Neighbors using part of our land as their own (fees, landlord, rental)
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Thank's Hatethewinter! I think I am going to buy some signs and post them AFTER my spouse and I measure the lot as we have the survey from when we purchased this property.
Aren't there metal rods in the ground at the corners of your property? My property lines are very clear. The metal rods even have orange caps to make them easy to spot.
The picture above is kind of blurry but you get the gist.
I have checked every page in this thread and found no photos. Your post #64 appears to be blank. I usually have no problems viewing photos. But I'm also not sure they are necessary in this case.
Aren't there metal rods in the ground at the corners of your property? My property lines are very clear. The metal rods even have orange caps to make them easy to spot.
I worked as a land surveyor for several years before going to college. If the land is very large and wooded it can be difficult to tell where the property lines are when you cannot see clearly from one corner to the next.
The picture above is kind of blurry but you get the gist. I have 5 different neighbors whose homes boarder our property. So the two on here have taken advantage of the land due to it being wooded and not easy to see. I do know the laws. Here in Wisconsin, if they were using part of our land for 20 years, they could lay claim to it under "adverse possession". I read the laws, by-laws and statues. Yes, someday (hopefully sooner than later) we will sell this property move. I want the next owner to not have to deal with this. The spouse and I really don't want to spend any large amount of money dealing with this problem (if at all possible). So, I think we will measure it (with survey in hand) this weekend or next. If the neighbors don't come out asking what we are doing, I will send them a letter with a copy of the survey and let them know we are going to put up a fence soon. (we have no intention of spending money on a fence). We shall see how they react. The shed the one neighbor put up is just a metal shed. In this pic, it shows he has a pool. He no longer has it. He put in a fit pit instead.
I think the problem with him is that this land used to be a farmers land. The old house and barn are on the opposite side of us. (Those are the only neighbors we converse with the most). The neighbor with the shed has firewood stacked up on the old farmer's wire fence that still exsists but is actually on our property. That fence runs about 100 feet into the woods. I just hope that they don't act like jerks when we bring this problem up.
I appreciate all that replied, even if I didn't agree
This sounds like a good plan to start with. A letter of notification, keep a copy for your files. Hopefully there will be no need to escalate it further.
How about pulling out a copy of your survey, and tell them that you are getting a new ins co and when they walked the property lines, they were questioning you regarding other people and their possessions on your property, and warned you about the danger of adverse possession and also liability issues with people using your property. Tell them that quite frankly it scared you, and while you don't want to seem unneighborly, you don't want there to be any issues with title insurance later on if you should sell, or liability if someone gers hurt or something damaged on your property. Tell them, im sure you understand how worrying that would be, so i will have to have your personal possessions taken off my property.
am I the only one who doesn't see the picture(s) the OP posted on this page?
we need to back up, and frankly you really need to quit thinking about all of the confrontational methods suggested. What is wrong with Americans these days?? Personally, I was hoping the general "make sure of your survey/property boundaries and then inform them nicely if you were right" would have been enough; sadly not.
Who the heck would suggest spending many $1000's to build a fence, without having a free conversation first?
That would be a question to pose to these neighbors, now wouldn't it? Not the OP or anyone in this thread. I'm just waiting for someone to suggest she bakes them all a plate of cookies and befriends the kid with the bike.
How about pulling out a copy of your survey, and tell them that you are getting a new ins co and when they walked the property lines, they were questioning you regarding other people and their possessions on your property, and warned you about the danger of adverse possession and also liability issues with people using your property. Tell them that quite frankly it scared you, and while you don't want to seem unneighborly, you don't want there to be any issues with title insurance later on if you should sell, or liability if someone gers hurt or something damaged on your property. Tell them, im sure you understand how worrying that would be, so i will have to have your personal possessions taken off my property.
This sounds like a perfect and an honest approach.
OP walked the property lines and was concerned about future issues with liability insurance and adverse possession.
OP wants to avoid any such problems with insurance company and future sale and would appreciate it if they removed their shed, etc.
The dirt bike riding needs to stop. Insurance agent would have a fit if he/she knew OP was letting this go on.
Then discuss what needs to be done to restore the vegetation, including the trees, back to the previous condition.
No need to be adversarial about things, at least not at this point.
Fences, and attorneys cost money. Plenty of time for that later. It may be that the neighbors were just unaware or thought you didn't care.
Be sure to document these discussions. Who you spoke with when and what you all decided.
Then follow up.
I would definitely encourage No Trespassing signs and blocking off the bike trail.
Thank you all for ignoring my comments earlier. It allows me to repeat. I am a land owner and have been involved in these types of situations twice. Rule#1 is have a surveyor mark your boundary. Your personal attempt to determine the exact property line will not be taken seriously by your neighbors. Cost? A couple hundred bucks. Well worth it.
as to "all"....I've never argued that task #1 is to make sure where the boundaries are.
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