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Building setbacks

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rklanier

Guest
we are building a house in gwinnett county, georgia. the property in the subdivision is zoned r-140. the subdivision is 25 years old. when it was first zoned, the setback was 65' from the front property line. in 1986 it was changed to 35'. we obtained a permit with the current setbacks (35'). we have laid the foundation - walls and slab. our neighbor is now sueing us for infringing on the building line. do we have any options other than giving in?
 


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rklanier

Guest
Building Setbacks

Apparently, and I didn't find this out until yesterday, the neighbor is claiming a private covenant on the plat. The building lines are shown at 65' on the plat - I knew about that. What I didn't know was that it was considered a private covenant. Our builders are going to take it to a local attorney to determine if it is a private covenant or not. A question, though.... do private covenants expire?? Just a thought... we are grasping at straws to avoid have to pay and extra $20,000 to undo the 'damage'...
 

HomeGuru

Senior Member
The private covenant does not involve the zoning and building dept therefore it is a private matter that must be settled betwen the property owners.
The covenant should have been recorded on title.
Does it show on your title report?
 
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rklanier

Guest
I didn't find a 'title report' in my documents. I do have a warranty deed that has 'Subject to restrictive covenants and general utility easements of record' on it...
 
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alax

Guest
If you're going to be living next to this person, despite the outcome of this matter, having good neighbor-to-neighbor relationships couldn't hurt. Do you think the neighbor might sell you this additional property or allow you to make some kind of functional, yet 'decorative', barrier between the homes in order to preserve their privacy and still continue with the house as you have started?
 
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rklanier

Guest
Know all about the neighbor relations thing.. ugh! I made it clear from the beginning that we were putting up a 'natural' fence - cypress trees - between the properties.. they aren't interested in listening. This guy isn't the favorite in the neighborhood anyways... The problem is that our garage sticks too far out in front of their house. We are going to have to 'move' the garage, which could possibly require re-pouring parts of the foundation, and definately re-designing the house - all of which adds up to another month on the building time... and also adds up to $$$ :(
 
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alax

Guest
Gee, I wish he had told you before you got that far. I guess you and I understand that we wouldn't want our property infringed upon in what we thought was unsightly, though. I dont' know a thing about your contractor's responsibility in this. Good luck.
 

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