fence line question

[otis451]

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

I have this neighbor who put up a 6 foot wooden privacy fence last summer. He set the fence back from the property line about 6 inches , as he seems to have some serious boundary issues, and he wanted to avoid any potential dispute.

Late last fall I was looking for a place to store a ladder. I saw the fence posts alongside the back of my garage as an ideal place to put a couple of hooks - presto - ladder out of the way, out of plain sight and easily accessible. I didn't really think it would be an issue since it was hung on the side of the fence facing my yard, and the fence itself is so close to the property line. Also, since it's a privacy fence, the ladder cannot be seen from his yard unless he looks really close at the small cracks between the boards.

Last week I came home from work and noticed that my ladder and hooks had been taken down and leaned against my garage. I actually thought that it was the neighbor on the other side who has a habit of coming into my yard and " fixing " things that he doesn't approve of - I just figured that he didn't like looking at my ugly ladder from his back yard. So I hung it back up. This evening when I returned from work, the neighbor with the fence approached me and asked me why I had hung the ladder on his property without his permission. I ascertained that he was the one who had taken it down, and I asked why he felt it was okay to enter my property without permission - his response was that he didn't need permission to remove the ladder from his fence, on his 6 inches of property.

We both obviously have different ideas over what is and isn't legal in regards to this. The discussion got pretty heated and in the end I walked away and took down the ladder until I know for certain. I don't want to seem like a presumptuous slob, but it doesn't seem like it should be that big of a deal if a neighbor wanted to hang something on the " non visible " side of a fence that faced his property.

So - question is - with his fence facing my yard, so close to the property line, am I within my rights to be able to hang utility hooks on my side of the fence , or make any use of his fence for that matter?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[Kiawah]

Just hang the ladder on the back of your garage, on your own property.

 

[justalayman]

So - question is - with his fence facing my yard, so close to the property line, am I within my rights to be able to hang utility hooks on my side of the fence , or make any use of his fence for that matter?

absolutely not. It is his fence. As it stands, he could make an argument to demand payment from you for the damage you caused screwing something into his fence.

Especially since the fence is away from the property line, you have absolutely no right to even touch his fence as you would have to trespass to touch his fence.

 

[clb rat]

Get a comparative market analysis, analyze what your net proceeds would be (from the sale of your home) and if you have equity......b line it outa there.

 

[latigo]

Now boys, that is not the “out-of-sight-out-of mind” answer this kindly neighbor was looking for!

But perhaps he can take solace in knowing that in a decade or so his property will have grown half a lineal foot.

(That is, if he doesn’t have an aneurysm pouting over where to park his precious presto ladder.)

 

[justalayman]

But perhaps he can take solace in knowing that in a decade or so his property will have grown half a lineal foot.

)

I wouldn't be too sure of that. I suspect the neighbor will stymie that claim, probably on a very regular basis.


I did think this was quite humorous though:

I asked why he felt it was okay to enter my property without permission

talk about the pot calling the kettle black!

 

[otis451]

Well I'm glad that you found humor in my remark. There's a little more history to the relationship I've had with this neighbor. We get along well for the most part, but he's kind of high strung at times. I tend to be a little more laid back about encroachment by neighbors until the " pot calls the kettle black "

When he first moved in he started remodeling the place. He brought supply trucks across my property several times because my driveway had clear access. Never asked permission, and only said something about it after one of the delivery trucks had damaged my lawn. I shrugged it off, moved some dirt to fill the holes and threw down some seed. One week they were mixing plaster, and the closest water was off of my house. Said something about it after some of the wet plaster dried on my asphalt driveway. Again, I shrugged it off, chipped and brushed it off and went on with my life. I see things like this as minor between neighbors

Fast forward to last year when I was removing a tree stump in my back yard to pour some concrete for an addition to my garage. Had to cross his yard with the Bobcat to get back thru an existing gate between our yards. I asked his permission ahead of time. I also told him to expect a little damage to the lawn and not to worry- that I would keep it to a minimum and repair the damage caused by the 3000 pound tractor, which I did. He gave permission and was fine with it right up until the time I was actually doing the work - as soon as he saw the ruts being made in the lawn he started hyperventilating about it.

I get mixed signals from the guy. It seems that when it serves his purpose, he wants to get along and be good neighbors. Doesn't mind a little encroachment when he's the one encroaching, and gets permission after the fact.

Seriously though, I posted here to see if there was a legitimate legal issue here. I don't want to lay claim to his fence, and it's not that big of a deal to put the ladder somewhere else. But call me dumb - it just seems to me that if he's going to put a 6 foot high wooden barrier against the property line that I have to look at, why it would be so much trauma to hang a couple hooks on my side. I know a lot of municipalities have certain guidelines on shared fences - for instance when you build a wood fence in some towns you are required to put the finished side ( the side without posts showing ) toward the neighbors lot. The whole thing bothers me. We obviously have different values. I personally wouldn't have a problem with it were the roles reversed.

Sorry to have wasted anybody's time with this.

 

[justalayman]

I know a lot of municipalities have certain guidelines on shared fences - for instance when you build a wood fence in some towns you are required to put the finished side ( the side without posts showing ) toward the neighbors lot. s.

I was going to say something about this but since you do not have a shared fence, I figured it would just muddle the rest.

In areas that have shared fence laws, BOTH parties pay for the fence and it is installed on the property line. In your situation, he paid for the fence and apparently intentionally held it to his side of the line 6".

that removes the shared fence situation.

Neither of you sound like horrible people. You both simply need to learn how to deal with the other.

but yes, you making a point about his trespassing was quite humorous given the fact that if you even reach out and touch his fence, you are trespassing.

Hey, we do this for free. We have to have fun somewhere.

 

[JustAPal00]

I'd like to see the guy in 5 years trying to stand on his 6" of property to stain the outside of the fence. Also OP, if you want to play hard ball. Do not mow his 6" of land. If the grass gets tall, call your local municipality and complain. Do not allow the neighbor to enter your property to mow the grass either. You can suggest that he temporarily remove the fence to mow the land if he needs to.

 

[154NH773]

Seriously though, I posted here to see if there was a legitimate legal issue here.

The answer is; NO.

Anything the neighbor has done before has no consequence to the ladder issue. You have no right to touch his fence. You are in the wrong here, and somewhat unreasonable in your attitude.
Without making any judgements, there may be more than meets the eye in why your neighbor chose to erect a privacy fence.

 

[drewguy]

talk about the pot calling the kettle black!

Indeed!

Anyway, the easy solution is to sink two posts of your own into the ground near the fence but on your property. Then hooks on the posts. Then hang the ladder. Besides the trespassing issue, fences aren't always built to hold a bunch of extra weight as a ladder might create.

As for your neighbor issues, why don't you have a discussion with him? Apologize for hanging the ladder on the fence, tell him you didn't realize it was an issue, and then query him about his incursions (not to remove the fence, but drywall etc.) and tell him that you hope in the future you both can cooperate on coming on to each other's property but that you think you should discuss each instance in advance.

 

[csi7]

I agree with drewguy about sinking two posts and placing your ladder on them inside your property line. By doing that, your neighbor has no say so on where your ladder is.

The fence belongs to your neighbor.

The whole bit with the lawn maintenance is one we are dealing with ourselves, as we have a chain link fence with cement anchors two inches inside property line and the neighbors put up a privacy fence four inches away.

The weeds between the two fences were sprayed with weed killer and then soil erosion exposed our cement anchors about two inches. We put up plastic edging on the outside of the fence posts all the way down and now the soil erosion is happening around their fence posts.

Good luck with your fence line choices.