backyard boundary issues - encroachment and spite fences

Can a neighbor modify an encroachment? I face the same issue on both side of my small backyard. On one side I have a concrete and lime stone retaining wall which helps contain my brick patio. When the retaining wall was built the workers seem to have angled it from tree and roots, which put it 6 inches on my side in back of yard and straddling the property line by the house. A rude house flipper has come in next door and ripped out the existing fence (it was falling apart but covered in ivy so looked good in summer) and is demanding for me to knock down my retaining wall and build a new one on the property line and split the cost of the fence. He is not negotiable and not trustable so I said no. Now he is saying he will put up an ugly fence on the property line which starts in our retaining wall and ends at a different height in the ground. Can he puts hole for post in my retaining wall? Can he build an ugly fence on the property line? How can I prevent him? I would rather put up my own fence at this point… On the other side of my property my neighbor has an enormous one story concrete shed taking up 50-60 soft of my small backyard. My house was abandon for a decade before I moved in and someone (either my neighbor or his possessor) must have built this thing with no permits. I cannot tell when it was built, survey says the portion on my property is mine but I have no entrance. I asked neighbor if I can divide the shed and put a door on, he was outraged. Can he just build what ever be wants to acquire land because my house was vacant? if I install a door am I breaking the law? Thoughts?

bk333

in Front and Backyards 11 years and 3 months ago

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classon | 11 years and 3 months ago

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Did the flipper have a metes and bounds survey done? If he did and can prove the boundaries then your only recourse is to get your own survey done to make sure it’s correct. If you’re genuinely concerned about establishing the proper boundaries then just letting him build a fence is not a good strategy. Once his fence it up, legally, it’s much more difficult to get him to take it down. And if you simply tear down someone’s fence because you think it’s in the wrong place you could be in for a serious lawsuit. Consult a lawyer before taking any action. They can advise about the shed too. Even if a new survey is done that proves the shed is on your property you it’s not likely they’ll just relinquish land they’ve been using for years. You’ll have to sue them to get your property back. Then they can claim “Adverse Possession” which is not favored in the legal system but, incredibly, is a viable legal angle. Sorry to say, it’s a long, complicated, expensive road.

bk333 | 11 years and 3 months ago

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Tried to attach the screen shots of what the shed looked like in 1996 but the file size was too big. My plan with fence is to let him build his ugly fence.and then build my own fence in the retaining wall. If he comes to my side I will pull it out. Can I force him to build on his side and not the property line though? That would give me more room.

bk333 | 11 years and 3 months ago

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1996

bk333 | 11 years and 3 months ago

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So when I bought the property the inspector was the one who pointed it out. He was like, whao that’s a huge encroachment. so we got a survey. The survey said the piece on our land was our shed (separate) and not an encroachment. So I figured let’s go ahead and figure this out later. However, I don’t want to forfeit the land if it could be consideconsidered mine. Townies link actually worked. Thanks. So it seems like in 1996 there is something there. But there house doesn’t have a hall to it and it looks a little different, there’s nothing on any side of it. In earlier pics it is too blurry…. Could this have always been there shed? Could it have been something besides a shed? Does that mean I lose the land?

Townie | 11 years and 3 months ago

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This might help if the property is in NYC. http://maps.nyc.gov/doitt/nycitymap/ Directly under the green colored search bar on the right you will see *MAP TYPE”. Click on the year from the drop down menu. You might be able to see the addition when you zoom in.

resident2 | 11 years and 3 months ago

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When you bought your property I assume you got a title search? and a survey? or at least a piece of paper in the title report that states something regarding the survey inspection? Is there, any mention regarding encroachments on either side?, either you encroaching on a neighbor and them encroaching on you? If you have a copy of the survey make a copy of it and send it to both neighbors with the respective concerns noted. No; your flipper neighbor cannot put posts on your side of the line for his fence, his posts and his fence have to be his side of the line. If your retaining wall is encroaching on his property, he can build on top of it, but he cannot undermine it, does it encroach on his property for sure? As for the shed, if your survey is showing it being there, is it a historic encroachment? How long has it been there? Send a notice to your neighbor that you want it removed. If it is a historic encroachment did the seller or your attorney not bring this to your attention? A Good Survey, just like good fences, make good neighbors. But the survey comes first.

bk333 | 11 years and 3 months ago

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Any idea how to find when the thing was built if no permits were filed?

daveinbedstuy | 11 years and 3 months ago

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Agree with slope far. You will need a competent RE attorney and probably and up to date survey.

slopefarm | 11 years and 3 months ago

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For the shed, you need to consult with an attorney. 50-60sf is a lot of sf. The question is whether the neighbor acquired the occupied area through adverse possession. There are a bunch of statutory criteria for this that every lawyer learns for the bar and then promptly half-forgets, but you nneed to know in practice how this works and how it applies specifically to your facts.