Property lines are the defined points where one owner’s land ends and the neighboring property begins. They are used when installing features such as fences, pools, and home additions. They are also used to determine where to legally place features such as street fronts or other sides opening onto a public way.
Demystifying property lines is not as difficult or expensive as it may seem. By utilizing available resources, records, and communicating with neighbors, you can find out where property lines are located. These invisible boundaries define your land, helping you avoid neighbor conflicts and understand your property’s layout.
Interior property lines are shared with other privately owned land, while side lot lines are distinguished by whether they face another property (an interior side lot line) or the street (a street-facing side lot line). Property line disputes can create severe problems between neighbors.
To find property lines, start by checking your deed and property survey (or plat). If those are not helpful, you may need to hire a professional. Lot lines or property lines are typically plotted on a map, plat, or survey. Ask the builder of your place about it, and there is a laser tool that quickly measures interior distances.
In summary, property lines are essential for homeowners to ensure their property stays on their side and avoids conflicts with neighboring properties. To find property lines, check your deed and property survey, and consider hiring a professional if necessary.
📹 What are Setback and Lot Lines?
This informational video helps Weston residents understand what setbacks and lot lines are. This is incredibly helpful when …
How close to your property line can you put a driveway?
A driveway extension should be at least five feet on every side and not built directly on the property line. It is crucial to recheck property lines before starting the project. Estimating the cost of the project is essential to ensure it is feasible and within budget. A professional will likely be hired to perform the extension, which can be expensive due to the need for excavation and materials. Experienced professionals may be more expensive than those without experience.
The average cost for this type of project is $2-$15 per square foot, depending on the materials used and the land’s condition. For a 200-square-foot driveway extension, the total cost could be $400-$3, 000.
What is an example of a boundary line?
A boundary line is defined as a straight line formed by plotting two points on a coordinate plane and connecting them with a straight line. This includes the line y=x, which represents any equation that results in a straight line.
What is the boundary of the interior of a set?
The boundary of a set is the set of points in the closure of a set that do not belong to the interior of the set. It is called an accumulation point or isolated point. In topology and mathematics, the boundary of a subset S of a topological space X is the set of points in the closure of S not belonging to the interior of S. An element of the boundary of S is called a boundary point of S. The term boundary operation refers to finding or taking the boundary of a set.
Some authors use the term frontier instead of boundary to avoid confusion with a different definition used in algebraic topology and the theory of manifolds. The terms boundary and frontier have sometimes been used to refer to other sets, such as Hausdorff’s border and residue. There are several equivalent definitions for the boundary of a subset of a topological space, denoted by or simply if is understood.
What is the best free app for finding property lines?
LandGlide provides users with convenient access to property data and parcel boundary lines, with a complimentary 7-day trial period. The application utilizes GPS technology to ascertain the user’s location and provides access to over 157 million parcel records across 3, 200 counties.
How do you find the internal area of a house?
To calculate the ground floor area of a house, measure the length and width of the house and multiply them together. If outside measurements are unavailable, measure inside and add the wall thickness. Include an integral garage in the calculation. For upstairs, double the ground floor area or treble it if the other floor area is different. Other factors to consider include perimeter wall thickness, internal walls, partitions, columns, piers, chimney breasts, stairwells, roofs, lift-wells, integral garages, conservatories, attached garages, canopies, open vehicle parking areas, terraces, greenhouses, garden stores, and external fuel stores.
What is the boundary line of a house?
A boundary line is a legal demarcation that defines the limits of a property. It is of significant importance for homeowners to ascertain the location of construction projects, such as fences, sheds, or driveways, in order to avoid potential legal issues.
How close to the edge of my property can I build?
Buildings should be set back from the property line, which is determined by state and county, and there is no single standard for setbacks. The front setback is typically 10 feet, the sides four feet, and the back setback 10 feet, which may vary depending on the building type. It is crucial to determine the property line before building on it to avoid intruding on neighbor’s property and to establish the boundary of your land.
To determine the property boundary, consult documents pertaining to the purchase of the land, such as a deed, which specifies the extent of the land on all sides and the manner in which it is to be described. Without a clear property line, it is impossible to determine the boundaries of your property and ensure a safe and legal environment.
What are the 4 types of lines in interior design?
This blog series explores the elements and principals of design, focusing on lines – horizontal, vertical, curving, and diagonal – which impact how space is perceived. Lines can be combined to create shapes, planes, or form. Structural elements, applied finishes, and lighting can all be used to create strong lines within a space. Dan Brunn Architecture successfully accentuated length with horizontal wall slats and rectangular floor tile in a showroom design for Ceasarstone. Horizontal lines evoke feelings of stability, grounding, emphasis, and direction, directing the viewer to a focal point.
What is an interior property line?
In the context of real estate, the term “interior lot line” is used to describe any line that intersects with a front or rear lot line. It is also referred to as a side street lot line, which serves to delineate the boundaries of a lot from a street.
What is the interior of a property?
The term “interior of a dwelling unit” is used to describe the conditioned space enclosed by walls, floors, and ceilings. This space is typically owned by the individual or entity responsible for the lease or rental of the dwelling unit or the building it is part of.
How close to property boundary can I build?
If you plan to build a side return extension up to your boundary, it’s advisable to consult with your neighbors and discuss the plans to address any concerns before the construction begins. Generally, you can build up to 7. 2 feet or 2. 2 meters without issues. If your home has a shared boundary, you can either build under permitted development or with full planning permission up to 50 mm from the boundary, or build up to the boundary with a party wall agreement.
📹 This is Why You Need a Property Survey When Buying Real Estate
My neighbor is trying to claim some of my land. This is why having a property survey is going to stop her. One of the most …
I’m a retired Licensed Land Surveyor and heavy construction survey engineer. You can stop adverse possession by sending a certified, notarized, receipt requested letter to the party in dispute granting them permission to use your property until such time as you tell them to cease and desist. Adverse possession is based on a number of years without interruption — the clock must run continually. Granting permission stops the clock. Never, never purchase property without a legal survey.
I had a similar situation when I bought my home 20 yrs ago. My next-door neighbor was an elderly attorney who sent me letter after letter demanding I do what he wants along the property line, claiming I was encroaching on his property. I had the property surveyed (they had to survey the entire block as there were no survey stakes nearby). Turned out 6 inches of his driveway were on MY property. He saw the survey being done and survey stakes that were placed along the side of my property. I never heard another peep from him!! 😂
You should purge the wall on the other side and put in a drainage basin to the property line. It stops her from building on it and will eliminate the runoff issue. You don’t want to direct it to your residential wall or it will cause issues in the future. Why not take advantage of the excess land. And have her remove those utilities or you can be liable or loose your section of land where they are
I understand this is an older post. But I still highly I recommend you research the water act and the watershed act in your local area. For anyone else dealing with such matters – If the property you purchased was recently built I would make the builder or contractor correct any watershed issues. Because it is illegal, in most if not all municipalities, to force rain run off onto someone else’s property. It is why you see retaining pond(s), aka “retention pond” on some larger developed properties. Otherwise the property could not handle heavy rain run off now that it has been developed and it could cause problems and/or damage to neighboring properties. I personally had to deal with this when a builder was putting up a new house on the vacant property next door to us. They were forcing their rain run off on to our property and using our drainage system vs paying for and building their own drainage system on their property. Our drainage system could no longer handle the extra rain run off and with a heavy rain storm, it would flood over 10′ of our yard along the full length, some 200 to 300 feet long, of the property. DID YOU KNOW? One inch of rain on 1,000Sq Ft roof can yield over 600 Gallons of water. Now think about an entire house, parking lot and sidewalk – any and all hard scape. Where is that rain run off to go – now. All this and more was an eye opener for me when I had to deal with this type of situation. Good Luck to everyone who has to deal with this kind of thing.
You have to come hard at this woman! I had something like this happen to me. My new next door neighbor back hoed my whole front yard up thinking it was hers. She was going to remove my grass and replace it with a beautiful various color rock and boulder collage. I contacted an attorney and she advised me that I should stop her immediately and make restore the yard to it’s previous grass or else after a few years she could attempt an ‘adverse possession’ claim on my yard because she made a substantial improvement to it. The earlier you fight the better for you! Don’t wait until she is done then try to officially complain, because the judge may ask why didn’t you say something when it first happened.
Just so you are aware, it’s entirely possible that she has her own survey done with a different surveyor and that one may come to an alternate conclusion about where the property line is. Most of the time the difference may only be an inch or 2. However some times there can be a significant gap or overlap. It often depends on how accurate the original parcel was surveyed as well as when the subdivision happened. Many cities (Jersey City comes to mind) have terrible issues like this and it can lead to costly legal problems. Don’t pay bottom dollar for your survey people. You get what you pay for.
The easiest and quickest way to resolve the problem of her retaining wall is to offer for her to sign a lease for that particular section of the wall for a specific amount of years, if not, she must remove the encroached portion of the wall. This way the lease is a continuous acknowledgement that it’s your property and you are not giving up any of your legal rights to that property. With a lease agreement, she can’t ever claim Adverse Possession in the future because she had the wall on your property for a specific amount of continuous years (time varies by what state you’re in) and therefore claims it as her own as the law allows. In the lease you can also add in that she is not to add anything else to your portion of the property
Makes sense that the wall would be on your property. it appears that it was built by the builder who build your property, and it primarily benefits your property (allows you to have a level walkway back to your pack yard) so under those circumstances such a retaining all would normally be built completely on your property.
Should have a full meet and bounds performed in advance of purchase. See if it is already on file in the records department. Buyer beware, many properties are not oriented to the property but sometimes to the street or surrounding structures. Be informed before you purchase. Especially if in a flag lot or there are utility boxes on the land.
Whenever a property is built there is always a survey done to define where the property lines are. There are people who will buy a house then have a new survey done trying to get parts of the land bordering their property. I had been living in my home since I graduated from college and I had ne neighbor who moved into the home in back of my house about 10 years later. they had their home renovated and added on some rooms and a second floor. I built a fence around my back yard because I had a pool put in and required a fence by law. I gave the fence guy my survey to work with in order to install the fence. The new neighbor came to my front door to tell me it’s not a big deal but my fence was a foot into his property after they had a survey done. I looked at my original survey which was 30 years old and the fence was exactly within my property. I don’t know where these people get off having a survey done when there are existing surveys telling them exactly what property they own. They try to steal your land if you don’t have paper work to back it up
Boundary disputes are the worse. You HAVE to protect your property. My house is to close to one neighbors property. It’s been 40 years so I think it’s good but I also make sure to have a great relationship with my neighbor and openly talk about the property line issue. The neighbors on the other sides of me both claimed the exact same piece of my property as their own (almost 2 acres). I did my research pulling everyone’s property records and deeds, found all the surveys that had been filed and called out a surveyor to check my work. I had face to face conversations with my neighbors then I posted signs of ownership all around. We are all grownups. Know your property line!
Adverse possession is real. Thats why you need to defend every inch. As for your run off issue, i probably consider adding long aluminum L websites to help divert the water spill towards the street. The cost is reasonable ( they come in 8ft lengths, easy to screw down, and sealable with clear or black silicone.) it should cut your liabilities should your fights escalate. Some mitigation is the bare minimum you need to do.
If someone puts anything on your side of the property line it is called encroachment which is illegal. In this guy’s situation even though his next door neighbor started the bad relationship it would be “taking the high road” and let the gas line stay put. But he needs to have any wall or structure that extends beyond the property line removed or there could be issues in the future for him or the next owner if he should sell.
This is why in my county of Texas… I don’t know if this is a state of Texas thing. But when we bought our home, which was already built, the previous owner had to have the property resurveyed. And it’s expensive. We were then notified through the process of purchasing it, that when we put in new fencing, because the fence is old… The county requires that the property line be surveyed again. Where I live in Texas a property survey is about two to $300, but they do this requirement, for this very reason… Because over the years property owners can sneak the line over and over… And if the other property owner doesn’t care, or they are elderly, these things can and will happen.
She should realize it benefits her to let things lie the way they are and accept the fact that you own the land six inches beyond the footing of the wall and just enjoy the fact that she benefits from the wall and fence you have installed upon it. That wall is a construction necessity for your home given the terrain contours so it’s not like she can have an existential issue with it since she bought her house knowing an adjacent house was either already there or would be there one day. She ought to just let things lie. Happily accept the fact that you own the wall and will have to maintain it out of your pocket. When the day comes for that wall to crack (and it will), she can send a letter to you advising you that it is in a state of disrepair and threatening her home. She holds the power here if only she’d open her eyes. She enjoys your features without any of the cost or liability. You may want to mention that to her.
Seen where water flows down hill and lower neighbors complained that his pond was flooding their yard when it rains. When in reality unless the pond is completely full to top it would actually reduce the water running downhill. And if the pond is completely full it still not going to increase the flow going downhill.
Around here (Western WA sate) the downhill neighbor has to accept the flow of water as it’s travelling a natural course. But one cannot change the grade to redirect runoff. Lots of lawsuits anyway and I’ve seen million dollar homes under construction stopped cold due to neighbor lawsuits and investments written off and construction halted for years and eventually sold to highest unsuspecting next owner. It’s sad people can’t get along and find a workable solution with such limited time alive.
😂😂😂!I believe you have handled this situation courteously! i have heard many situations like this!one story was about a woman that also tried to claim beyond a fence line only to discover from surveyors that she was wrong.. and had even built a driveway well beyond the real line! She continued to harass the true owner.. making complaints til he finally made an agreement for her to pay $20 a year to rent that tiny bit of land of which the lady couldn’t take it anymore and moved house!
You don’t owe her a dime. But, keep in mind now that that entire retaining wall is now 100% your responsibility to maintain and keep up and also when you sell the home it will be disclosed and it better be in perfect condition too so it would behoove you to track that water and make sure it is not impacting the integrity of that retaining wall! ;0) Pins should be placed where the surveyor staked the ground. Metal detector can identify these or you can have the surveyor come back out and flag them. It is so important to get a survey even if your State doesn’t require it. So many things are on the survey that can identify issues before you close on a property. Ex: easements. These can cause you drama in the future if you are not aware of what is under your land or who has rights (State/County access to your property) and identifies where sewer lines or septic tank location and other things that can impact your ownership. Plus, it is just really nice to see exactly where your property lines are BEFORE you buy and it also puts neighbors on notice where they are too. I had one done to my property and found out the neighbors put there beautiful landscaping on my property. As soon as the surveyor showed up and put the stake in the ground on the other side of the landscaping the neighbor came out and was shocked to learn this was the location of the property line and discussed with the surveyor about it. By the next week all the landscaping was removed and I didn’t even have to say a word or have a bad interaction with the new neighbors.
i would have talked to the contractor and notified them of the property line, then tell them that if they construct a fence sectioning off your property that you will be forced to sue the owner, and the contractor now that they have been notified. they will definitely stop work at that point till its all sorted out.
It sounds to me the surveyors and the builders are responsible. First, the ladies property should have an ingress and egress, not exactly sure what the code is in your area, but just say 3 feet on minimum. If your property line is even 6 inches more on her side, wouldn’t that decrease her ingress and egress even further? I think you both should fight the city / county for this F-up. They should remedy this and have to pay for the correction.
You need a Stake Survey, unless the survey you showed is a full survey and not a mortgage survey. Mortgage surveys are only for mortgages, sealed stake surveys are the only thing zoning and building and the courts accept as “real” when it comes to this sort of thing. Get a stake survey and file it with your deed in the county land office (libor)
As a former lawyer in Ontario with tons of real estate experience, I can tell you off the cuff that if your neighbor paid for half the cost of the retaining wall but it is on your property, and the deal was made with the builder, this contract doesn’t survive the closing of the transaction and bind you as the owner. So basically, you do not have to reimburse her for anything. There is no privity of contract either. Also, as for the chain link fence, if you wanted to you could take it down and install it on the 6 inches or so of your property which sits on the side of the retaining wall sitting beside your adjoining property line (the part she is using and believes is hers !) That way you get maximum use of your space. You’d have to deal with the utility lines which were improperly installed on YOUR property by contacting them to have them remove it. I think you don’t want to leave this situation as it is because it might create problems when you go to sell if a buyer were to ask for a survey and find out this information. No one wants to buy a property and find out that half a foot is outside a retaining wall and for all intents and purposes being used by your neighbor who has installed utilities on it. You could negotiate to sell off the 6 inch strip to your neighbor as well. You’d need a real estate lawyer to handle all this and all your legal costs should be covered by your neighbor as part of this process. If you don’t do anything about this situation, this creates a potential easement being created – yes adverse possession, over time.
I just won an adverse possession against a neighbor, and it was a fascinating process. My advice is get a surveyor and the utilities to mark exactly where everything is. There’s no sense getting angry over details without knowing the facts. Measuring off the finished wall is not accurate as it is originally for the bare foundation. Also, the neighbor is right regarding rainwater flowing onto her property. The builder was required to design and manage runoff from your property. Now it’s your responsibility. When you buy a property like this, you must always do your due diligence. In this case, you bought the problems as well. Good luck!
The sad part is that some towns will not allow you to put the fence on your line. It has to be X amount of feet away from it. Yet, some states have laws where if you care for property (cut grass for example) then after so many years that piece becomes yours. Luckily, I knew about this so any time I buy property, I ask the neighbors ahead of time if they are okay with a fence directly on the property line that has been legally surveyed and marked. Never had one say no. The fence off the property line is really dumb and most notable in NC with HOAs. I saw so many new homes with fences and a 3-6 foot gap between them with trees, high weeds, trash all kinds of nasty things growing in there because it was a space sandwiched between two privacy fences.
I can understand wanting to avoid perpetuating an adversarial feud with your neighbor, unfortunately, that may not be possible. While I’m honestly not very optimistic, If it were me, I’d probably make one clearly defined and transparent, good-faith effort to “start over” the relationship; and let go of who started what and attitudes up to this point.. Acknowledge you’re going to be neighbors long-term and that you can either try to work together to address issues, (that doesn’t equate to just splitting costs, each party is fully responsible for themselves, merely each party will agree to be civil, hear the other one out, and attempt to ameliorate issues rather than exacerbate them). That said, if your neighbor proves accustomed to approaching every situation as an ignorant, unresponsible, aggrieved party, unwilling (or incapable) of respectful, reasonable negotiation; Then you are wasting your time trying to play ball.
So in Brazil, when my grandfather got the property from his parents. His brother got a house next to it. But, since it was 4 properties in one lot they didn’t bother building the house in each property line. He offered to buy the house at a reasonable price. But his brother asked for more to try to get more money. Fight started due to this. Because he was not being reasonable. My father went and shut off the water because it was on their side. So now he has a house with no water. Didn’t take him long to sell it for what it was worth.
Unfortunately homeowners, most of the time, don’t understand how property lines and footings work. Your retaining wall’s footing is likely within that 6″. The footing that’s underground cannot cross the property line, so everytime there’s a retaining wall expect it to be no on close to the true property line. I’m actually surprised it’s only 6″
Depends on where you live but in some states you can’t go dumping flows onto an adjoiner and certainly not concentrated flow. With the paved areas and no mention of where you are or hydrology, I’d be careful following advice that it’s legal to drain flows onto an adjoining property. In some places that is absolutely illegal.
You’re absolutely correct you should always get a survey. I don’t know what state you live in though in any state I’ve ever done any work in the property owner is responsible for any damaging drainage issues. Once you direct that water to the street, it becomes the cities problem but water drainage issue on private property is the property owners problem, and they can be held liable for damages. It’s a good thing you’re taking care of that. I’ve seen many cases were just putting a fence in, a vinyl fence, especially, can interrupt the flow of normal drainage and cause peoples yards to be completely flooded. All the damages are the responsibility of whomever built the fence. So I would definitely continue with the drainage you’re doing.
Attorney here. Adverse possession doesn’t require sectioning it off. You need to sue her for trespass and have the pipes and get an order to force her to remove anything she’s built and restore your property. Ask for a time frame and the rigjt to have the work done yourself with her being liable for costs if she doesn’t do it herseld Otherwise, she’ll gain possession of your land after the statutory period. 10 years in my state. The fact that you know about the encroachment and don’t sue is detrimental to you and bolsters her case for adverse possession.
If she were to use that property without complaint from you, for a reasonable time, she would legally own and even sell that property. I was shocked to find this out from an attorney in California. You have to make it clear or lose your rights and property. You did the right thing by getting a survey. And by being nice.
FYI, if you have an Android phone, there is a setting you can use that will “unreverse” the image or recording when using the front-facing camera. (it will still be reversed on your screen when you are making the recording, but the actual footage will be “normal”) I would think that Apple phones can do this as well, but seeing as 99% of TikToks and other selfie recordings seem to be reversed, perhaps not?
The contractor that put the fence in probably went to the courthouse and got a copy of the survey. When building anything there are usually setback requirements. I’m surprised that it’s only a 6 inch setback because you’re required to maintain both sides of the fence and unless you’re a tiny person….
IANAL, but you can also prevent adverse possession claims (and prescriptive easement claims) by expressly granting permission. “I assert that this property is mine, but I allow you to build your gas line on it.”. This takes away the “adverse” component necessary for the neighbor to establish the claim.
If this lady was already starting shit with you over water drainage on to “her property”, AND once she discovered that SHE built on to your property and wants to try to get her money back from you, I would just give her, her own treatment back and tell her that she needs to have that retaining wall moved off your property! Or that you’re going to sue her for building onto your property! Just like how she threaten you about the possibility of you “building on her property and that she was going to have a problem with that”. Once you set it down that it’s not your problem as to how much “she” wasted building HER retaining, and that if you take her to court and that you KNOW you’ll win in the lawsuit, which will end up costing her even MORE money (because you’ll also sue for her to cover your legal costs); then maybe this will wake her up and shut her and accept how things are as they lay! Otherwise, just stop all communication with her, hire an attorney and do all the communication through the attorney and just file the lawsuit! It’s better that you stay ahead of this ordeal with everything in your favor rather than letting her get away with her game, and you end up losing in the end!
In California a perscriotive easement is only for shared use. So my neighbor can travel over the 6 inches on her side of my fence because it has been that way for over 90 years. She may not put any structure on my property as it is no longer shared. She did this to establish a gate post on my property. Even if the gate post was placed on my property 80 years ago I could remove it. This is different from most other states. Another example is that my childhood friend’s house was built on orchard land and the horse stable behind had built stables on my friends parents land. His parents wanted to put in a swimming pool and had a survey run. The survey showed that barns were about 20 feet on his parents land!. The Barns were removed and the required fence for the pool wentvon the property line. In that same neighborhood we lived on a 3 acre Orchard. A driveway went between the two roads without a gate. Thus people had gained a prescriptive right to travel over the driveway.
Go at her with both barrels. That’s what she would do to you if you installed gas/electric lines on her property. Sue her and make her move those lines and remove her fence off of your wall. Don’t be Mr. Nice Guy with her. She thinks she was there first and is trying to boss you around. What goes around comes around, so sue her!:face-red-heart-shape:
I’m with you on normally being accommodating with your neighbors and not sweating the small stuff. But in this case, with the way she started off with you. I would not allow her gas pipes or anything of hers on your property that is not legally allowed to be there. People like her, believe that rules don’t apply to them and that for some reason, they are more important then others. Even after you showed her that you owned the property that she was disputing that you had no right to build on and in fact she was in the wrong. Instead of taking the L and moving on, she doubled down by then saying you owed her for half the cost of the retaining wall. This just shows her level of entitlement. I hope you teach her a life lesson in how she should be respectful and cooperative with her neighbors and fellow human beings in the future. Good Luck!!!!
My opinion Bro. First, you’re not very likeable in the article no disrespect. Second, why are you airing your dirty laundry about your neighbors? You might be right, she mistakenly built a structure on your land and that sucks. Try and work out an agreement with her. If you can’t take her to court, but dont whine about it on Youtube.
this is happening to me as we speak . Alot of headaches with lawyers etc…. and worse part is neighbor has not touched his land in over 15 years and this year he decided to extend drive way which encroached on my properety over six inches plus contaminated my land with crushed stone 3 feet into my side of the land
I would contact your local building inspector or approval authority, give them the survey, so they can help you. Fight this before the work is done if possible. Aside, my survey showed there was 2 feet of unclaimed land between our properties. Unfortunately, the cost to correct was 20K so I did nothing.
8:09 as i understand if someone encroachment on your land, you can tear it out. Lets say someone put up a fence over the property line, its on your land you can take it down youve got the document with proof its yours. But her adding a gas line under 6″ of your land stops you from laying drainage tiles below the wall. Where they should be.
Ok, I’m a real state agent and I can tell you right now. A lot of the allegations you’re making are wrong and they are wrong against you. You need to find a local Real state agent to where You live to Help You understand the laws of how Water runoff applies there. The water runoff base on what up studied goals from the LA. Highest property to the lowest meaning that illegally runs from the highest to the law was property level and. The ones on the highest level of land are now responsible for the ones at the lowest level. But you need to confirm this with your local ordinance.
Never build a wall / fence directly on the property line, If on the property line it becomes a shared boundary in which the neighbors can tie their fences in and have some control over. By building back off the property line you have total control and no longer need to get permission from the neighbor to make modifications to the fence / property line. Her building on your property, seeing as she set the tone .. demand it be demolished / removed entirely from your property no matter what conditions it leaves her in.
You’re right to try and set the tone, communication needs to be respectful, constructive and in good faith or things could easily get into lose lose territory real quick. Decide what you want and see if there is any solution which you feel is fair and potentially sell her the strip, it looks like that was the common sense line for the boundary anyway. I suspect this useless strip will give you both ongoing problems unless you take steps to make it go away permanently.
In UK this cannot happen as with my projects we have to have percolation tests done all over the land. If it does not pass a certain drain off standard, no building permission would be given or there would be methods of drainage enforced no matter how expensive to the builder! As a buyer we would have a detailed survey done (not standard) and this issue would have come up straight away! I don’t know how buyers go about safeguarding themselves in USA but surprized this was something a buyer would not be aware of.
Fortunately, the law is pretty simple when it comes to this. The lower lying property must accept the natural flow. She obviously has no idea how the law works. If she build something on your land it belongs to you and you can do whatever you want with it. Regardless of whatever agreement she had with the previous owners.
Buying my first house in america after many years and the neighbours stealing land is insane…. one had about one ft around the sides both sides and was being sold by an old couple… over the years both sides have encroached and built nice ass driveways using the old peoples land and there tiny ass garden… i mentioned it to the realtor who said oh it happens all the time over here…. 😂😂😂😂😂 worked out great for me as the house we finally put an offer in on was well worth it land wise but no garage so i was all ooooo i can build a garage…. mentioned it last night and was told…. oh you don’t know about the extra land do you…. 😮 turns out at some point a neighbour built a double garage at the end of the land and the original owners sued them and took back the land 😂 the neighbours moved out first and next door is empty…. but i now have a huge ass piece of land overgrowm as hell with a collapsing double garage 😂😂😂 it was a huge suprise and a hell of a bonus but…. if that situation hadn’t been dealt with before i would have been dealing with it whem moving in… make sure you get your property lines surveyed for good or for bad just to be sure
When was this work done? Adverse possession is generally 3-10 years depending on state. If she’s maintained that section of the property for the specified time frame, she can technically make a claim that she owns the property. I’d draft a contract stating you’re granting her use of YOUR property, to ensure your lot doesn’t reduce in size. States don’t care about motive, they simply want properties to be maintained. This is the whole basis of squatters rights. Search a article called “law matters adverse possession”. They cover everything in depth. All that’s needed to steal land is open, notorious use of land for a specified time frame. Open and notorious use can be signified by a fence or verbal conversations— both of which she’s engaged in. She’s well on her way to making a legal claim. Stop her in her tracks now with that statement of use letter.
Sell your property for half of what you bought it for to me 🤗 Problem Solved. I love helping poeple and making peace 😂 Seriously, you seem like a reasonable person and of good charcater. I would of approached you first so we can come up with a solotion. What ever happen to talking to neighbors firat before reporting it to the city or even taking legal action. 😢 This is such a different world we live it, its almost like an evil twilight zone 😞 Best of luck to you Bro, hope it gets reolved in a neighborly order.
You can not let water,either rain or runoff, go onto your next door neighbors property. If the contractor had hired a professional land surveyor and a engineer. They would have created a little ditch up against the wall in the asphalt that would have run water runoff down the drive way to.the street..
She came out the gates storming it would be a mistake to give her a break. She’s not interested in being a “good neighbor.” Allowing the issue to fester or for her to think she has room to mess with you is only going to compound issues going forward. Your call. Me, I’d simply have my lawyer bludgeon her to into the figurative ground and give her no breathing room. Ensuring my life can get on without her being my issue in the future. Best of luck whatever you do.
Ok. So let’s get one thing clear..where YOU are it may be legal for runoff but I can assure you, where I am, it is NOT legal. I am in a lawsuit right now for EXACTLY what the people who built your property did. The property behind mine was built into condos. They cut rock. My property floods. They are 100% liable for all damages we have gotten (over $100,000 so far) AND they have to fix their whole property so it drains somewhere besides my property.
Some surveys have measurements from roofline to property line, of course that is different from structure to property line. You can usually check this with the properly line to property line minus structure measurements to see if they add up. Los Angeles City Zimas often uses historical roofline to property line measurements (not saying it is relevant in this example)
Anyone buying a property should subscribe to this Chanel. A good friend of mine, with over 20 years in Realestate, sold a 1/2M home in Bev. Hills. When his client moved in, he removed the wooden fence at the back of his property so as to replace it with a hedge. (Hedges have no hight restrictions) Half way through his project, his neighbor announced that he was 3ft onto his land. Because my friend hadn’t checked with the City zoning commission, prior to the sale, his client was now responsible for filling in the trench he had already dug into his neighbor’s yard, causing my friend to forfeit his 6% commission, 50K at Re/Max. So, even with all his experience, don’t take “proposed” Property Lines for granted. End of lesson.
It’s actually “Recognition and Acquiescence”, not adverse possession. Timothy L Blackmon, PSM Laws vary, but she would have to know that she is occupying your property and usually pay additional taxes on that sliver for min 7 years. The other surveyors advice is sound….permission can be given…..utility easements should have been required duringbuilding process but can be worked out now to be mutually beneficial. You own the wall so can control the water……
That is always smart to get an official survey before buying property. Don’t be a nice guy because they finish last in everything. Sociologist Jordan Peterson said people only respect who or what they fear. Show people power and they would not mess with you again. You need to be a necessary asshole and never bend over.🤨
All of that land is impervious cover, impervious cover = developed land. All of you need to be sending your land’s-amount of water to the pubic-row. It’s not too expensive to discharge for two neighbors but eventually the other neighbors should participate in the nuisance-water-removal. It’s kinda odd that States don’t require ‘Comprehensive Drainage Plans’.
This is a textbook example of how NOT to handle this, especially if you have a high maintenance neighbor. Grow a set of balls and reclaim your land back before she has you paying for her utilities as well. You took on the expense of diverting the runoff without her offering to pay half of it or you even asking her to pay for half of it. You had NO obligation to pay for the diversion. Your building would have had to have permits taken to build this place and the town would have to factor in water runoff in their zoning/permitting. Such neighbors will never stop demanding more when they see you cave and crumble like a cookie to their every request. Bad neighbors SUCK. Trying to take the high road NEVER works. You’re trying to convert a bad neighbor with too much time on their hands to someone as “chill” as you. You will find out that this neighbor will be a pain in the ass for as long as you both own these homes. Wake up Bambi and get back what’s yours.
even if you have a certified and licensed survey done and it is accepted into the county records,the opposing party can challenge that by having their own survey done claiming the first survey was faulty . although you will probaly win This kind of thing is always a stressful and expensive mess, but necessary as a sudden increase in the level of sanity of your neighbor is highly unlikely . good luck
You have to shut down people like this immediately. Make sure she knows that it’s your fence now, and that you can have the gas line legally removed, “IF”, she wants to continue to be a Karen. Do not put up with it. My neighbor kept doing this, and I built an LRAD, and pointed it at their house at night, and law enforcement officers couldn’t even hear it, even though they were on the street trying to see if I was indeed blasting music and nauseous sounds. It was in my dining room, and pointed out a widow, and couldn’t be heard from anywhere on my property, unless you walked in front of it. They moved, and sold the house. True story.
Take her to court and have the lines moved, wall moved, all of it. She started it. That extra 6 inches is 6x whatever feet YOU are paying property taxes on, she can get injured and sue you for falling on that 6″, take your land like you said, and worse. Make the city, builders, and her correct that.
late to the party here. around 1min mark; “its asphalt, the water would just go into the ground”.- Like what?? water cant get through asphalt. thats one of the major issues in many cities. Theres not all these “micro capillars” where the water can get away via other routes than the rainsewers/sewers in general. These huge areas of concrete and asphalt is forcing any amount of rainwater to drain to areas where it didnt land as droplet – and we see what happens when theres enough droplets. sry for the burp 😉 Thx for the vid, was a good, informative, sharp and concise explanation of something I didnt know I cared about. 😀
Builder DID build a water diverter into her yard… Before that building was built, the water could flow across the property, unobstructed. Now, with that angled back wall of the property, all the water is being diverted toward her property. When buildings are built, you HAVE to take into account drainage and how your property impacts it. It looks like they should have installed a drainage website to catch the water and divert it to the street or into a storm drain if there’s one nearby.
You need to look into ” Good Neighbor Laws” in your area. If you put the fence up off the property line, that’s your bad, you just gave her 6 inches of property. A fence, wall, or other structure marking a boundary is the boundary and is typically a shared burden between neighbors. You need to be better informed about what you are doing broski
Get those lines out and off of your land NOW because as you mentioned, “easements”. Retaining Walls will need service and you will need her to move them, hence giving her easements! You better file a lawsuit/claim/ or whatever to get her to stop building on your land because it’s yours and who knows maybe your kids’. From your explanation, she also is showing a very authoritarian attitude with dictations of what you should or shouldn’t do… Trust me, PUT IT DOWN because my parents didn’t and they lost very important land( unbeknownst to them ) because they were to kind… half a year later they had to move from their paradise because certain sections of the pasture would soften and make it impossible for equipment or animals to move… and their kind heartedness let the neighbors put a fence on the only section that safely led out to the other pastures… Remember it’s for you, your family, and y’all’s future!
You need to totally lawyer up sounds like she’s a Karen and she’s going to do nothing but cause trouble… nice guys finish last 😊 But do something about the water flow. If any water from your property damages anything on her side you will be completely responsible for all costs of damage. Good luck 👍
Just a little curio; in some countries at least, in rural areas there are special rules about fences around grazing areas, and neighbors may actually have to help pay for the cost of fences or even maintain some of them. It’s all written in the papers for those properties, though. This is typically when two farms butt up against each other, but will usually be carried through if one farm is closed down and the filed parecelled up and sold to developers.
This guy has no idea what he’s talking about. His new (multimillion dollar) building interrupted the natural (downhill) water flow and it’s being concentrated around the back of his building on to the neighbor’s property. That is his problem and his responsibility to solve. That the property lines are being encroached upon is an entirely different matter to the water problem. Both owners are nitwits and will surely end up suing each other eventually.
The real answer to all of this is that Mr. Chen needs to contact his lawyer for advice. I will note that I wouldn’t call the drawing used a “survey”, but maybe if that’s short for “survey exhibit”. Unless it is an ALTA survey, I personally wouldn’t rely upon it as an official answer. Also, consider that if the lots are platted, it is entirely possible that there are utility easements along side and real lot lines. In our area, these can be as narrow as 2.5 feet either side or as wide as 10 feet either side on a routine basis. Exceptions apply.
I don’t get why folks argue against the clear documentation. Good for you for getting the survey. I would actually set posts at the ends of the property to set some visual lines. Then I would set up a fence from end to end and simply claim my property back. If you wait till you have to sue her it’s will be a waste of time and money, be practice.
4:05 The survey from the foundation corner is typically from the main structure not including a coating surface or siding. A way to check how this is being surveyed is to measure the total distance between the two neighboring foundations and compared that with the summed total on the plats of the foundations to the property line. Any difference will likely be a coasting thickness or siding. This is also a simple check for errors. When I was growing up my dad said it was typical when putting up a chain link fence to put it centered about a foot on to your own property to make it clear who owns the fence. That is likely a bit sloppy and you are still responsible officially for taking care of that land. In this case it was made very clear the masonry wall was part of the plat by having an additional half foot of property extending past it. I doubt the masonry wall is a structural retaining wall. It probably doesn’t need to be. A typical masonry wall supports vertical and minimal horizontal loads. A retaining wall is made to resist hydrostatic horizontal pressure like a dam. Unlike a dam, retaining structures can make use of tie back structures.
You can’t drain onto someone else’s property. I don’t know where this is, but it looks urban enough that he’d have needed a site plan, which should’ve had an engineering design to deal with the water on his property so that it drained on or off-site, but not onto the property of another. Maybe it wasn’t done, maybe it was, but it wasn’t built to design, maybe it was a bad design. If the property line is correct, and if the gas lines are installed on his property, he may’ve just conceded an easement to this woman. Who knows
Growing up A friend of mine. And the neighbor shared and easemeyes, the property was the neighbors, but a certain part of the driveway to the house was the easement, Being a teenager a lot of times we would sit at the end of the driveway because it was on a dead end street and hang out. And do what teenagers do the neighbor Who owned the property Would be a Dick and call the cops and say they’re on. My property aint and then my friend’s mom would have to come out Explain to the police about the easement. One day, it happened again and it was the final time. My friend pulled out A Magnum You will own a 6 foot rectangle Kind of funny how Cold steel up against your head will change a person’s mind
Yep its all you! Paint that lower side neon orange. Cut her wall where legally applicable and submit her a bill (if you dont it will be grandfathered to her over time of you doing nothing). Then have those utilities removed from your property and submit her a bill (again with the grandfathering). If you do nothing and allow her to keep the status quo you are legally capitulating portions of your property to her. You must have the stuff removed or get the court involved so down the road she doesnt sell the house and new tennant aquire your property because it was grandfathered to them by your own inaction.
Ha! I heard the phrase my water from my neighbor also. I laughed because water from at least 5 other properties had potential to come across my property. The neighbor claimed to be a builder. However the only experience he had was once subbing out one house he had built. Unfortunately Mr. Builder opted to purchase the lowest price and physically lowest property on the street.
USGS uses a benchmark that has a number stamp on it, this number represents the elevation (from mean sea level) of the terrain at the benchmark. On private residence they (city) use a nail imbedded in the curve from this benchmark you can use a transit to find the direction and with a 100 foot steel tape find the distance of your property. With some cities there is still a 2 foot distance from the sidewalk towards your property that belongs to the city, that is why the fire hydrant is on your property.
Traditionally adverse possession never works when the person using the property has permission. So for instance if you had an agreement that the neighbor can use the land for 1¢ per year they never become the new owner of your property while you’re giving them permission to use it. Disclaimer, this isn’t legal advice and check with a lawyer if you want to know if this principle is valid for your situation
That’s a misdirection the survey is done, from my location, extended forward.on a slope that has been reset with a wall. You can easily call that he had measured a slope and not extension, would explain a huge measure.ent misno.er thus what does her survey say, and it’s extension. Happ na when your on a. Slope. How do you measure it, downwards well if you level it off it now exte ds further out.
She is claiming everything is your fault even when your trying to be nice. When she thought you wanted build a tiny edge on her property to help her solve her problem, that was a problem berceuse you would have built on her property. But when it turned out she had built on your property she claimed it was still your problem and that you should pay her. There is no dealing with or being nice to a person like that. Personally i would just build a 10 foot high and six inches thick wall next to the retaining wall.
Lodge the same report that she is threatening to report you for because if they agree to her accusation, they also have to agree to yours, since it’s essentially the same argument. So, whatever she expects from you, she would first have to build a drain at the base of that large rock along the edge of your properties to keep the runoff water on her own property. That would solve erosion problems on your property but would cause herself all the erosion problems she is now accusing you of causing. So I hope you manage to convince the authorities to make her do that. I think that would be fair karma for a Karen like this.
When the wall was built it was smart to set it back from the property line 6in. That prevents you neighbor from having her own property line survey done and finding that the original was in error and demanding that half the wall was on her property be removed. In effect having to remove the whole wall and rebuild it since structurally you could not just cut it in half. But i would have pored the wall concrete footer 6in wider up to the accrual property line. This would establish the property boundary line as the base of the footer not the surface of the wall. Also any runoff would be falling down onto your property and then transitioning laterally onto her property across the property boundary at the footer. I also would have lowered the asphalt on your side and put in proper drainage control down your side of the wall to prevent ground saturation on your side compromising the wall itself.
To call a survey a legal document is a stretch. I work in a land records office in texas, and all these rules, regulations, and terms can vary from state to state. But unless that survey has been recorded into public records or added as an exhibit into a court case, that survey is not yet a legal document. The document must be recognized by the law to say it’s a legal document. I still agree that the survey is your best tool when determining where property lines lie.
Get the utilities sorted out asap imo. With it being on your property there’s always the potential for implied liability, whether with her, your insurance company or her insurance company should anything ever happen. Not to mention in some areas, if a line breaks the property owner can be responsible for some or all of the costs associated.
if your neighbor does this. you could charge them for using your land for the utilities. Also I would suggest building out the full 6 inches just to get the head ache over with. this seems like no matter what you do you’re going to end up in court either way. if they demonstrated they were going to try to sue you out the gate. its just best to document everything and take things forward. those pipes may be considered adverse possession as well.
Yea nope if neighbor like to play hard ball I’m the type to show who’s the better player, and if I was you I’d tell her she need to move anything that’s hers or installed for her and move it off my property including utilities that she asked for to be put there and tell her she has a month to do so I would then contact my lawyer to start the suing process and hold it for when she doesn’t comply because I’m sure she is a Karen and will push back
Whenever you or a builder put up a wall or a fence and build it further in so it is all on your land only, then you give up ownership of the amount of land left on the other side of the wall, usually someone will build their wall or fence in on their own property 6 or 8 inches. So now you can’t come back and just say you want to claim that land back.
You are right about Adverse Possession. However, she can still claim the part of your property that has the gas lines, unless you address the issue to her and ask for it to be corrected. You need to address it to her via text or email, or have a bailiff or sheriff deliver her a letter asking that she move her gas line onto her property, as well as any of her existing structures such as retaining walls. This needs to be in writing, so she cannot ignore it.