any experiences negotiating fences with neighbors?

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ctreada
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any experiences negotiating fences with neighbors?

Post by ctreada »

We are rebuilding a fence and of course this requires some degree of cooperation with neighbors. Any specific tips out there that made this process easier for you all?
dolphinsaremammals
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Re: any experiences negotiating fences with neighbors?

Post by dolphinsaremammals »

My neighbors and I just talked. In one case they wanted to replace a fence along our mutual lot line, at their expense, with another neighbor I wanted to replace a fence along our mutual lot line at my expense. We talked about the types of fences. No trouble.

I didn't mind the condition of the first fence, so I would have been a bit unhappy to have been asked to chip in thousands of dollars (long fence.)
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ResearchMed
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Re: any experiences negotiating fences with neighbors?

Post by ResearchMed »

ctreada wrote:We are rebuilding a fence and of course this requires some degree of cooperation with neighbors. Any specific tips out there that made this process easier for you all?
Yeah, it helps if you can get cooperative/nice neighbors.

We've got one immediately adjacent neighbor who was fine when we arrived, 10+ years ago.
Since then, he's taken an obvious turn for the worse health-wise, and it's clearly affected his cognitive abilities.
Not helping is the fact that his wife noticed and couldn't stand it, so she left a few years ago.

It was impossible to negotiate with him about a fence that *he* wanted replaced, even though we were open to sharing the costs.
(We think it was "his" fence, so we weren't obligated.)

But he became physically menacing, on *our* property, at our front door... and kept doing that.
So there's no further communication after we mailed a strongly worded letter that he was not to trespass ever again or we'd call the police.
(He had by the end of these few weeks/months had his dog "trained" to pee on our doormat. Fortunately, dog has passed on, and wasn't replaced.)

With the other neighbors, we just discussed replacing the fence that was "ours" with "the same", and they thought that was fine.

Good fences may make good neighbors, but bad neighbors and fences can be a problem.

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Kosmo
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Re: any experiences negotiating fences with neighbors?

Post by Kosmo »

Who's property is the fence on? If it's your fence, there's no negotiating. (In my township, fences must be on one property, not on the line. It makes things easier.)

I've got a row of trees/large bushes between my yard and the neighbor. It's on my side of the property line. I told my neighbor I was taking them down and replacing them either with similar bushes or with a fence. Conversation over.
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Re: any experiences negotiating fences with neighbors?

Post by goblue100 »

I have common fences on two sides of my lot. One side was fairly short, and that neighbor approached me about sharing the cost when he wanted to replace it. It wasn't in terrible shape but it wasn't great either. I would have waited another year or two. In the interest of going along to get along, I agreed to share the cost. After waiting another year or so I then wanted to replace my part of the fence that is not common as well as the common section with my neighbor on the other side. I suspect he sort of made the same decision, as he agreed to share the cost also.

I suppose if a neighbor doesn't want to share the cost, it is either on you to replace it at your expense or live with it until it is really run down.
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ccieemeritus
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Re: any experiences negotiating fences with neighbors?

Post by ccieemeritus »

My back neighbor showed up with a quote per linear foot for replacing the fence all around his house. The fence was in poor condition. His quote had a separate line item for the distance with each neighbor. I paid for half the price for the section of fence between us and was happy he dealt with the contractor and paperwork. He also asked for my approval for the new fence design/materials (which were similar to the original fence).

I really appreciated the quote with price per linear foot and number of linear feet identified "per neighbor".

I know one of my other side neighbors will probably not split fence replacement costs with me. He blames my overgrown bush for damage to the fence.
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Re: any experiences negotiating fences with neighbors?

Post by goblue100 »

darrellr wrote:My back neighbor showed up with a quote per linear foot for replacing the fence all around his house. The fence was in poor condition. His quote had a separate line item for the distance with each neighbor. I paid for half the price for the section of fence between us and was happy he dealt with the contractor and paperwork. He also asked for my approval for the new fence design/materials (which were similar to the original fence).
This is a good point, and this is pretty much how it went down for me as well, except I paid the contractor directly. I also liked the contractor so much I used him when I did the other two sections of my fence.
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Re: any experiences negotiating fences with neighbors?

Post by livesoft »

We share fences with 4 neighbors. We have interacted with 3 of the neighbors on the fences:

1. Neighbor A came to front door with a quote and asked if we would share cost of replacing the bit of fence we shared. I said, "Sure. How much? When it's done, I will just give you cash for our part." The fence company used the wrong wood (pine instead of cedar), so they had the fence company re-do the fence. It turns out we were never home, so they never came back to collect the money. One day, my spouse said, "Don't we owe them some money?" I said, "Yes, why not go pay them when you walk the dog?" So she walked the dog and rang their doorbell and paid them cash.

2. Neighbor B did not talk to us, but simply replaced the shared bit of fence and paid for all of it themselves. We cannot see this bit of fence from the house. It is consistent with the rest of the fence.

3. Neighbor C said, "I'm gonna get some quotes. Would you like to be involved?" I said, "No, just do it and I will pay half. Can you also get quotes for this part of our fence that we don't share because it is about the same as your part that we don't share?" He said, "Sure, no problem." When the fence was installed included a gate for us, the neighbor didn't like the result, so he had them fix it. When he was satisfied, he told me how much it cost, so I gave him a check for our half.

It looks like it might be my turn to actually do some work, but I think I can outlast Neighbor D and get her to replace that section of fence without my involvement as well.

As an aside: Getting a dog to pee on a front doormat must've taken some work. I think the guy probably showed the dog how to do it.
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leonard
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Re: any experiences negotiating fences with neighbors?

Post by leonard »

ResearchMed wrote:
ctreada wrote:We are rebuilding a fence and of course this requires some degree of cooperation with neighbors. Any specific tips out there that made this process easier for you all?
Yeah, it helps if you can get cooperative/nice neighbors.

We've got one immediately adjacent neighbor who was fine when we arrived, 10+ years ago.
Since then, he's taken an obvious turn for the worse health-wise, and it's clearly affected his cognitive abilities.
Not helping is the fact that his wife noticed and couldn't stand it, so she left a few years ago.

It was impossible to negotiate with him about a fence that *he* wanted replaced, even though we were open to sharing the costs.
(We think it was "his" fence, so we weren't obligated.)

But he became physically menacing, on *our* property, at our front door... and kept doing that.
So there's no further communication after we mailed a strongly worded letter that he was not to trespass ever again or we'd call the police.
(He had by the end of these few weeks/months had his dog "trained" to pee on our doormat. Fortunately, dog has passed on, and wasn't replaced.)

With the other neighbors, we just discussed replacing the fence that was "ours" with "the same", and they thought that was fine.

Good fences may make good neighbors, but bad neighbors and fences can be a problem.

RM
How exactly does someone who is in poor health and mentally impaired bring much menace?
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Re: any experiences negotiating fences with neighbors?

Post by mmmodem »

My neighbor approached us with a quote and asked us to pay half. I thought great. Let's do it. They told us we pay our half to the company so I don't pay her anything. The company did such a good job, we asked them to quote an adjacent fence. I went over to that neighbor with my quote and said you don't pay me, you pay the company when they're done. They said they had meant to ask us to share the costs but didn't know how to approach us. They didn't like the quote however and found they're own guy with a lower quote. Done deal.

Don't do what my friend did. She went over to her neighbor without a quote and asked for half the money. They said no.
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Re: any experiences negotiating fences with neighbors?

Post by sbh8 »

Our neighbor wanted to replace the entirety of their fence and asked the 4-5 neighbors involved to split the cost proportionally. I thought the first contractor's quote was extremely high and asked if she could try a different one, who came back with a quote of 50% less.

The contractor did the measuring and each neighbor paid the contractor directly.
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Re: any experiences negotiating fences with neighbors?

Post by Rodc »

We and our neighbors had no fences. We had young children and needed a fence to keep the kids in. I don't think we asked anyone, but we did mention it, and did ask the backyard neighbors if we could put a gate in the back so the kids could retrieve balls and such. Never occurred to me to ask for money. We were friendly with all our neighbors but they did not need fences.

Years later our backyard neighbors wanted to put in a nice fence, mostly because they did not want to see the messy yard next to them. They discussed what they wanted to do and since we talk across the fence they put in a low fence in back and tall on the sides. They did not ask for money. Our fence was still ok looking (simple basic cedar picket fence), but theirs was nicer, so they said if we want they would have their fence guy pull ours out along the back and haul it off. I said sure. Would have paid them but they said, no we'll just take care of it.

Our fence on the north side is now rotting. We have brand new neighbors, very nice with a dog and very small kids. They fenced in their lot, did not ask, but did mention it to us. Nice black metal fence. Did not ask for money from us, we did not need a fence (kids much older now) they needed a fence. I am now taking down our fence on that side, so we'll see their nice fence.

Have newish neighbors on the other side who also have small kids and need a fence. We told them they can just tie right into ours and so our side fence becomes the fence that keeps their kids in their yard. For some reason that side, though more shaded, is in better shape, so should last a few more years. By the time it falls down they may not need or want a fence. If they do I presume they will pay to have one put in. By then we'll have no kids at home.

I our case at each step one family needed the fence, not both and that family paid. Some effort was made to make sure folks were ok with what was being put in, but no one was picky, the fences were fine. We could all have done it differently over the last 15 years or so, but it worked out just fine.
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Re: any experiences negotiating fences with neighbors?

Post by 123 »

A lot will depend on your timeline for completion of the project, including seasonal issues.

I was selling a former home (vacant) when a severe windstorm damaged fences (relatively new track house wood fences) on both sides of the back yard. Neighbors on both sides had dogs in their yards. Since the property was in MLS and actively being shown I needed to get them fixed ASAP. I just went ahead and had them fixed myself without even talking with the neighbors. Since they knew I was selling they would have figured out my predicament. I guess they "won" that round. If I remember right the repair cost was not much over my (high) insurance deductible so I just had it done without bothering with a claim.
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Re: any experiences negotiating fences with neighbors?

Post by likegarden »

Many years ago one neighbor had an untrained large German shephard dog, so we needed a fence. To the back land was undeveloped, to the otherside the neighbor was using my land occasionally to move things around. So I did not negotiate with any neighbors, and after my property was surveyed I had fences put up around the back of my property per town code, and I paid for that, and after 20 years I also paid for partial replacement of that fence. During those years I explained to various new neighbors my surveyor markers and where the property lines are. There is no reason for us to get into any discussions about fences with neighbors.
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Re: any experiences negotiating fences with neighbors?

Post by GerryL »

A few years ago I needed to replace an old rotting fence before my landscaping/hardscaping project started. Side neighbors are very easy going. (They had previously undertaken the work to repair a section -- including post -- that had come down in a storm.) Told me to let them know how much and they'd pay half.

Backyard neighbor with longer fence line was more of a challenge. She wanted white vinyl instead of cedar. I got estimates and she got estimates. My finances are stronger than hers, so my plan was to just pay for the whole cedar fence if she wouldn't budge on the vinyl. But once I had picked a contractor we were able to negotiate on the cedar design and made sure she was not being charged for any part of the fence we did not share. Interestingly, I have a "good neighbor" fence on the street side but not on the side I share with this neighbor.
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Re: any experiences negotiating fences with neighbors?

Post by goingup »

ctreada wrote:We are rebuilding a fence and of course this requires some degree of cooperation with neighbors. Any specific tips out there that made this process easier for you all?
I think it depends why you're rebuilding the fence. If it is falling down and rotten and is a true border fence you should approach your neighbors telling them you plan to get quotes for the fence replacement and would they be willing to share the cost. If it is a small repair (under $250) I'd just do it and pay for it. If you're replacing it for aesthetic reasons, as in you want a different look or type, I suspect you should inform them but expect to foot the bill yourself.

After owning 3 homes with fences, we have shared repairs, shared replacement and also been resigned to just pay for it ourselves.

It's good to realize that while it may be your immediate priority, it may not be theirs. There's nothing but "goodwill" compelling them to share the cost so be as pleasant and amiable as possible!
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Re: any experiences negotiating fences with neighbors?

Post by dolphinsaremammals »

GerryL wrote:She wanted white vinyl instead of cedar.
Puts cold facecloth over face :D
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Re: any experiences negotiating fences with neighbors?

Post by dolphinsaremammals »

leonard wrote: How exactly does someone who is in poor health and mentally impaired bring much menace?
You don't think someone mentally impaired showing up on your doorstep repeatedly and verbally threatening you is menacing?
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Re: any experiences negotiating fences with neighbors?

Post by basspond »

Make sure the deal is with the whole length. The deal wth our neighbors was each was responsible for half of the fence line . We replaced our half first and it wasn't as bad as his half, plus we had the more difficult terrain to traverse. He didn't replace his half until 5 years after we replaced ours. However, we kept cordial and the fence looks great now.
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Re: any experiences negotiating fences with neighbors?

Post by ResearchMed »

dolphinsaremammals wrote:
leonard wrote: How exactly does someone who is in poor health and mentally impaired bring much menace?
You don't think someone mentally impaired showing up on your doorstep repeatedly and verbally threatening you is menacing?
Yup, this is exactly what happened, except that he positioned himself between me and the front door... and I was on crutches for a few months then.

Oh, and the verbal threats that were shouted at the same time...?

Yes, a written, certified letter went out the next day, and we definitely would have phoned the police (after snapping a photo with a cell phone of him on our property).

All of this was after we had asked for a written estimate for the fence, but he continually failed to provide us with anything of the kind.

[By the way, we do look over occasionally to watch for signs of life, and we wonder at what point we should notify authorities. By the time we'd be sure we haven't seen any lights changing, it would probably be far too late. But that's another topic.]

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Re: any experiences negotiating fences with neighbors?

Post by windaar »

My parents asked a neighbor if they would go half on a fence on the property line. They said no. So my parents put the fence a few inches on their side. Several years later, neighbors got a dog and then fenced their yard, attaching to my parents' fence, essentially adding to their property, which will eventually be theirs due to adverse possession. I understand that this happens all the time.
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Re: any experiences negotiating fences with neighbors?

Post by dolphinsaremammals »

windaar wrote:My parents asked a neighbor if they would go half on a fence on the property line. They said no. So my parents put the fence a few inches on their side. Several years later, neighbors got a dog and then fenced their yard, attaching to my parents' fence, essentially adding to their property, which will eventually be theirs due to adverse possession. I understand that this happens all the time.
I would think a letter from an attorney would avoid this. There's something about adverse possession that makes it not work if the real owner objects to the other person's use of the land, at least in my area.

I would have put the fence smack up to the property line.
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Re: any experiences negotiating fences with neighbors?

Post by Mrs.Feeley »

dolphinsaremammals wrote:
windaar wrote:My parents asked a neighbor if they would go half on a fence on the property line. They said no. So my parents put the fence a few inches on their side. Several years later, neighbors got a dog and then fenced their yard, attaching to my parents' fence, essentially adding to their property, which will eventually be theirs due to adverse possession. I understand that this happens all the time.
I would think a letter from an attorney would avoid this. There's something about adverse possession that makes it not work if the real owner objects to the other person's use of the land, at least in my area.

I would have put the fence smack up to the property line.
Adverse possession laws vary tremendously from state to state. And they're always in flux. For instance there's a current trend to shorten the length of "possession" time from 20 years or longer to just a few years. And the proof of possession required by the courts also varies by state.

We ran into a situation similar to the one faced by Windaar's parents. We put up a dog fence on our property following the city's suggestion that fencing be set three feet from the property line. A few years later a neighbor ran his dog fence over our property to join our fence, thus sparing himself the expense of running fencing along one length of his property. We talked to him about it, he chuckled it off. We became especially concerned when we learned he had adverse possession lawsuits going against other property owners in the state for rather flimsy reasons. He was an elderly man in poor health, so we decided to give things a few years to preserve our cordial relations with our neighbor. At the time our state law required that in order to make an adverse possession claim one must have occupied the property for at least 20 years, a requirement which has since been lowered I believe. When our neighbor moved into a care facility and the house was about to be put on the market, we asked the family to remove the fencing on our property. They balked, he had a fit, phoning me in a white hot rage from the nursing home. So we had a survey done and hired a lawyer, and he wrote the family a certified letter demanding that the fencing be removed or else we would go to court. They finally removed it. But the whole fiasco ended up costing us about $500.

As to the OP's original question...my advice is to always talk to the neighbors before putting up fencing, even if it's well into your property. Over the years I've seen so many neighbor hostilities ignited by the sudden appearance of a fence, even one not encroaching on another's property. And get a survey too. Old survey markers are sometimes wrong, and everyone has different memories about where their property lines are.
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Re: any experiences negotiating fences with neighbors?

Post by likegarden »

Our property has markers from a state licensed surveyor. Those steel rod markers may not be moved by law and mark the corners of the property. Our town requires that our fences had to be 6 or 8 inches off the property lines on our property, but that does not mean that we gave away those 6 or 8 inches. There is one 20 ft fence section where a neighbor once continued our fence, but he set his fence on his property not touching the property line.
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Re: any experiences negotiating fences with neighbors?

Post by leonard »

dolphinsaremammals wrote:
leonard wrote: How exactly does someone who is in poor health and mentally impaired bring much menace?
You don't think someone mentally impaired showing up on your doorstep repeatedly and verbally threatening you is menacing?
I generally don't get intimidated by the physically impaired.
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Re: any experiences negotiating fences with neighbors?

Post by TexasPenny »

Our fence was the original 1979 cedar and post fence. It was in pretty bad shape. A couple years ago my neighbor on the left approached me that she was getting a new fence, had found a contractor to do cedar plank and metal posts, and did I want to pay for my half. I said sure, and I might as well do my whole fence at the same time. I asked my neighbor on the right, and she felt she should get her fence done at the same time too. The contractor's quote had each section length marked, so we knew how much each side would be. Then we all had to ask the neighbors behind us. Luckily I only had 1 person behind me, but each of them had portions of 2 neighbors. When I went to talk to the neighbor behind me the husband said he didn't think the fence was in bad shape and didn't think he should pay. His wife said they would think about it and to come back after it was done. I told them it was getting replaced regardless. When it was done, I went back and only the wife was home. She said she thought the fence looked great and wrote me a check for their half. I don't think they would have paid if the husband had been home. My neighbor on the left only had 1 of the back neighbors pay. All the other ones did.

I honestly don't know where the fence/property line is, but most of my neighbors are the original home owners and they all felt the fences were on the property lines. Luckily, since my house was the middle house being done, all 3 sides are the 'inside' of the fence with the posts on my side. I prefer the consistent look to the front/back/front/back shared fence that I've seen places.
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Re: any experiences negotiating fences with neighbors?

Post by HardKnocker »

I don't get this whole thing about fences.

If the fence is on your property, you make the decisions and pay for it.

If the fence is on your neighbors property, he makes the decisions and pays for it.

Why would you pay for a fence on someone else's property and vice-versa? Shouldn't fences be built within property boundaries?
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Re: any experiences negotiating fences with neighbors?

Post by Sportswhiz00 »

HardKnocker wrote:I don't get this whole thing about fences.

If the fence is on your property, you make the decisions and pay for it.

If the fence is on your neighbors property, he makes the decisions and pays for it.

Why would you pay for a fence on someone else's property and vice-versa? Shouldn't fences be built within property boundaries?
This is what I thought too but apparently others disagree. I'm putting up a new fence and the thought never even crossed my mind to ask either neighbor to chip in.
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