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The title says it all. I'm thinking of widening our single car driveway so we can squeeze two across. According to my property survey, at least four feet of my neighbor's front yard next to my driveway is actually my property. Problem is, it looks like at least two of his in ground sprinklers are on my property, right in the path where I would like to pave over. I haven't discussed this yet with them, but what are my options? I'm obviously willing to work with him so he can relocate them (at his cost of course) but what if he refuses?
Are you really an attorney?
If so, I'm not sure why you would be asking for legal advice from anonymous strangers with unknown credentials.
In any event, if the neighbor has "occupied" a portion of your property for 30 years, it is possible that he now has legal possession of that part of your property. This concept is known as Adverse Possession:
Adverse Possession is not likely, 2 in-ground sprinklers are not very likely to get the town to find that you've given up your property.
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Moving sprinklers is not hard, it's just some digging.
You are likely going to need a permit for the driveway widening to do it legally (especially if there's a curb cut that has to be widened) and you are likely going to need a variance (which you may not be able to get granted regardless of if your neighbor objects). Towns generally don't want you putting your driveway right on the property line, just like you'll have trouble if you want to build anything else that close to the property line.
Either way, your neighbor could probably object to the widening to the town and have a good case, so if you can't get them on board you may have a problem. I would certainly suggest taking the friendly, helpful approach about the sprinklers as a result.
So you want him to move his sprinklers, and ask him to pay for it. If I am your neighbor I won't be happy about that.
I would suggest paying to move the sprinklers, you don't want to **** off your neighbor. I'm always very nice to my neighbors. It's too close to have awkward moments next time you see him, just make your life easier down the road.
Last time my neighbor want to cut a tree down 3/4 his, and 1/4 mine, I offered to pay half of the cost, small price to pay to have to neighbors that will watch out for you if you ever need help.
I checked with the town. I'll need a permit and can go as close as one foot of my neighbor's property line. If moving the sprinkler heads is in fact not a big deal, I'll just take care of it myself as part of the project. For some reason I thought it was a bigger deal.
So you want him to move his sprinklers, and ask him to pay for it. If I am your neighbor I won't be happy about that.
I would suggest paying to move the sprinklers, you don't want to **** off your neighbor. I'm always very nice to my neighbors. It's too close to have awkward moments next time you see him, just make your life easier down the road.
Last time my neighbor want to cut a tree down 3/4 his, and 1/4 mine, I offered to pay half of the cost, small price to pay to have to neighbors that will watch out for you if you ever need help.
I disagree. It's JerseyLawyer's property, he should not have to pay for someone who placed their sprinklers on his property. The neighbor should never have placed anything of his on someone else's property. JerseyLawyer is already paying to widen his driveway, I think the neighbor can move his sprinklers which are in the way but shouldn't be.
I get your point about having good relations, really I do, but I really think this is the neighbor's responsibility. Granted, I guess JerseyLawyer should have known beforehand that that was his property - unless he just didn't care until he needed to use it.
I checked with the town. I'll need a permit and can go as close as one foot of my neighbor's property line. If moving the sprinkler heads is in fact not a big deal, I'll just take care of it myself as part of the project. For some reason I thought it was a bigger deal.
You sound like a conscientious property owner, so I commend you for that! You checked with the town, and you are concerned enough about your relationship with your neighbor to solicit opinions on how to handle the situation, which is awesome. Wish more people would do the same.
For a point of reference, I had to have a sprinkler head moved (also roughly 3 or 4 feet if I remember correctly) and it was only $50 in labor. This was a couple of years ago but shows that it's not a huge deal. You could probably do it yourself but at that low price its probably best to leave it to the hired help.
I understand the sentiment of other posters about the fact that the neighbor's installer screwed up by putting the heads on the OP's property, but a couple hundred dollars (max) is really no reason to sour relations with a neighbor. Who knows, maybe the neighbor will even offer to take care of it once he's notified, but whoever suggests going nuclear over this tiny detail is exactly the type of neighbor that most people don't want to live next to.
And to Retriever- what gives with the attitude? Attorneys are allowed to solicit opinions just the same as anyone else. The entire purpose behind an internet forum is for people to share opinions and experiences. Also, not all attorneys are property experts (even though we all discussed adverse possession in 1L and how it almost certainly does NOT apply here). I just hate it when people ask valid questions and open a reasonable discussion only to get responses of "why ask uncredentialed internet folks" as it destroys the whole idea of this community.
And to Retriever- what gives with the attitude? Attorneys are allowed to solicit opinions just the same as anyone else. The entire purpose behind an internet forum is for people to share opinions and experiences. Also, not all attorneys are property experts (even though we all discussed adverse possession in 1L and how it almost certainly does NOT apply here). I just hate it when people ask valid questions and open a reasonable discussion only to get responses of "why ask uncredentialed internet folks" as it destroys the whole idea of this community.
So...if your doctor asked uncredentialed random strangers (with unknown agendas) for medical advice, that wouldn't give you pause regarding his competency in his field, or at least regarding his relationship with colleagues whom he could ask?
I guess we will have to agree to disagree, and that apparently also applies to the two people who already rated my post positively.
So...if your doctor asked uncredentialed random strangers (with unknown agendas) for medical advice, that wouldn't give you pause regarding his competency in his field, or at least regarding his relationship with colleagues whom he could ask?
I guess we will have to agree to disagree, and that apparently also applies to the two people who already rated my post positively.
Cheers!
I'm a corporate attorney. My property law knowledge is limited to my property law 1L class. Besides, I wasn't asking legal advice, just practical advice on how to deal with a possible neighbor conflict.
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