any property I have mowed, I do claim any and all golf balls in my yard, however)...
that make up my 'lawn'...I mow the whole neighborhood...cuz the county doesn't
keep the right of ways in the 'hood mowed...it's a 'man/machine' thing...he's just
being neigh'bored'ly, methinks...(I have yet to file a 'claim' on any property I have mowed, I do claim any and all golf balls in my yard, however)...
SoWal Expert
Before you start a fence war or pay for a new survey that could open up a big can of worms, I would talk to your neighbor and clarify the issue. Hopefully he's just mowing a little extra to be nice.
SoWal Expert
or, you could always shoot him with a BB gun when he crosses the line. Just tell the police that you were "hostilely defending your property" so that he couldn't claim squatters rights sometime down the road. :funn:
hmmmm......can't remember
or, you could always shoot him with a BB gun when he crosses the line. Just tell the police that you were "hostilely defending your property" so that he couldn't claim squatters rights sometime down the road. :funn:
You're still craving jail time, aren't you?
Beach Fanatic
Well, unfortunately the guy that had lived there before this man who did the remodeling is the one who removed the stake and I assume threw it away. It never was put back.
Same here :roll: Don't mind if not violated in anyway but guess what...
Just went out to water my nursed thru the drought trees and small shrubs and the new homeowners next door just cut down my 3 year old baby oak leak hydrangea. 
It had baby growth comin' out. 
:angry: I am mindful that, like neighbors, I can't pick family members either. I'd plant a hedge or put in some ground cover on the border.
That's what I'd done to hide their addition that's already at the edge of my yard.
well...i'm 'elderly' and bored...have a John Deere...and when I mow the weedsThis is way different. You sound like a friendly mower not a killer.
that make up my 'lawn'...I mow the whole neighborhood...cuz the county doesn't
keep the right of ways in the 'hood mowed...it's a 'man/machine' thing...he's just
being neigh'bored'ly, methinks...(I have yet to file a 'claim' on any property I have mowed, I do claim any and all golf balls in my yard, however)...
Might I suggest planting land mines by your bedroom window?I hate to admit it but right now, YES, even though I know this was for LadyD!
I better just stay in and calm down. I don't wanna be the Queen B but that is just wrong. It was clearly in between my magnolia and privets. Clearly. Hubba says he might've driven over it with his mower. WTH would you do? First thing I'm gonna do is stay in and cool down a little. They actually live down the street, and bought the house as an investment to resale. I've never met these people. Hubba's been chattin' a little, that's all we know of them.I am thankful this is the worst of my problems today.
Edited
hmmmm......can't remember
Same here :roll: Don't mind if not violated in anyway but guess what...
I hate to admit it but right now, YES!
Be sure you edge a little bed around it. Mulch it (not too thick right now, since it's still hot out!) and water it. If it's 3 years old, it will probably put out some more baby growth and shoot back up. You can also try some sort of fertilizer, like Peter's or Miracle Gro. (Follow the label, though. Don't overdo it.)
Might not hurt to put some sort of stake or flag or angry badger there to mark the spot for dingbats on mowers. (Did you mean that your neighbor might've driven over it, or your Hubba? If it was Hubba, strike the "dingbat" part.)
Beach Fanatic
Thanks NoHall. Yeah, I just verified when he said 'he' he meant HIM, the neighbor not himself. Grayt question though, not only cuz of my grammar skillz but also cuz it has been known to happen with him and some peonies too. I should have had them mulched too. ;-) I will try it. It was like 3-4 ft tall. 
Appreciate it, gull.
I normally don't water now but it's overcast but no rain is comin' out yet! This has been the story of this summer.
Yeah, I just verified when he said 'he' he meant HIM, the neighbor not himself. Grayt question though, not only cuz of my grammar skillz but also cuz it has been known to happen with him and some peonies too. I should have had them mulched too. ;-) I will try it. It was like 3-4 ft tall. Appreciate it, gull. I normally don't water now but it's overcast but no rain is comin' out yet! This has been the story of this summer.
Edited
Checking your forum account
Please wait while we verify your forum account.