What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? FLORIDA
In a nutshell, this goes back a couple months when I started building a fence. I had a boundary survey done, the corners were marked and additional stakes placed down the property line. I built the fence about 12 inches from the property line, on my side. The neighbor constantly was pestering me during the process and complaining about how it looked, where it was, and on and on until finally I told her to not speak to me any further. While I was building the fence I ran a builder's line from the front corner down to the back corner between our properties. It was clear at this time that my property extended further than I thought, and in fact it appears a portion of her driveway is on my property.
Fast forward...the fence is done but within the last week I noticed that she has removed the boundary stakes (not the corner rebar, but the additional markers put there by the surveyors) and installed plants, some of which are on my property up against the fence. I had planned on putting rebar just inside of those additional stakes to mark the boundary but I had not done it yet.
I have 2 questions:
1) Is her removal of the boundary stakes considered theft? The stakes are not valuable but I paid $450 for my survey to mark the boundary. I am considering calling the Sheriff's office but I imagine they will tell me it's a civil matter. It is a civil matter, but in my opinion I think she should compensate me to have those stakes replaced.
2) The plants she installed don't necessarily bother me, however, I may need to perform maintenance on my fence in the future, and those plants will be very large eventually and restrict my access. Legally, as I understand it, if she installed plants on my property, then those plants are now mine. What I am considering is sending her a certified letter informing her that I will allow her 30 days to remove the plants, after which time they become my property to do with as I please.
Thoughts/advice about these 2 issues?
In a nutshell, this goes back a couple months when I started building a fence. I had a boundary survey done, the corners were marked and additional stakes placed down the property line. I built the fence about 12 inches from the property line, on my side. The neighbor constantly was pestering me during the process and complaining about how it looked, where it was, and on and on until finally I told her to not speak to me any further. While I was building the fence I ran a builder's line from the front corner down to the back corner between our properties. It was clear at this time that my property extended further than I thought, and in fact it appears a portion of her driveway is on my property.
Fast forward...the fence is done but within the last week I noticed that she has removed the boundary stakes (not the corner rebar, but the additional markers put there by the surveyors) and installed plants, some of which are on my property up against the fence. I had planned on putting rebar just inside of those additional stakes to mark the boundary but I had not done it yet.
I have 2 questions:
1) Is her removal of the boundary stakes considered theft? The stakes are not valuable but I paid $450 for my survey to mark the boundary. I am considering calling the Sheriff's office but I imagine they will tell me it's a civil matter. It is a civil matter, but in my opinion I think she should compensate me to have those stakes replaced.
2) The plants she installed don't necessarily bother me, however, I may need to perform maintenance on my fence in the future, and those plants will be very large eventually and restrict my access. Legally, as I understand it, if she installed plants on my property, then those plants are now mine. What I am considering is sending her a certified letter informing her that I will allow her 30 days to remove the plants, after which time they become my property to do with as I please.
Thoughts/advice about these 2 issues?