What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WA
Hi,
We purchased our home about 10 years ago (in WA state). There has been a fence between our house and our neighbor's property since we moved in.
About a month ago, our neighbors had an arborist come and give them a quote to cut down an extremely large Douglas fir (~80+ feet tall and >2 feet in diameter) that is on OUR side of the fence and within about 5-8 feet of our home.
They did NOT request permission to do this, nor did they communicate their intention to us prior to the arborist showing up.
Needless to say, we have a bit of a contentious relationship w/ our neighbors =(.
They are claiming that the fence is in the wrong place and that the tree is actually on THEIR property.
Once the tree is taken down they are proposing to move the entire fence line (~80-100 feet long) about 2 feet in our direction which will give us about 1.5 feet of a walking path between our house and the fence.
Is there a Washington state statute that says something to the effect that a fence line is deemed as a propertly line if it's been in place for a certain number of years?
We aren't necessarily opposed to the tree being taken down, although we had it evaluated when we moved in and they assured us that the tree was quite strong.
We probably wouldn't choose to have it taken down though.
We are however opposed to them moving the fence 2 feet in our direction, unless of course that is indeed the true property line, which honestly I can't imagine is the case because it would be SO CLOSE to our actual house!
Not to mention destroying all of the landscaping that I've done near the fence and our raised garden bed that is within a foot of the fence. =(
We called a surveying company to get a quote, starts at $1500. All that we currently have is a plat map.
I believe they said that they had the property surveyed before we moved in. We are going to ask them to provide that documentation, but if they cannot provide it, then what?
We don't feel that we should have to pay for the survey given that the tree is on our side of the fence and we are fine with it being there.
If they want the tree down, then they need to prove exactly where the property line is, right? They bear the burden of proof if they want to move the fence, take down the tree, etc, right?
Otherwise anyone coming onto our property to take down the tree would be considered trespassing, wouldn't it?
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!
An arborist is currently scheduled to cut down the tree on 6/14.
Hi,
We purchased our home about 10 years ago (in WA state). There has been a fence between our house and our neighbor's property since we moved in.
About a month ago, our neighbors had an arborist come and give them a quote to cut down an extremely large Douglas fir (~80+ feet tall and >2 feet in diameter) that is on OUR side of the fence and within about 5-8 feet of our home.
They did NOT request permission to do this, nor did they communicate their intention to us prior to the arborist showing up.
Needless to say, we have a bit of a contentious relationship w/ our neighbors =(.
They are claiming that the fence is in the wrong place and that the tree is actually on THEIR property.
Once the tree is taken down they are proposing to move the entire fence line (~80-100 feet long) about 2 feet in our direction which will give us about 1.5 feet of a walking path between our house and the fence.
Is there a Washington state statute that says something to the effect that a fence line is deemed as a propertly line if it's been in place for a certain number of years?
We aren't necessarily opposed to the tree being taken down, although we had it evaluated when we moved in and they assured us that the tree was quite strong.
We probably wouldn't choose to have it taken down though.
We are however opposed to them moving the fence 2 feet in our direction, unless of course that is indeed the true property line, which honestly I can't imagine is the case because it would be SO CLOSE to our actual house!
Not to mention destroying all of the landscaping that I've done near the fence and our raised garden bed that is within a foot of the fence. =(
We called a surveying company to get a quote, starts at $1500. All that we currently have is a plat map.
I believe they said that they had the property surveyed before we moved in. We are going to ask them to provide that documentation, but if they cannot provide it, then what?
We don't feel that we should have to pay for the survey given that the tree is on our side of the fence and we are fine with it being there.
If they want the tree down, then they need to prove exactly where the property line is, right? They bear the burden of proof if they want to move the fence, take down the tree, etc, right?
Otherwise anyone coming onto our property to take down the tree would be considered trespassing, wouldn't it?
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!
An arborist is currently scheduled to cut down the tree on 6/14.
