Fencing (house, neighborhood, legally)

[saralee]

Hi guys!

We're on a little bit more than an acre, and would like to fence the backyard. We told the children we would consider a dog, without any clue as to how expensive a fence would be. (First time homeowners, this is all new to us.)

I originally had dreams of a vinyl privacy fence but that's been shattered after a few estimates. I have now determined that I can be happy with a 3 board w/goth posts w/wire and a 10' drive gate.

Without going all the way back to our property line, we have 535' we'd like to close in.

I am trying to budget this job ... trying to decide if it's a now, later or even never.

Does fencing add to the value of one's property? Personally, I like fences. Good fences make good neighbors. I respect clear boundaries. But, aside from our neighbors directly to the right of us (who, by the way, are encroaching on our property by 3'), no one in the neighborhood has fenced their yard. Admittedly, the look of the wide open space is nice.

In terms of resale, overall, do people appreciate a fenced in backyard?

And while we're on the subject, there is a 40' "setback" included within our property line in the back. Exactly what is a "setback"?

Thanks!

SL

[mm34b]

Property "setback" is the distance a building or structure is required to be set back from a property line. In other words, you can't legally build up to the property line. In your case, 40 feet is as close as you get.

[saralee]

Thanks for the explanation. It's along the lines of what I was thinking. Forty feet sounds unusually large. I think my grandmother's "setback" (now that I understand the term) is somewhere between 15 and 20'.

OK, so now I have this huge fear that some kind of road is going to end up behind our house and the field is going to become populated by 100s of homes in the foreseeable future.

Thanks!

SL