New neighbors want to split fence cost

[YooperDick]

Yet, I'll bet those part timers are further up the road, right?

Of course they are. And yet, not one has ever knocked on my door with a couple of bucks in had for the fill I had hauled in to maintain the road up to my driveway, and hence, toward theirs.

The people that live on the end closest to the main road are getting screwed.

Right again, but only if you are a full timer. The part timer near the main road gets off free.

It is really kind of funny when you think about it. It gets even funnier whenever property changes hands and the new owner starts to deal with the situation. For some reason they can never understand why those closest to the main road are reluctant to pay for anything farther down. The fact that they are getting to their property over a road portion paid for by others seems to escape them.

 

[tmc]

Man you people are weird. What's all this about buying houses without fenced backyards?

Must be some weirdo east of the Rockies ****.

 

[ionbeam]

...The fact that they are getting to their property over a road portion paid for by others seems to escape them.

You must have built the fence in the wrong location. It should have gone across the road, with a gate that they have to pay a toll to get through.

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

...My neighbor approached me and was going to build anyway... The other had ... fence built ...

You have two neighbors and they both wanted (needed?) fences built...?

New neighbors want to split fence cost, (advice sought)I'm pretty naive & ignorant about this sort of thing.

Proceed with caution -- it can get ugly...:

S.O. once lived at a cabin on a lake where she shared a gravel driveway with a neighbor. He wanted to pave it and wanted her to pay half. She said she liked the gravel driveway just fine and refused to pay. He had it paved anyway and sued her for her share of the money. It went to court. The judge ordered a survey done. The (now paved) driveway was wholly on her property. The neighbor had a new driveway put in right next to the existing one -- on his property (and had it paved...).

Neither were very neighborly after that -- tread carefully...

 

[Fred W]

Proceed with caution -- it can get ugly...:S.O. once lived at a cabin on a lake where she shared a gravel driveway with a neighbor. He wanted to pave it and wanted her to pay half. She said she liked the gravel driveway just fine and refused to pay. He had it paved anyway and sued her for her share of the money. It went to court. The judge ordered a survey done. The (now paved) driveway was wholly on her property. The neighbor had a new driveway put in right next to the existing one -- on his property (and had it paved...).

Neither were very neighborly after that -- tread carefully...

So he paid for both of them to have a paved driveway? Or did the Judge order the SO to pay for the paved driveway, which she never wanted, and was misplaced on her property by the knucklehead next door?

I think she could have counter sued him to return her property to its original condition.

 

[Geezer]

Man you people are weird. What's all this about buying houses without fenced backyards?
Must be some weirdo east of the Rockies ****.

We don't need no steenkin' fences!

I live in a very rural area and the only fences in my neighborhood are around vegetable gardens to keep the deer and other critters out. In the village nearby, where properties are generally less than an acre, there are some fences between yards, and some hedges as well. I have a friend who lives in the village. He was feuding with his neighbor about something, so he put up a stockade fence between the two yards. He had the good side facing his yard and had it built just a few inches inside the property line. The neighbor built his own stockade fence right alongside it with the good side facing his yard. Now they have this nice rodent habitat between the two fences. :dntknw:

 

[tmc]

So he paid for both of them to have a paved driveway? Or did the Judge order the SO to pay for the paved driveway, which she never wanted, and was misplaced on her property by the knucklehead next door?
I think she could have counter sued him to return her property to its original condition.

Sounded to me like she got a free paved driveway and he got to piss off.

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

So he paid for both of them to have a paved driveway? Or did the Judge order the SO to pay for the paved driveway, which she never wanted, and was misplaced on her property by the knucklehead next door? I think she could have counter sued him to return her property to its original condition.

Sounded to me like she got a free paved driveway and he got to piss off.

Yes, that was the final outcome.

But, the intent of the story was to illuminate how, sometimes, these sorts of things can progress.

If you have good neighbors, consider yourself very lucky (I think).

 

[Papa Georgio]

If he want's a fence let him buy it

 

[wheatonFJR]

...If you have good neighbors, consider yourself very lucky (I think).

We do and have had great times raising our children along side theirs...

 

[SacramentoMike]

I'm just glad we don't have a mandatory cost-sharing law here. That sounds just wrong for so many reasons.

This is a big city for fences. I came from the east where few had full fenced yards, and when they did it was usually something low and open so you could see up the block through the yards, but the solid, 6-foot fenced yards around these parts are good for privacy and security, especially for those with dogs (in a city with a strict leash law).

Still, to introduce a fence where there hasn't been one before made me think of a poem I really love--"Mending Wall" by Robert Frost. An excerpt:

Before I built a wall I'd ask to know

What I was walling in or walling out,

And to whom I was like to give offence.

 

[Fred W]

You may not be aware, Mike, but Frost's farm (probably where he formed up those thoughts) is just a few miles from me.

Bob's place

 

[beerme]

Thanks all for the tips. I talked to the contractor this morning & everything seems relatively on the up & up. The $25/ft for beige vinyl (versus $24/ft for white) seems slightly steep, but the neighbors are only asking for halfsies on common lengths. One side of my tiny little lot is unclaimed as far as neighbors go, so if i wanted a complete 3-sided fence, i'd be stuck with the $24-25/ft bill for about 70 ft, along with 150ish ft. at the halfsies rate. Painful, but kinda sorta doable. Stay tuned. Thanks again!

 

[RaYzerman19]

Where I live you have no choice - the provincial law states that if your neighbor wants to put a fence along the property line you MUST pay for half - however I would imagine that you get some say in what kind of fence would be installed. My side neighboirs and I shared our fences - the back yard neighbor had excavated 3 feet and built a wall and fence before my home was built, so there was no participation.
When backyard neighbor wanted to CHANGE the fence I pointed out that my obligation had already been fulfilled and that there already was a fence; that the only problem was that his support wall had been built without a foundation and was falling over. Besides, his financial calculations were off (he was a comptroller for a Northern Telecom division - no wonder they went bankrupt) and I told him I was a player for a cheap fence - he wanted fancy stuff and was getting annoying, so I told him to pi** off (he also has a very annoying dog and his kids have late, noisy pool parties and won't keep it down in spite of polite requests) and that was the end of that.

If it is optional, then you WILL get to influence the design - and if you want a fancy redwood fence and the neighbor wants chain link, then you presumably could refuse his request or point out that for his money he would get a much nicer fence than he would if he was paying the whole shot..

Besides, you have to live next to him, so make nice.

I <BELIEVE> the law or by-laws (I dunno) are the same here in Ontario... I also <BELIEVE> that if you refuse for it to be on the property line, then they'll have to pony up in full. There is a <GOOD> possibility that I am wrong on that though!!

Nuckin' Futz is absolutely a dead-on hit!!

Bram's right - ya gotta live beside 'em for a long time likely... Do your best to play nice...

Scott

The normal law is you are obligated to pay for half a chain link fence 3'high... if your neighbour wants redwood, then he pays the extra. There is usually a by-law officer to mediate if there's a dispute. However, it's usually a good idea to get along........