Neighbor Shed

[LeeShipley]

I live in Fredericksburg Virginia. Recently my wife and I purchased a home only to discover after closing that our neighbor had erected a shed on what became our property several months prior to our purchase. We have asked them several times to remove the shed, we have tried to get the our county officials involved, we have even sent them a certified letter asking them to remove it but nothing seems to work. They claim that the land is theirs but have no evidence to prove so. The county platts, our survey, and even their survey all show the land as ours. We would remove the shed ourselves but we fear retaliation as the owner is a violent drunk. The final kicker in this is that the shed is on the other side of a creek from our house and has been built in wetlands. Now the county is talking about fining me because it is my property.

Here recently I had the county sheriffs deputy at my home to file an official complaint about the shed. He suggested that I file a civil suit against the neighbor to have the shed removed. My wife and I agree that this may be the best course of action at this point but we are a little confused as how to proceed from here. How should I file the case? Should it be for trespassing, encroachment, destrucition of property, etc? Will I have to pay or will I be able to recoup and court fees from the neighbor? Any advice from anyone would be greatly appreciated.

[infamous_insane]

I say take down the shed. or move it to his property. if he is a violent drunk, and tries to retaliate violently then it is a criminal matter and the police will be on your side.

so stop being all "what should we do" and go take the d*** shed down. its really no big deal.

you wont need to pay any fees or worry about how to file when it becomes criminal. and even with a judgement it doesnt seem this guy would pay a darn thing.

sorry. my free advice is go outside and take the thing down, and leave the debris on his lawn. you have been nice enough already.

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by LeeShipley

I live in Fredericksburg Virginia. Recently my wife and I purchased a home only to discover after closing that our neighbor had erected a shed on what became our property several months prior to our purchase. We have asked them several times to remove the shed, we have tried to get the our county officials involved, we have even sent them a certified letter asking them to remove it but nothing seems to work. They claim that the land is theirs but have no evidence to prove so. The county platts, our survey, and even their survey all show the land as ours. We would remove the shed ourselves but we fear retaliation as the owner is a violent drunk. The final kicker in this is that the shed is on the other side of a creek from our house and has been built in wetlands. Now the county is talking about fining me because it is my property.

Here recently I had the county sheriffs deputy at my home to file an official complaint about the shed. He suggested that I file a civil suit against the neighbor to have the shed removed. My wife and I agree that this may be the best course of action at this point but we are a little confused as how to proceed from here. How should I file the case? Should it be for trespassing, encroachment, destrucition of property, etc? Will I have to pay or will I be able to recoup and court fees from the neighbor? Any advice from anyone would be greatly appreciated.

**A: the suit should require shed removal from your real property.