As the proverb goes, ‘a good fence makes a good neighbor,’ and a next-door neighbor that puts up a fence without your permission says a lot about their character. That said, a homeowner in Maine had a fence in their yard from ten years ago. The company that placed it made a mistake by putting it a few feet inside the property line. Later on, a neighbor moves in and places down his own fence within their property despite knowing the boundary line himself without consent. Unexpectedly, he then moves out and puts up the house for sale.
OP, the Maine homeowner who’s having to deal with this fencing issue, took to Reddit to ask for advice on how to handle the matter. While they state they don’t want to make a big deal out of it, the main issue is that they are paying taxes based on the full square footage of their home. In other words, they are paying extra for property inconsiderately and unreasonably ‘claimed’ by their neighbor, who is now attempting to sell the house. “Do we contact his realtor? A lawyer? Can we do this without a lawyer?“: are just a few of the questions burning in OP’s mind.
Based on the worry that the homeowner could possibly “lose the rights” to their land based on the neighbor’s irresponsibly placed fence, the top commenter provided a solid suggestion. “Notify the seller and agent of the encroachment, asserting your property right, and ejecting the adverse use,” they recommended. “The adverse possession can be terminated by requiring the encroachment to be removed, or by specifically permitting it, as in a license to use, MAKING THAT USE PERMISSIVE, and not adverse,” with the fence being the ‘adverse possession’ referred to.
Contacting a local land use or real estate lawyer would also be a solid idea, as the Maine resident should do everything in their power to protect their property rights before everything becomes a bigger legal issue. Of course, there were some Reddit users who had some questionable advice to offer. “Frankly I’d have been out there with a sawzall before they even finished [the sale],” remarked a commenter. “Yup I’d be pulling down the last board as he tries to put up the next,” agrees another.
While doing damage to what is the neighbor’s fence could pose a problem, the fact that it was placed outside their property boundary without permission is “disrespectful nonsense,” as one puts it. And they’d be right, as “That’s exactly what this is, blatant disrespect for a neighbor and their property.”
