Is this my fence???
I currently own a Brownstone in BK that is attached on both sides. The curious thing is that my neighbors to the left and my neighbors to the right both claim that the fence that separates our backyards belong to me. Is there any easy rule of thumb for this (ie. the fence to the…
I currently own a Brownstone in BK that is attached on both sides. The curious thing is that my neighbors to the left and my neighbors to the right both claim that the fence that separates our backyards belong to me. Is there any easy rule of thumb for this (ie. the fence to the right/left is always your responsibility?) If not, is there a painless way to figure out which fence belongs to me? Both fences need to be fixed up and I don’t want to get duped into fixing both or the wrong one.
Thanks everyone
I wasn’t suggesting the OP put something up to tick off the neighbors. Sounds like OP’s neighbors are tired of looking at a busted down fence. Vinca, I’m not you-I want to look at what I want in my backyard and one of those things is not the neighbors rusty chain link, arbor or not. That also includes the piles of plastic kid stuff and the giant pit bulls. I’m not into telling them how to live-they’re free to do as they wish and I’m happy for them. Since many people today don’t consider what they neighbors have to look at in their yard, I chose not to look at it. For some a garden is a sanctuary and it’s a way to have your own small space. And my garden’s doing plenty fine with our privacy fence. It’s been garden of the day. It’ll be more impacted by the giant building just erected next door, not a fence that conforms to DOB code. As much as a little more air flow might be nice, it’s nicer not staring at the cars that will be parked next to my lot. There is no one “best solution”.
My neighbors in back thanked us for the privacy fence we put in to replace the broken down one we inherited because it was a nice quality cedar and they got the benefits of something more attractive without paying for it. All I’m saying is if the OP’s neighbors are insisting that the fence be fixed but won’t pay for it, then OP gets to be the one to decide what he wants as a fence. Their attitude doesn’t sound like they are interested in meeting in the middle.
vinca: thanks for your comments about and against “privacy fences.” They make narrow yards smaller and darker. Chain link ain’t pretty, but it’s not as weirdly anti-neighbor as these castle walls. City living may not really be for everyone.
bk bstonr: if you put up a new chain link yourself, make sure it’s squarely within your property lines. And morning glory makes a rapidly growing and very pretty privacy screen.
Where I live, one neighbor has a chain-link fence, another side+ of the yard has a formerly nice wooden fence that has gone to ruin, and an investment-property owner has a massive privacy fence that juts across the corner where our property boundaries are not aligned. One day, when myself or one of my side-by-side neighbors is flush, we’ll talk about what we’d all enjoy as a replacement. The reason we’ll talk is mostly because we value the friendliness of being neighbors, we talk to each other by habit, and each one of us uses our garden differently. Another reason is that if I pulled up my neighbor’s rusted chain-link fence, they’d lose the grape arbor that tells more than 50 years of their family history. If I stuck a tall privacy fence in without speaking to my neighbors, they’d both lose a lot of our limited sunshine. I cannot wrap my brain around the waste of time, energy, and money embodied in the concept of installing, maintaining, or decorating a fence selected for the purpose of offending or impinging on one’s neighbor. Below are a few more links where you can read about neighbors and fences, good-neighbor fences, and fence law. Enough said from this quarter:
New York Times:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E03EED9133EF930A3575BC0A9659C8B63
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C03E0DF133EF937A25750C0A96F958260
The Cincinnati Enquirer:
http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2000/04/14/loc_fence_rules.html
Nolo.com:
http://www.nolo.com/article.cfm/pg/1/objectId/98DFFB2A-27D8-45C5-BF5B4E8128A695A1/catId/D0B308BB-D553-438E-94E8D66498A911D7/213/243/267/FAQ/
I think that if you do put a new fence in, the goal would be to pick out what you really want to look at for the next bunch of years. That and I would question whether you’ll want to see your neighbors pit bulls through chain-link, barking and drooling while you grill out on the patio.
If you are paying for it, it would be better for you to make sure that it is on your side of the property line, esp if you get something nice looking. If it straddles the line, your neighbors can complain about your choices and if you end up getting something nice, paint their side some god awful color if they wish. That doesn’t sound like a big deal but the easiest way to maintain a fence without having to spend time in the neighbor’s yard is to re-stain your side and then remove the panel, flop it, rehang and re-stain the second side. You won’t want to deal with their paint job if all you wanted was a stained fence. Just a thought…
Thanks guys for all of the comments.
bk_chicken: i’d love to remove the fence completely, this would be great for backyard parties BUT unfortunately one neighbor has two overgrown pitbulls in the backyard that make this impossible.
There is an obvious separation line in the brick but the fence appears to be smack dab in the center of it.
Chain links aren’t too expensive so I’ll probably just be the bigger neighbor and pay for everything without breaking down the building laws/codes to them.
In regard to the building code vinca posted I would guess it will be interpreted that “dividing their properties” means IF it’s straddling the lot line. If it is on your side of the lot line I don’t think this applies.
It sounds like if it is a “partition fence” or “partition wall” then the cost is shared. I assume this means defining the lot line. However, if the fence is on your property, then it would still be yours. I guess you and your neighbor could both have fences on your respective sides of the property line.
This may be naive, but can you see an obvious line in the brick or coating on the back of your houses? Where the fence attaches to the buildings, or where the closest fence posts are, is it clear that they are on one side of this line or the other?
Outside of the yours/mine/who pays debate, my memory of the “old” days is that Brooklyn properties were separated by chain link or by nothing at all. Though not a fan of rusted link, I have even greater distaste for the solid barriers that prevail today. Air movement not only affects the comfort of outdoor living spaces, it’s also critical to garden health. Two articles worth looking at are: http://www.finegardening.com/pages/g00127.asp
http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/gr_general_info/article/0,2029,DIY_13847_5709836,00.html
Please double-check re: survey, because if you have a mortgage, either the mortgage company or the title company did a survey, or have a survey they consider up-to-date. If you don’t have the document, ask the lawyer who did your closing. That will answer the question. Take advantage of the DOB open house, because the use of “retaining wall” in the Building Code makes me wonder if the fencing referred to is intrinsic and not aesthetic. Good fences do make good neighbors, but handling this too aggressively (tho I’m sure MaxOthermoxx is [mostly?] joking) will make your tenure in the house unpleasant. Good luck!