Boundary Dispute over Collapsing Retaining Wall

[mwd83]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania

Hello. My fiancee and I own a house together. The house next door was owned by an elderly woman for several years. She had since passed away and the house (actually a small apartment complex) has been for sale for almost a year. The structure itself is in pretty terrible shape. They are asking far more for the sale than we believe it is worth, doubting it will sell anytime soon. The backyard of the complex is elevated about 5-6 feet from the rear of our property. It is supported by an old-style retaining wall that has partially collapsed onto our property. The elderly woman, before she passed, had argued with my fiancee that it was not her wall and would not fix it. My concern is the rest of the wall collapsing and getting it fixed. How can we prove that it is not our property, and/or report it as a safety hazard, and get it fixed asap on their behalf? Is there anything we can do? We'd like to exhaust every opportunity, as the wall is clearly on their property, before we have to fix it ourselves. Thanks for any help!

 

[FarmerJ]

Having a current boundry survey of the property is good place to start , if that wall is not with in your property boundry then its not yours , Take pics of it and send copy of the boundry survey to the other property owner with demand letter via certified mail that they correct the problem that is damaging your property.

 

[sally1]

If the boundary survey shows the wall is not yours then you can contact your local zoning office. They will cite the owner to get it fixed.

 

[NC Aggie]

Well sounds like you need a boundary survey or if an existing survey exists that shows the wall, it may be a good reference. If your survey confirms the wall is on the neighbor's property, then sending a copy of this survey with a certified letter may be the next appropriate step. If a survey by chance determines that the wall straddles the shared property boundary then it may be difficult to prove who actually "owns" the walls and therefore responsible for repairing and replacing the retaining wall.