What is the name of your state? CA
My husband and I recently decided to build a new fence, to replace an old chain link fence between our house and the neighbor’s house. We planned on paying for it, without asking the neighbor to contribute to the expense since she is a retired woman living on a fixed income. Our house is on top of a hill and the neighbor is below us. Our contractor told us that the property line, as given from some paperwork he received from the city, had our property line about 15 feet closer to our neighbor’s house then the current fence is. We couldn't believe it, so we paid a surveyor come out to verify the property line. The survey confirmed that our property line is in fact 15 feet closer to the neighbors house then we thought. Our neighbor told us a while ago that the current fence has been there for at least 30 years, as she has been living in her house that long and using that 15 feet as part of her yard and dog run. We have confirmed that we are in fact paying property taxes on that 15 foot strip of land.
We are still stunned. We get alone well with our neighbor and certainly would hate to have a dispute over this. But I also don't want to continue to pay property taxes on land that I don't get to use. She is using the space only as a dog run and doesn't need the space to gain access to any other part of her property. She doesn't have any structures, driveways, or paths on that strip either. We don't know what to do at this point. Does she have a right to keep that land? Do we ask for it back? Advice and suggestions as to what options we have would be greatly appreciated.
My husband and I recently decided to build a new fence, to replace an old chain link fence between our house and the neighbor’s house. We planned on paying for it, without asking the neighbor to contribute to the expense since she is a retired woman living on a fixed income. Our house is on top of a hill and the neighbor is below us. Our contractor told us that the property line, as given from some paperwork he received from the city, had our property line about 15 feet closer to our neighbor’s house then the current fence is. We couldn't believe it, so we paid a surveyor come out to verify the property line. The survey confirmed that our property line is in fact 15 feet closer to the neighbors house then we thought. Our neighbor told us a while ago that the current fence has been there for at least 30 years, as she has been living in her house that long and using that 15 feet as part of her yard and dog run. We have confirmed that we are in fact paying property taxes on that 15 foot strip of land.
We are still stunned. We get alone well with our neighbor and certainly would hate to have a dispute over this. But I also don't want to continue to pay property taxes on land that I don't get to use. She is using the space only as a dog run and doesn't need the space to gain access to any other part of her property. She doesn't have any structures, driveways, or paths on that strip either. We don't know what to do at this point. Does she have a right to keep that land? Do we ask for it back? Advice and suggestions as to what options we have would be greatly appreciated.