Retaining wall question and TOBAY question (fence, cost, move)

[mambwe]

At the end of our property in our backyard it slants down to the property behind us. Basically, Our property is a little higher than the property behind us. The people behind us have a fence around their yard. The fence that separates our property is at the bottom of the hill. Because of this little "hill" we lose about 3-4 feet of usable backyard space. Is there anyway to level out this portion of our property? Has anyone run into this? I'm guessing we would have to put up a retaining wall, but it would be right up against the fence of the people behind me and you wouldn't really see it because it would be against their fence. Has anyone on Long Island done this? I'm pretty sure i measured based off the survey when I moved in, but I would get a surveyor to make sure they didn't move their fence in to avoid the hill.

Is it worth doing a project like this? I don't want to spend a ton of $$ on this. I know I would probably need a ton of dirt to fill in.

[nuts2uiam]

I am not in TOBAY and this is strictly a minimally informed opinion, and I am admitting this at the outset. Since you would be building up the rear of your yard, I would guess that might have a bearing on your drainage and perhaps that of your neighbor. I would assume that you will need not only a permit to do this but also an engineer to check to see the environmental aspects of this job are done correctly. As noted, you will need a wall, plus the fill to properly grade this project and you may need a drywell to prevent the improper drainage. It could cost you a ton of money for the drywell alone, plus the permits and the engineer, in addition to the new survey after the job. As I said, I am not 100% on all of this but it is a guess based upon my own experience with a simple patio, bit not in your town.