How do you handle this - Neighbor issue. Problem solved - Thanks!

[KirstenB]

It so isn't the fence owner's responsibility to maintain the yard on the other side of a fence if it's not their property. If there was no fence, would you be weed-whacking a couple of inches into their yard "just because". Of course not.

I have had fenced-in yards all my life, with the fence right on the property line. We maintained our side, the neighbor maintained theirs. Where the heck else are you supposed to put a fence other than on the property line? The point of a fence, generally, is to delineate your property.

Bottom line...neighbors are lazy, don't feel like properly maintaining their yard...their problem, not the OP's..

I've always read that if you put up a fence, you should put it a few feet within your property. That way, if there's any error in surveying, measuring etc, you have a little wiggle room. If it's right on the line, and there's an error, your neighbor has the right to tell you to move the fence off their property. Talk about expense and hassle to have to take down the fence.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I've always read that if you put up a fence, you should put it a few feet within your property. That way, if there's any error in surveying, measuring etc, you have a little wiggle room. If it's right on the line, and there's an error, your neighbor has the right to tell you to move the fence off their property. Talk about expense and hassle to have to take down the fence.

No. You put your fence on your property line.

 

[daisax]

Every place I have ever lived, you put the fence a couple of feet into your property so that you could access the outside of it (to paint, etc.) without infringing on your neighbor's land. If it's ON the property line, how do you paint it if your neighbor doesn't want you on his property? What's to prevent the neighbor from painting HIS side purple?

And if you DON'T maintain the part of your property on the other side of the fence and the neighbor DOES, after a certain period of time, they can claim possession.

So I would call your local town hall and see what the actual laws are in your community.

(Obviously some neighbors do split the costs and erect a fence close to or on the line, but it can cause problems decades later when other people move in with the expectation that they own land on the other side of the fence.)

 

[lecach]

Our neighbors fence is part on the line and part inside their line. They insist that it's completely inside their line but we know where the stakes are and we had several different companies measure and state it as fact. So we asked to attach to their fence when we were building ours and they said no. Because of this we had to build ours about 3 feet inside our line to allow room for our fence guy to put up the fence. It really burns us that we're penalized because they were first. And then they had the nerve to ask what we were going to do about people walking between the fences? We said "nothing".

On our other side the neighbor mows part of our yard. There sort of a dip in the yards and you would think that is where the line is since it's right in the middle of the two houses. But our property actually goes over the line. It would look weird if it was mowed any differently. We get along with them fine and it's a non issue. When building our fence on that side we stopped about 4 feet from the line because it just seemed rude to go to the line - it would have looked like it was on their land. I think they appreciated that and they don't seem to mind the mowing thing.

In your case OP I think you'll have to say something. I would probably do it in such a way that looks like you think they know they are mowing your grass. Like "we sure are having trouble with that part of our yard. We're going to have to sow some grass there this fall. Thank you for mowing that part for us but since we have to do some work in that area, we'd like to start mowing it ourselves after we sow some new seed. Thanks again!".

 

[Wishing on a star]

There may be slightly different regulations in different states and municipalities...

But, it is my understanding that one can usually NOT place any structure or fence right on a property line... There USUALLY should be a slight easement to account for maintenance, errors in measurement, etc...

Anybody who is so presumptuous as to not want to leave an easement.....

If a neighbor put a fence right on MY property line, that would mean that DH could not simply mow, but would have to work his behind off to properly weed-eat along somebody elses fence every time... Ummmm, that wouldn't go over well... About like a lead balloon. And, let's not even go there about painting and staining and maintenance... If you can't do that without trespassing, the your fence is too close.

 

[Magic Mom]

The next time he is mowing, say "Hey, Joe. Don't worry about mowing our part of the yard. It's a little unhealthy right now so we are going to mow it higher than you mow. Thanks!"
How easy was that?

 

[Magic Mom]

No. You put your fence on your property line.

Not here. We have to have our fence something like 2-3 feet inside our property line. It's the law. stupid law

 

[h20jag]

Put a little sign marking the perceived boundary... "Nacho Grass".

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Not here. We have to have our fence something like 2-3 feet inside our property line. It's the law. stupid law

Oh that would blow. Here in MO and TX for that matter, it goes right on the property line.

We just put a up a fence, black aluminum so no painting required.

We do weed eat the other side of the fence, since we paid for the fence we own the fence and we are required to maintain it. We could have made agreements with our neighbor and so forth but he did not want a fence.

We are in a new housing development. Our easements are all to the front of the house, nothing in the back.

 

[merryweather20]

There may be slightly different regulations in different states and municipalities...

But, it is my understanding that one can usually NOT place any structure or fence right on a property line... There USUALLY should be a slight easement to account for maintenance, errors in measurement, etc...

Anybody who is so presumptuous as to not want to leave an easement.....

If a neighbor put a fence right on MY property line, that would mean that DH could not simply mow, but would have to work his behind off to properly weed-eat along somebody elses fence every time... Ummmm, that wouldn't go over well... About like a lead balloon. And, let's not even go there about painting and staining and maintenance... If you can't do that without trespassing, the your fence is too close.

Nobody is presumptious, they just live in different kinds of neighbourhoods then you have. I can look out my office and there are neighbourhoods as far as the eye can see, all with fences on the property line.

I can't see why anyone would leave "a couple feet" that would be most of a backyard for a lot of people.

 

[SharpMomOfTwo]

I think my thread has been hyjacked..... oh well - I know what I'll say to them. DH is just worried that (and they would never do this, but....) if we never say anything, and they keep mowing our lawn, they can say that they have been taking care of it for x # of years, and it is now theirs. And were not talking about a few feet there - its like 12-15 feet!!

 

[diznygirl]

There may be slightly different regulations in different states and municipalities...

But, it is my understanding that one can usually NOT place any structure or fence right on a property line... There USUALLY should be a slight easement to account for maintenance, errors in measurement, etc...

Anybody who is so presumptuous as to not want to leave an easement.....

If a neighbor put a fence right on MY property line, that would mean that DH could not simply mow, but would have to work his behind off to properly weed-eat along somebody elses fence every time... Ummmm, that wouldn't go over well... About like a lead balloon. And, let's not even go there about painting and staining and maintenance... If you can't do that without trespassing, the your fence is too close.

I think it's presumptuous to not consider differences in other areas.

Nobody is presumptious, they just live in different kinds of neighbourhoods then you have. I can look out my office and there are neighbourhoods as far as the eye can see, all with fences on the property line.

I can't see why anyone would leave "a couple feet" that would be most of a backyard for a lot of people.

Exactly. Where I live we can put the fence on the property line between houses, and there is a 5 foot set-back required from the alley in the back.

I think my thread has been hyjacked..... oh well - I know what I'll say to them. DH is just worried that (and they would never do this, but....) if we never say anything, and they keep mowing our lawn, they can say that they have been taking care of it for x # of years, and it is now theirs. And were not talking about a few feet there - its like 12-15 feet!!

Sorry about the hijacking. Don't be afraid of saying anything - just put a smile on your face and let them know that there seems to be a misunderstanding of the property line. All this pre-worrying and it might turn out to be no big deal.

Although if they turn out to be jerks, please come back and vent!!!

 

[Tinijocaro]

I would get some stakes, string and grass seed and just seed the area of your lawn that they are mowing. If they ask, just tell them that you're trying to fix that part of the lawn by planting seed. Tell them it doesn't match the rest of your lawn.

Ok, my neighbors next to us have a mowing problem. Not only do they mow their grass so low that you can see the dirt, but they are starting to mow OUR grass. They are over about 10-15 feet, an DH is getting annoyed because they are killing our grass (its all burnt out in that area because of this). The people who owned the house before them put on an addition, so it seems like they are mowing to the middle of the two properties, but not really since they have more house, KWIM? Also, its obvious where they should be mowing to because when they put in their new driveway (the original owners), they also redid the sidewalk on their property only - its a good marker to know where to mow to.

Anyway, how do you tell them they are mowing your grass, and you want them to stop without starting an argument. They are really nice people, and I don't think they would take offence, but DH is worried they will.

 

[aprilgail2]

It so isn't the fence owner's responsibility to maintain the yard on the other side of a fence if it's not their property. If there was no fence, would you be weed-whacking a couple of inches into their yard "just because". Of course not.

I have had fenced-in yards all my life, with the fence right on the property line. We maintained our side, the neighbor maintained theirs. Where the heck else are you supposed to put a fence other than on the property line? The point of a fence, generally, is to delineate your property.

..

Around here all yards are fenced in- good fences make good neighbors! The fence goes on the property line of course- who would give 2-3 feet of their yard all around to the neighbors?? Also you never need to go "maintain" the other side of the fence- that is the other persons job- my neighbor next door put up a wood fence- he liked his side stained and that is what he did with his side- the guy on the other side wanted it painted to match his house and that is what he did with his side- each person weed whacks their own side (I do get a kick out of people calling it weed eating though LOL).
For those of you that think the fence should be 3 feet in on your own property- then your neighbor puts theirs 3 feet in on their property and you have a 6 foot gap of nothing in between?? Yuk. And if you didn't put up a fence but your neighbor did then when he was on "your" side of hte fence it would be like he was in the yard with you- what if your dog was running around your yard and bit the person???

 

[JR6ooo4]

as the neighbor I would be upset that you knew I was mowing your lawn and you let me keep doing it without mentioning it.

I would nicely mention/ask, "so where is the property line... I think you may have been doing too much work."

when you both agree where the property line is then tell them not to mow your part. state that you like taller grass.

Mikeeee

 

[SharpMomOfTwo]

as the neighbor I would be upset that you knew I was mowing your lawn and you let me keep doing it without mentioning it.

You would be upset? Seriously?? As a homeowner, you should know where your property line is.

 

[JR6ooo4]

You would be upset? Seriously?? As a homeowner, you should know where your property line is.

right. but if I was mistaken, for whatever the reason, and my good friend neighbor knew I was mowing to much, and did not say anything.... I would find that a bit devious.

not the case with the OP because they do not want the neighbor to mow too much... but the neighbor could perceive it that way.

Mikeeee

ps I am a land surveyor

 

[BelleWDW]

I think my thread has been hyjacked..... oh well - I know what I'll say to them. DH is just worried that (and they would never do this, but....) if we never say anything, and they keep mowing our lawn, they can say that they have been taking care of it for x # of years, and it is now theirs. And were not talking about a few feet there - its like 12-15 feet!!

You know-i think i have heard something about that before.

I would plant some sort of edging-like monkey grass or a short fence (maybe temporary) to define the property line

12 feet is unbelievable!

Our neighbor's driveway is about 1 foot next to our front propery line and we mow that strip for convienence

 

[JR6ooo4]

You know-i think i have heard something about that before.

I would plant some sort of edging-like monkey grass or a short fence (maybe temporary) to define the property line

12 feet is unbelievable!

Our neighbor's driveway is about 1 foot next to our front propery line and we mow that strip for convienence

For those concerned about this, look for your state specific laws governing adverse possession.

Mikeeee

 

[BelleWDW]

Around here, most people want some kind of bushes or trees or fence to deliniate their yards.
It is not like this is some kind of hostile act...

But, if the OP talks to the neighbor and makes a point of contention... Yes, it could then very well be perceived as a rude/hostile act by the neighbors.

I disagree
The more i think about it, i believe the OP SHOULD speak with the neighbors
Who knows-maybe the realator told them their propery is bigger than it is. Not everybody pays attention to the Platt!!

Case in Point-Our friend bought a small tract home near us. The propery next door is a huge single family home on acerage with a bunch of ponds. the Realator was telling all the peopel viewing the homes that they would have access to the ponds!!