Neighbors Yard Sliding Into Fence. How to Resolve?

[wildsoul]

What is the name of your state?
California.

I just bought my first house. It was a foreclosure property, so there are no written or verbal sellers history. There is 1 fence between us (a privacy fence, not a boundary) and it's falling down towards my house. Part of the problem is that it's an ordinary fence, not a retaining wall, and the neighbor's yard is about 5 feet higher elevation than mine. They had a large vine growing all over it too, and that might have compounded it. It looks like they added the extra fill to their yard after the fence was in place and that is what caused it to fall down, but I'm just speculating.

There was an urgent and hazerdous problem of the fence leaning on top of my propane tank. Because of the hazard, the propane co. shut off the gas a year ago when it was vacant. It took 6-weeks for me to work out a deal for the propane tank to get relocated, under the condition that I cut down the section of fence. I asked permission of the neighbor (tenant who is property manager) and finally have hot water & heat here as of yesterday.

What should I do next? The fence is still dangerous, and their yard is still sliding towards my house. The neighbor tenant has been friendly (as have I) but he keeps saying things that hint towards it being something he considers my problem. His only concern is that he wants the fine replaced on the new fence. I think they should at least pay 50% of a new retaining wall. It doesn't look like they have a lot of money to spare either. Neither do I, but my home is the one at risk. How do I proceed so that we resolve it and not have a huge battle?

 

[demartian]

Epa

I am not a lawyer, but cities, towns, states all have erosion and stormwater guidelines that protect you from your neighbor's earth causing damage to your land.

The epa.gov site can give you the number to their local office and they may be able to help or point you in the right direction to those in your town that do control this.

 

[seniorjudge]

What is the name of your state?
California.

I just bought my first house. It was a foreclosure property, so there are no written or verbal sellers history. There is plenty of written history; I hope you got a title report before you bought this place! ....

Have a lawyer write them a nasty letter about them trespassing on your land.

 

[wildsoul]

SeniorJudge: RU Serious?

As an opening move? I was hoping to get some advice about how to prevent the bitter battles I read on others' posts here. That sounds incredibly harsh and likely to cause them to be completely non-cooperative. I've got to assume you're either being sarcastic or are the resident troll in this forum.

And yes, I have a title report. But that doesn't have information about who built the fence, and when the neighbors dumped a bunch of fill to level their yard.

 

[ourhomeinc]

SeniorJudge: RU Serious?

The Senior Judge is correct by recommending a lawyer. To “prevent the bitter battles” you can pay to fix it yourself, or survey your property and find out whose possession of the fence/wall. If the wall belongs to your neighbor, your neighbor needs to repair the wall/fence, or you can have an adverse possession over it. First, take pictures and present the photos to your county office; they should inform you on the responsible party. The county can also place a violation on it, if necessary. By the way, how wide is the wall/fence?