Which side pays for a fence to be built?

The side that wants it bad enough…seriously though, we split the cost.

Word of advice: you should double-check the lot line before you put it up; before we had purchased our house (moved in), the owners of the lot next to us installed a fence that encroached on our property by a whole foot, front to back. We lost that foot because they got their lot reassessed and somehow the county moved the line to their fence line. When we moved in we saw their fence, a whole foot over the little “bullet” marker from before on the city sidewalk.

Why do you ask? I only ask because having more information about it may help me answer your question better.

@redsgirl4eva: i just thought its a good question that needs a lot of thought. it stumped my entire family and grandparents tonight at dinner. its definitely fluther worthy.

If it is on the line, you would split the cost.

I would recommend that you consider building it 6–12 inches INSIDE your property line and pay for it yourself. That way you have complete control over style, replacement etc. You never know what your neighbors might do or who might move in….

If you do share the fence, I would get a legal document drafted to delegate maintenance, decision making, etc.

I know people up the road who built a garage close to the property line. Their neighbors asked them to check survey maps and property markers before starting construction. Party of the first part ignored neighbors and erected garage. Neighbors hired surveyors, called the town inspector and the Party of the first part had to tear down garage.

Are Party otfp and neighbors on speaking terms? Guess.

@gail oops!

I have fixed plenty of fences that belong to others just because it made my property more marketable. We have apartments across the street from a block fence that always gets tagged. I pay to have it painted out at least once a week because I can’t keep my apartments rented if there is tagging right across the street.

@gail – When I bought my house, after my divorce, the know-it-all neighbor came over to tell me what was ok and not ok for me to do in my yard. Literally, he handed me a list of times that it was ok to make noise in the yard and told me to keep my yard neat at all times. I was highly annoyed, but decided to just grin and bear it…I was new to the neighborhood.

About six month later, he put up a fence dividing our front yards. It didn’t look right, to me and I approached him, before they started full construction. Basically, he patted me on the head and sent me along. I called for a survey and found out he was 2 feet over the line. On top of that, towards the bottom of the driveway, he had a concrete pad poured and yes, you guessed it, the twit was on my property.

I had a crew come over and mark the property line and it was great, bright pink flags and marking paint. I loved it!

I waited until he got home, looked around, walked the line and yes, stood out in the front yard yelling into the phone. After he hung up, I walked over, with a list. :)

He eventually moved the fence and even tore up part of the concrete pad. We didn’t speak, again. My life was so peaceful!

We had a survey done when we bought our property, and we put up a fence when we moved in. The property line on one side runs at an angle, so we made sure the fence was installed according to the survey.

All was well until the neighbors sold their house a few years ago, and a realtor showed up at the door saying our fence was encroaching. I got out my survey copy. Her copy and mine didn’t match. Turns out our survey was at the right angle but drawn from the opposite direction. It was a huge legal mess.

I had a very sociopathic neighbor who put survey markers on the property next to mine,
way further up the hill, not on the same level as my house. They looked exactly like
the markers a real surveyer would place, and the property line was in the woods, so even though I was amazed that the line was so close to me, I thought Wpw, live and learn.

He built some concrete foundations on the side of “his” property that was closest to mine.
Then he waited, while continually doing shitty things around the neighborhood like cutting down other people’s trees and then saying “Too late, you should have told me” and
using the wood. So I got suspicious and asked him about his survey. Turned out he’d “surveyed” it himself. I got a new survey done, and the foundations were entirely on my property.
Here’s the rub:
at least in our state, if you don’t prevent someone from investing in construction on your
property, the judge will not make them take it down. I was forced to let him buy a quarter-acre. However, he had to pay me a great deal for it (the underlying lender wouldn’t allow me to sell any land till my own loan was entirely paid off,
so the Jerk had to come up with that much).
I still hate him, and wish him dead.
His ex-wife, who kicked him out a few years later, never finished/doesn’t use the foundations he built.
It was all completely pointless.