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| Legally obligated to pay neighbor for existing fence? |
dnotaro1 |
02/21/06 |
My wife and I purchased a new house back in November of last year. Immediately upon moving in we had a fence put in because we needed to enclose the yard for our dogs. Our neighbors to the left of us have been living in their house for one year and they had installed their fence when they moved in to accomodate their dogs. We met this neighbor one day when we stopped by to check on the progress of our house in construction. At that time we discussed our need to get a fence right away and he even gave us the name and number of the contractor he had used. He indicated at that time that we could tie onto his fence as it was already in place on that side,(his fence began off the rear corner of his house). In the same conversation, he said that if we decided to "fence down the side" he would be willing to go in half for that part. I interpreted that to mean if we wanted to extend the fence toward the street between our houses and fence in the side yards, he would be interested in doing so and pitch in for half of that cost. We decided not to fence in the side yard and had the fence installed beginning at the rear corner of our house using the neighbor's fence as the left boundary for the property. Three months later, now the middle of February, he is asking for me to pay for half of his fence that was in place before we even moved in. I explained to him how I interpreted what he had said to me and he thinks I am obligated to give him half. He said that if the people on the other side decide to fence in their yard three years from now he would expect them to give him half for that side. Am I crazy here or is this common? I have owned a few homes at this point and have spent a great deal of money in fencing over the years and would never even think to ask one of my neighbors to pay me for a fence I installed because I needed it. On the same token I have never had another neighbor ask me to pay when I attached to their fence. I feel that it is the luck of the draw. There are many people that move in later than others and only have to fence the front to complete their whole yard, that's just the way it goes. I would be understanding if a few years down the line this shared fence needed to be replaced and we decided to split the cost of repacement, but this request really rubbed me the wrong way. I am not one to cause problems with neighbors and like to have decent relationships. Does anyone know of any legal obligation I may have here? Any statutes I have been able to find say I would only have to pay in a rural setting where these rules were set up for border fencing on farm land. In an urban setting within a subdivision, any commenary I have read says I would in no way obligated to compensate a neighbor for an existing fence. |
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