Posted on 05/19/2016 3:13:02 PM PDT by freedomjusticeruleoflaw
More...
He put up a gate a few months ago. We went downtown, was told that he couldn’t do it, warned him thusly, and he took it down (mostly). Later we discover that he wants to pave the easement, put in a ditch on both sides (?), and reinstall the gate and give us a key. Meantime, the old fence, which is completely on our property, but also covered by the easement, gave him an opportunity (we believe) to apply pressure for all of the above. We just want to be left the hell alone.
The fence runs alongside the easement, not across it.
It’s an ingress/egress easement. Yes it is recorded on the deeds.
I plan on making a video describing our travails as I walk the property and point to various landmarks. If he pushes too hard he may end up on Youtube. Just the facts of course.
What is the reason for the neighbor who uses the easement to object? He has use of the easement, so long as he is not impeded there should not be any issue as it remains your property. Has he been maintaining the area of the easement, mowing, landscaping, gravel or pavement? If yes, for how long?
Please don’t take the above as legal advice, just think it through for yourself, and answer if you’re comfortable doing so.
We had it surveyed for property lines a month ago. Now we’re surveying it for easement. We don’t want any changes, but he obviously is trying to apply pressure for something.
It’s possible that he’s setting up adverse possession with all that maintenance and improvement.
He is objecting because he wants ditches on each side of the road(supposedly but we doubt that too). We know he wants our property, but we’ve made it clear in the past that we have no desire to sell...ever.
I think that we would be the ones with an adverse possession claim, since the fence has been in place for over 15 years without objection.
Long story short.
My friend had new neighbors. His driveway was about 150 yards long and ran along the fence line between properties. His survey showed the fence on his property.
One day he came home to find the fence dismantled and a new fence installed - right down the middle of his driveway. He went to the neighbor the ask what’s up and the neighbor refused to talk to him.
My friend chained the fence to his trailer hitch and pulled it out of the ground. The neighbor called police who said “take it to court”
$20,000 later he had an injunction against the neighbor and his driveway back. I reiterate - get lawyered up. A $25 initial consultation is far better than all the “free” advice you get here.
Good luck.
Nice. Thank you.
1) How was the easement created - deed, prior use, other?
2) Who was the the beneficiary of the easement - government, utility, adjacent property.
3) What was there, if anything, before the fence?
Take that info and the related documents to a local real estate attorney, and you should be able to fairly quickly get an answer.
If he persists you can get some of the effect of “lawyering up” by having an attorney send him a letter to cease and desist from making unwanted changes to your property. If he’s been there before it won’t make much of an impression. but it’s a start without having to spend too much. It really is best to avoid litigation if at all possible, it can get very expensive.
Ok, you left that out. That minor point, is a big part of the story.
Get a lawyer. It is pretty clear you are here looking for people to help your view of the argument. For what reason? Who knows.
Get a lawyer. Pay them a few grand. Then you won’t have enough money to build the fence. But you will have “won!”
Then I think the attorney's first inquiry will be, "does the easement run in favor of the neighbor", and if so, "what is the nature of or any restrictions to that interest?"
Sounds more like he really wants that lockable gate. WHat’s he got? A meth lab?
That would be a bad thing to do. You would be moving from slander to liable.
Really, get a lawyer.
Ha... funny. He’s an ex-DEA agent.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.