Property Line Dispute Problem

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Indi

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I have a somewhat legal/moral dilemma that I am hoping to get some assistance on.

My husband and I bought our first home in the suburbs of Rochester, NY on about .75 acres of land. We're quiet neighbors who work all day. We take good care of the lawn, trees and property and don't have broken down vehicles or anything trashy or obtrusive in our driveway or on our front lawn. Our dog rarely barks, is always on a leash or in her kennel and we have no children. We invest as much time and money as is available to the upkeep and improvement of our home. I would like to think that we're the kind of neighbors most people dream of. Our neighbors to the right do not appear to agree.

Our lot is pie-shaped with the majority being backyard. The lot has a fence along the left side of the house on the property line all the way to the back and along the back, again on the property line. At this point there is about a 6-inch gap and then the neighbor on the right has a completely fenced in backyard, but about 4-6 inches in from their property line, varying in spots to almost being dead on the property line, according to the survey that was done when we purchased the house. We would like to enclose the back yard completely, but the neighbors on the right have refused to allow us to connect to their corner of the fence, as they would be losing their 4-6 inches of property along the border. Both my husband and I along with the previous owner of our home (my grandmother BTW) have mostly maintained this 4-6" of property for the last 25 years, mowing the grass that grows there and trimming the weeds/grass that grow along the fence.

I called the town hall and the permit office for the town has stated to me that any home owner can place a fence on their property, with the appropriate permit, up to and including the property line, regardless of the fact that there is another fence not even 6 inches away in some spots. At that point it becomes the neighbor's problem that they cannot get to that 4-6 inches of property with a lawn mower or weed trimmer. The town stated that we can consult an attorney but the laws of the town state that we can put the fence up and basically tell the neighbors to take a hike.

So do we:
1) Put up the fence even though the gap between the two fences is bound to become overgrown and an eyesore because it cannot be maintained as it's not our property therefore not our problem. Also possibly creating even more hostility between neighbors, which I think is really sad.

2) Get an attorney to mediate and possibly get the snotty neighbors to move their fence or let us connect to their existing one (the first costing money, the second option being free to them). They are a stubborn couple in their 60s who have known me my whole life. I played with their dogs and swam in their pool when I was a kid and I don't understand why they're being so unreasonable other than because they can. I think this would end up being a tough fight because they have considerably more money than we do for an attorney.

3) Continue to cultivate the hate in my heart for people who do crappy things for no apparent reason other than because they can and create really bad karma for wishing bad things on my neighbors.

Any ideas? Options that I don't see? I'm at the end of my tether on this. I know that while I don't truly "own" the house or the land because if we ever miss paying our mortgage or our taxes it can be taken away in a heartbeat, the fact of the matter is that we DO pay our mortgage and our taxes on time and in full, therefore I should be able to do as I please, within reason, with what I'm paying for. Having someone else making it hard for us and forcing us to not do things that we would like to do with our property is making me insane.
 
Have you thought about creating the fence on your side with enough room in-between their property line and yours to be able to continue maintaining the space in-between, say a foot or two (large enough for weed-eater)? If you have .75 acres you should still have enough room in your fenced in area for your needs and then "peace" hopefully will reign. OR you could offer to pay for their fence to be moved on the property line for you to be able to connect to it. They won't loose their 6" of property and won't have to pay to move their fence to accomodate you. If you decide on this option get it in writing that they are allowing you to move their fence to the property line and allowing you to connect to it for which you will incur the expense (you may want a lawyer to look at this document before having the neighbors and you sign it). Consider that when moving their fence you will also have to buy and install the extra fence it will take to connect the back portion at the corner and it must be of the same type and style of materials already used for their fencing. That may be cheaper than hiring lawyers or cheaper than doctor visits when you get ulcers or other health problems from "cultivating hate" in your heart
 
1) Put up the fence even though the gap between the two fences is bound to become overgrown and an eyesore because it cannot be maintained as it's not our property therefore not our problem. Also possibly creating even more hostility between neighbors, which I think is really sad.

I like this option. Just make sure your fence is opaque so you can't see the crap growing on your neighbor's side.
 
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