Neighbor refuses to fix the falling retaining wall belongs to them

[furfur770]

My state: GA

Hello,

I share an old wooden retaining wall (approx. 15ft) with my uphill neighbor. The neighbor has fence built on the top of the wall, but they don't see the wall from their side. The wall is falling. Many ties are rotten and provide no support to the structure. I have a land survey done and the retaining wall belongs to my neighbor; however, they said the wall doesn't belong to them according to their records (not sure if it's a survey) and refuse to fix it (as it doesn't impact them). They are fine with me fixing it though. The wall is almost touching my shed and if I don't do anything, the shed will be crashed.

Is there anything I can do before taking legal actions? If I fix the wall by hiring a contractor myself, can I ask them to reimburse me? I have gotten a quote from a engineering company. It's ~$12k to fix.

Thanks,
furfur

 

[justalayman]

do you have any code enforcement, or even codes/ordinances in your area? If so, call them.

take pictures of the fence for your records.

If I fix the wall by hiring a contractor myself, can I ask them to reimburse me?

You can ask but if they refuse, you will have to sue them. Then it's up to the court and even if you get a judgment, you still have to collect on it. Better to get them to act if you can.