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General fence etiquette is to install the posts and/or horizontal supports visible to or facing your property (it's safer, too -- makes it harder to hop over the fence into your yard if there are no supports or posts to climb on). On a cyclone or wire fence, you would generally hang the fencing fabric outside the posts -- on your neighbor's side -- instead of inside the posts on your side.
So if you see that the posts are visible from your property, it's more than likely your fence. If the posts do not face your property, chances are it's your neighbor's. That's just generalities, though.
Some fences are "good neighbor" fences, meaning there's no front or back; they look the same from both sides. Makes it harder to tell whose fence is whose, though.
Is the fence right on the lot line? Or just to the one side or the other? Are you asking whether or not the entire fence is yours? You would have to see who originally installed the fence... or get a copy of the survey and see if the lot has been staked to find out this stuff.
We installed a fence just 6" inside our lot line so it is fully "OURs". Shared anything with a neighbor can be problematic if down the line it requires maintenance/replacement.
Normally when you install a fence, there is a good side and the side that shows the posts, the post side is on your side, good side to the neighbor.
If the question is vague on whose it is, you may have to get a survey done, and worst case a property lawyer on it.
Is the fence right on the lot line? Or just to the one side or the other? Are you asking whether or not the entire fence is yours? You would have to see who originally installed the fence... or get a copy of the survey and see if the lot has been staked to find out this stuff.
We installed a fence just 6" inside our lot line so it is fully "OURs". Shared anything with a neighbor can be problematic if down the line it requires maintenance/replacement.
Normally when you install a fence, there is a good side and the side that shows the posts, the post side is on your side, good side to the neighbor.
If the question is vague on whose it is, you may have to get a survey done, and worst case a property lawyer on it.
While this might seem like a good idea, I will almost guarantee that you will lose that 6" after 15 to 20 years. By only allowing 6" on the other side, you aren't allowing enough space for mowing or any positive indication of your use of the land. Fencelines are the de-facto standard for property boundries, and you have set yourself up for a classic "adverse possession" property dispute. The neighbor will spend years mowing up to the fence, you won't be able to stop it, and after the statutory period all he has to do is file a simple claim and the land is his. Adverse possession even trumps a survey if allowed to continue long enough.
While putting posts on your side of a fence is often required by code in communities, in rural areas a horse fence or cattle fence may have the posts on the opposite side. Large animals pushing up against a board fence can dislodge boards and create havoc in neighboring gardens or impregnate mares and cows.
This is an interesting topic. I bought a home in 2001 and later discovered the new fence we bought cuts into our side of the property by over a foot. Out lot is 75 feet wide. The surveyor's pins are visible and it is easy to see where the actual property line lays. Am I gonna have issues with my neighbor when we choose to replace the fence but this time have the surveyors accurately locate the true lot corners and I plan to place my posts just inches inside my line? This neighbor isn't the nicest person on the street and she has to live next door to me. We were wanting to spray a stain/water sealer on the side that faces her property and she went ballistic when we asked to enter her yard to do the work. It's a wood fence. Now, after seven years, that portion of the fence is beginning to fall apart because it has never been treated. You should see the rest of her fence. It's terrible. I keep hoping she would sell and move away and maybe we'll get a neighbor who is better to get along with. Maybe not.
Yes you could have problems with adverse possession if the woman is smart enough and err b** enough. FWIW, if you check zoning codes, you should find a clause that allows an easement to maintain your fence. Municipalities don't like unkempt fences, and if there isn't one, getting one passed would be a snap. Think bad fence + dangerous dog. Good luck.
Chickpea is correct about Adverse Possession. Though AP can be put in force after 10 years.
Fences should be put on the lot line, zero tolerance to prevent any future litigation. Good fences make for good neighbors.
If you can't get on the next door property to paint or stain, why not try leaning over the fence and using a ladder and a long handled roller? Just a thought.
General fence etiquette is to install the posts and/or horizontal supports visible to or facing your property (it's safer, too -- makes it harder to hop over the fence into your yard if there are no supports or posts to climb on). On a cyclone or wire fence, you would generally hang the fencing fabric outside the posts -- on your neighbor's side -- instead of inside the posts on your side.
So if you see that the posts are visible from your property, it's more than likely your fence. If the posts do not face your property, chances are it's your neighbor's. That's just generalities, though.
Some fences are "good neighbor" fences, meaning there's no front or back; they look the same from both sides. Makes it harder to tell whose fence is whose, though.
Good quote. In NY it goes one step (at least where I lived in Albany)...you were "required" to have the fence "face" outward...with the nicer side facing the neighbors. It was not just etiquette...it was actually an ordinance. The OP should definitely check with the town about that.
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