Neighbor encroaching on my lot

[rapmarks]

I recently had my lot surveyed, as I was suspicious my neighbor was encroaching on my lot.
this is in state of Wisconsin
he has put a fence up about ten feet into my lot,all along the back of the property and also used a large section to keep tools and other things under a tarp.
I spoke with a lawyer who is daughter of a friend
she advised reporting to Hoa,because fences are prohibited.
i did report to hoa, and president said she can’t see the fence,so no big deal
I to,d her what lawyer said to say, if you don’t enforce one rule, you can’t enforce any rules

I am having my son in law speak to the owner, but I am sure this will get nowhere.
i plan to send a letter,requesting fence and pile be removed by a certain date.
i again expect nothing because this is a timeshare sales person and I believe forest gump was based on him.
I will probably hire the lawyer to send him a letter,which I expect to be ignored.
what else can I do,
i doubt the sheriff would become involved.
if we attempted to remove the fence ( a split rail fence that he was asked to remove from in front of the property) and pile I am afraid he would shoot at us.
it is not the fence and pile that bothers me, it is the concern that he will try to claim the piece of property by adverse possession.
anybody had any experience with this.

 

[DeniseM]

You can file a lawsuit against him.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

I spoke with a lawyer who is daughter of a friend
she advised reporting to Hoa,because fences are prohibited.

IMHO -

At this point you are at a decision point - do you ignore it or do you take some action. If you decide to take some action, then you need to get real legal advice, not informal advice from someone who happens to be a lawyer, but instead from someone knowledgeable in real estate law in the locale where the property is located.

If you don't know anyone you want to engage right away, my suggestion is to contact the local bar association. Often, the local bar has a pro bono service where people who have legal questions can meet with an attorney with expertise relating to their situation for about an hour. A meeting such as that would help frame the situation for you and give you options for how to proceed. With that input, you should be in a position to make a knowledgeable decision on how to respond - IOW, you wouldn't need to be asking the questions in your post.

If the local bar doesn't have such a service, then I would seek out a capable local attorney with real estate expertise and request a one-hour appointment. (In my thinking, this is an area where you don't want to cut corners. You want someone with expertise, so pay for someone who knows what they are doing instead of someone who thinks they know what they are doing.) Be prepared to do some prep before the meeting.

You may very well end up sending a letter on your own as an initial step. The attorney should help you understand what to put into the letter and how to frame to help your case. The attorney should also lay out for you what you recourse options are.

 

[Sugarcubesea]

@rapmarks , I'm so sorry this is happening to you. Our Condo association had to hire an attorney because our neighbor was encroaching on our lakefront property and we had it surveyed and then when the lawyer contacted him he said because we did nothing for two years, he could keep the land. Our lawyer stated that in Michigan we had 15 years and he had 30 days to move his things off our property or we would move them and he would be charged for it. It took a year to get this mess strentghted out and we had to put a fence marking our property line so he could not do this again

You for sure want to get an attorney involved.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

I recently had my lot surveyed, as I was suspicious my neighbor was encroaching on my lot.

Did your surveyor install any marks or flags? Did your surveyor prepare a report of survey and file the survey with the County recorder? These are important.

 

[dioxide45]

You need to be talking to an attorney who specializes in real estate law in your state. They will know what steps to take to avoid adverse possession.

 

[rapmarks]

Did your surveyor install any marks or flags? Did your surveyor prepare a report of survey and file the survey with the County recorder? These are important.

Staked it, I don’t think he filed a survey but they are the same line on the plat but the markers were removed

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Staked it, I don’t think he filed a survey but they are the same line on the plat but the markers were removed

check with your surveyor. In some jurisdictions, a surveyor is required to file a report of survey whenever they do a survey that identifies meets and bounds. If a report wasn't filed, you might contact the Wisconsin board for registration of surveyors to find out if a report needed to be filed.

 

[rapmarks]

I think I should start with a certified letter telling him that he is encroaching on my property, that it is not an easement, and giving him some time to remove it.
if he fails to comply, ask A lawyer For next step. It may be a matter that he thinks it is an easement.
or the lawyer may advise notifying the sheriff

also, our covenants prohibit anything but a single family home.
this person rents his basement to another person
many other neighbors are renting part of their house
one person had 15 summer workers living in his basement
our president and board refused to do anything about it.

 

[easyrider]

I recently had my lot surveyed, as I was suspicious my neighbor was encroaching on my lot.
this is in state of Wisconsin
he has put a fence up about ten feet into my lot,all along the back of the property and also used a large section to keep tools and other things under a tarp.
I spoke with a lawyer who is daughter of a friend
she advised reporting to Hoa,because fences are prohibited.
i did report to hoa, and president said she can’t see the fence,so no big deal
I to,d her what lawyer said to say, if you don’t enforce one rule, you can’t enforce any rules

I am having my son in law speak to the owner, but I am sure this will get nowhere.
i plan to send a letter,requesting fence and pile be removed by a certain date.
i again expect nothing because this is a timeshare sales person and I believe forest gump was based on him.
I will probably hire the lawyer to send him a letter,which I expect to be ignored.
what else can I do,
i doubt the sheriff would become involved.
if we attempted to remove the fence ( a split rail fence that he was asked to remove from in front of the property) and pile I am afraid he would shoot at us.
it is not the fence and pile that bothers me, it is the concern that he will try to claim the piece of property by adverse possession.
anybody had any experience with this.

Yes, I did have a few experiences with this. It's a civil matter. I usually just move their crap back over the property line and put up a chain link fence. The only time I went to court was because a person claimed adverse possession and took me to court. They hired an attorney who wanted to speak to my attorney who I told not to speak to anyone. I would talk to this guys attorney for 30 minutes about three times a week. We went to court and I and the Judge looked at the pictures of the property line and my new fence. The original pins were available so I didn't have a survey. Adverse possession is very hard for anyone to use, especially when a survey is completed or the property pin are still in the ground.

Other times it doesn't really matter to me as the encroachment improved my property. Their fence on my property becomes my fence on my property is how it works.

Bill

 

[am1]

Send a certified letter about it and if no response and you are sure it is on your land tear it down or put it on the property line.

I own 2.5 acres across the street from my house. I have over 3 acres fenced which I maintain and put cows on. After 15 years I will be filing for what is mine. If you do not use it you lose it which is the way it should be.

This past year some AH has decided their farm owns our beach lots and many other beach lots in front of their farm. We purchased ours as right of possession and then paid the government and a lawyer to title them. We will fight their demands with everything we can as well as the others. The beach land in question is now much more valuable then their farm.

Where we own a house and apartments we traded the back part of the property to a neighbour for the right to run a sewer line. He fenced and built a shed on it. Nothing was ever signed or updated but to me it is his. My deed still shows I own it so always buyer beware of what you are actually buying.

I think that is all my land disputes at the moment.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

@rapmarks , perhaps I missed it but I didn't catch how many years your neighbor has been encroaching. If it is 15 years or more, the neighbor may have some claim through adverse possession. I'd hire a good real estate attorney.

 

[davidvel]

@rapmarks , perhaps I missed it but I didn't catch how many years your neighbor has been encroaching. If it is 15 years or more, the neighbor may have some claim through adverse possession. I'd hire a good real estate attorney.

Pretty sure it is 20 years in Wisconsin (without claim of title/taxes paid), but I agree local legal counsel should be retained. Also, I would recommend against any "self-help" such as tearing fence down, etc., unless advised it is OK by said counsel.

 

[Marathoner]

Everyone's advice is constructive. My suggestion is to tear it down after giving the appropriate notice. If others wont help you, they likely won't help him either.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

Pretty sure it is 20 years in Wisconsin (without claim of title/taxes paid), but I agree local legal counsel should be retained. Also, I would recommend against any "self-help" such as tearing fence down, etc., unless advised it is OK by said counsel.

I think that you're right about the 20 years.

 

[easyrider]

I forgot to include that when the property is encroached upon it is still your property and you are liable for any problems on the encroached portion. This is the main reason we take our property lines seriously. All it takes is some one getting injured to end up with a legal problem. Piles of crap are kid magnets.

Bill

 

[CalGalTraveler]

On our vacation home, we built a fence inside of the property line. This gives more room for the neighbors to maneuver their cars on their driveway and avoids fence damage from the snow plow on their driveway. In the summer they plant annuals on that side of their driveway against the fence. (it is a little over a foot wide strip)

Our lawyer advised us to send a letter to the neighbor giving them permission to use the land on their side of the fence that we own but it is revocable at any time. This will avoid claiming that they have ownership of the land on their side of the fence via adverse use because they have our permission. There is a legal term for this. Permissive use?

We are friendly with the neighbors and I have a statement from the neighbor in writing that they acknowledge that it is our land and do not intend to take the property on their side of the fence.

YMMV...if you think this might work for you try discussing this option with your lawyer because real estate laws vary by state.

 

[easyrider]

On our vacation home, we built a fence inside of the property line. This gives more room for the neighbors to maneuver their cars on their driveway and avoids fence damage from the snow plow on their driveway. In the summer they plant annuals on that side of their driveway against the fence. (it is a little over a foot wide strip)

Our lawyer advised us to send a letter to the neighbor giving them permission to use the land on their side of the fence that we own but it is revocable at any time. This will avoid claiming that they have ownership of the land on their side of the fence via adverse use because they have our permission. There is a legal term for this. Permissive use?

We are friendly with the neighbors and I have a statement from the neighbor in writing that they acknowledge that it is our land and do not intend to take the property on their side of the fence.

YMMV...if you think this might work for you try discussing this option with your lawyer because real estate laws vary by state.

The problem with giving permission to use your property, or being trespassed on, is the liability. Giving written permission is a good idea for what you are doing to retain your ownership and the small amount of liability between friends is nothing to worry about, imo.

Bill

 

[Cornell]

Everyone keeps bringing up the property lines. It’s simpler than that: the HOA forbids fences.

Hire an attorney and go after the HOA AND the neighbor. Fences aren’t allowed. It’s as simple as that.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

The problem with giving permission to use your property, or being trespassed on, is the liability. Giving written permission is a good idea for what you are doing to retain your ownership and the small amount of liability between friends is nothing to worry about, imo.

Bill

I never thought of the liability aspect. Good thinking. Perhaps a clause that they assume all liability and will indemnify us against any liability claims (indemnification) of their use on this land would be a good update to the contract.

In our case, this is only about a 1 foot wide by 8 foot long strip of land where their driveway curves (their home was built many years before ours) so the risk of something happening and proving it happened on our land is slim. Much of the time they have an open popout from their trailer in this space so no one has access. The popout does not touch the fence nor land below.

It's tough because we don't want to have bad relations with our neighbors. Ugh, I hate having to send them these letters every few years.

 

[ScoopKona]

This is how you legally steal land -- blatant and notorious possession, and an owner who doesn't do anything about it.

 

[Hindsite]

Read up on the legal definition of Adverse possession in your jurisdiction, as there could be an easy way for you to kill the adverse nature of it by giving them permission to use the relevant plot, and if you can engineer some form of non-exclusive use that may also kill the potential claim. You could give a level of temporary or time limited permission, while the matter is further investigated and resolved.

I too favour the remove it and put the boundary back to where it should go, that's what we did when this issue happened, but aren't in a location where guns are of concern.

 

[pedro47]

Suggestion only, do not confront your neighbor. Please hire a good real estate attorney. IMHO

 

[davidvel]

The problem with giving permission to use your property, or being trespassed on, is the liability. Giving written permission is a good idea for what you are doing to retain your ownership and the small amount of liability between friends is nothing to worry about, imo.

Bill

You must have some "friends." He is afraid the neighbor might shoot him if he dismantles the fence. I wouldn't consider him a friend.

 

[davidvel]

This is how you legally steal land -- blatant and notorious possession, and an owner who doesn't do anything about it.

If it is legal it is not stealing.