Inexpensive way to tell if neighbor killed my grass

[kbkids]

. Our attorney sent her a letter reminding her the drive was on our property and at anytime we could put a fence up if we wanted.

I hope things work out for you.

I think I would just because! But how on earth does she have property wtih no access to a road to come and go?

 

[eclairemom]

I think I would just because! But how on earth does she have property wtih no access to a road to come and go?

She can build a driveway to access her property there is plenty of road frontage for that, she just hasn't. Our land is smack in the middle of a buch of her family's land it was actually part of the divorce settlement between her mom and dad. No easements were put in the deed books all was great till mom decided to sell the land. I just think we are the bad guys because she never thought anyone other than familiy would be next to her and is a little bitter.

We have over 2 acres so a fence would be way too expensive and I really don't want to be vendictive.

 

[Married2theYeti]

Same question here?

It actually bugs my DH a little that our neighbor on one side does this since the neighbor cuts his grass much shorter then DH cuts ours and the line is so crooked it always looks like he mowed drunk BUT, we just laugh about it and would never paint a line or drive a stake and make a big deal. We value a peaceful neighborhood. That sounds a bit juvenile- kind of like when my sister and I would put a dividing line down the room we shared as kids.

I DO think your post is a bit harsh. I don't think it is juvenile to expect people to be respectful of other's property. I am not sharing land with my neighbor and putting a dividing line down the middle. And then there is the legal aspect. Just because property lines are invisible doesn't mean they aren't there. I have paid for this land, am paying taxes and if I wanted a smaller lot I would have purchased one. Mowing over into someone else's property to me is not "helping" and "being nice". We are not obsessed with our lawn, but we do find it somewhat enjoyable to work on our yard, thus mowing it is not a big deal. Besides 3 feet over is not saving even five minutes of our time or much gas so this is definitely not "helping". We have not asked for "help". The only help going on is my neighbor helping himself to something that does not belong to him.

We also value a peaceful neighborhood. But we also value being respectful of homeowner's rights and responsibilities.

 

[georgemoe]

When my neighbor mows a little bit of my yard I generally say thank you.

 

[tlens]

Absolutely!

Then mow over his property line 4 feet. Then no one can "claim" anything. I doubt something like that would hold up in court regardless.

 

[OceanAnnie]

I DO think your post is a bit harsh. I don't think it is juvenile to expect people to be respectful of other's property. I am not sharing land with my neighbor and putting a dividing line down the middle. And then there is the legal aspect. Just because property lines are invisible doesn't mean they aren't there. I have paid for this land, am paying taxes and if I wanted a smaller lot I would have purchased one. Mowing over into someone else's property to me is not "helping" and "being nice". We are not obsessed with our lawn, but we do find it somewhat enjoyable to work on our yard, thus mowing it is not a big deal. Besides 3 feet over is not saving even five minutes of our time or much gas so this is definitely not "helping". We have not asked for "help". The only help going on is my neighbor helping himself to something that does not belong to him.

We also value a peaceful neighborhood. But we also value being respectful of homeowner's rights and responsibilities.

I think you have every right to feel the way you do! It would be one thing if you never mentioned it to the neighbor. That would be an irritation. But since you have and he knows he is going against your wishes about your property, he is showing himself. And it isn't pretty.

A lovely stone hedge bordering your shrubs would be just the ticket.

Why is it that people that do this kind of thing rarely live next to the ones that don't mind those kind of shenanigans?

 

[iwannago!!]

Yes, we can do that and may if it will look nice.

If you do the trees ON the property line, the holes dug would probably go over into their yard. This would, of course, be an issue. If you dig the holes entirely on your property, the tree's themselves would not be on the line. If you plant tree's that are small & need to be supported/tied with strings & stakes - watch out!

Perhaps a stone walkway from the front lawn to the back yard? Some nice big round stepping stones butted up right to the edge of the line would look so nice.

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

I read your whole post...but I can't seem to get past this:

WHY is it an issue at all that he mows a little over the property line? I don't get it.

Yeah. Heck, sometimes by neighbor cuts our backyard while he's cutting his. Just 'cause he's nice like that. Or crazy. Maybe a bit of both.

 

[mobopolo]

Put a fence up ( even if it is only 2 feet tall) so he can't use his mower on your lawn. Problem solved.

Fences make for great neighbors!! Now if we could just keep the weeds out.

 

[ConcernedAboutTheBS]

Okay, I know this is really out there, but I would like to know if there is an inexpensive way to tell if my neighbor has used Roundup to kill a portion of our grass.

I dont believe there is an inexpensive way other than a lawyer and video evidence. We live in Ga and had this problem for years out of our neighbor. Everytime I'd plant something it would mysteriously die and you could smell the killer. FInally I placed cameras And a large wood divider and all of this has stopped. Good luck.

 

[Allison]

They probably figured it out 11 years ago when this was posted.

 

[4kids4karen]

I like picket fences; however, as I was reading I saw a post saying the kids play with neighbor kids so they didn't want a fence. I wasn't paying attention if that was the OP. Also a post said a community restriction prevented putting a fence down the property line?

I would say, what about a split rail fence. Split rail the kids can still visit the neighbors by going through the rails or leaving an opening like the bottom picture (no gate needed) and do not block views like a privacy fence.

Also I know to put a fence ON the property line in my neighborhood needs both owners permission since it would be a shared fence, but putting a fence just INSIDE your property doesn't need both owners permission, As long as when the surveyors mark the line (usually with string) the fence is on the inside. Might mean giving up a few inches, but better than dealing with the neighbor issues. You don't even have to go the entire way down the property, you can just do the front and a couple panels down the side like a corner fence.

 

[4kids4karen]

They probably figured it out 11 years ago when this was posted.

LOL.

Also that poster joined TODAY with a username of ConcernedAboutTheBS

 

[Disneyfan754321]

I'm so glad we are not alone, we have been going through this for years... no one understands what like.
I wish I could help besides being supportive

For awhile we had that green metal border it was making it hard to mow on both sides/ had to weed eat the whole side yard so we pulled it up. But they learned for awhile

 

[MillauFr]

I'm so glad we are not alone, we have been going through this for years... no one understands what like.
I wish I could help besides being supportive

For awhile we had that green metal border it was making it hard to mow on both sides/ had to weed eat the whole side yard so we pulled it up. But they learned for awhile

Best way to deal with it is to remove the grass. Grass is a high maintenance plant anyway. I removed most of my grass and replaced it with low maintenance plants and used mulch to eliminate the weeds.

 

[MillauFr]

They probably figured it out 11 years ago when this was posted.

Probably realized Roundup causes cancer and stopped using it.

 

[LovesTimone]

Probably with the dead spots, it was over-spray, carried by the wind, or someone not having any idea of what he was doing.... we had the same thing happen to our yard before not at this house when we were living somewhere else... The neighbor really had no idea what he was doing. He just went the point and shoot route instead of reading the directions....then DH told him about weed and feed you know like the pellets you spread out... from then on we did not have any problems...

The only thing that will stop this is a fence between the houses... We did this, at our old house... We went this route told the neighbor that we were putting a fence up, then had it surveyed, then put the fence up... about 6 months after the fence was up, I get a letter from the new HOA president that our fence was over the line... the neighbor lodged a complaint against us...so we took the survey from when we bought the house, and the survey from when we had it done for the fence to the HOA , and the plotting from the county, and proved we were right... end of story... Thankfully... We did have approval from the HOA before we put up the fence, the new president said she couldn't find it....

 

[tguz]

op- sorry can't help you .

to the others- the issue may be that in some states if they allow him to mow into their property after a certain amount of time it becomes HIS property. kind of like squatters laws they used to have. if you live somewhere long enough without anyone telling you to move, it became your property. i know that these laws still exist on the books in some states. and that may be an issue. if he continues to mow into her property line then it becomes his property.

The "adverse possession" doctrine would not apply to a couple foot strip of land mowed by a neighbor, in this case. The doctrine states that a piece of land must be occupied AND the property owner does not exercise their right to recover the property for a significant period of time. In this case, the owner HAS spoken to the neighbor about it, thus trying to recover the property. Plus, if the owner continues to mow the two foot strip when he mows his yard, he is reclaiming his property every time. This all boils down to that strip of grass getting an extra mowing when the neighbor mows. I would also certainly not advise the land owner to remove sod from the neighbors yard to replace the dead grass in his own yard.

 

[MillauFr]

The "adverse possession" doctrine would not apply to a couple foot strip of land mowed by a neighbor, in this case. The doctrine states that a piece of land must be occupied AND the property owner does not exercise their right to recover the property for a significant period of time. In this case, the owner HAS spoken to the neighbor about it, thus trying to recover the property. Plus, if the owner continues to mow the two foot strip when he mows his yard, he is reclaiming his property every time. This all boils down to that strip of grass getting an extra mowing when the neighbor mows. I would also certainly not advise the land owner to remove sod from the neighbors yard to replace the dead grass in his own yard.

That is my understanding as well. It doesn't matter if your neighbor mows a part of your yard. As long as you mow it too there is no adverse possession.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

Gotta wonder if the OP still lives next to that neighbor.....the post is 11 years old and she isn't responding.