Any reccomendations for good neighbor dispute attorney? (real estate, mortgage)

[tyovan4]

You can try calling the Health Department's plumbing office (412-578-8053) and filing a complaint with them: ACHD - Plumbing Section

If what he did is against their code, they can force him to rectify the problem or can use their own lawyers to fine him until the issue is corrected. Call them and see if the Health Department can help you out before you spend your own money hiring an attorney.

[I_Like_Spam]

Since this is a property line/ encumbrance type dispute that predates the purchase of the property, can this be something which might be covered by Title Insurance?

[ny789987]

File an action against him in small claims court for trespass. You don't need a lawyer. Put down the jurisdictional maximum for damages. Small claims court actions only provide monetary relief and they do not have injunctive powers to force him to do anything, but maybe when he receives the complaint threatening legal action it will light a fire underneath him to talk to you and remedy the situation.

[cam1957]

Originally Posted by tyovan4

You can try calling the Health Department's plumbing office (412-578-8053) and filing a complaint with them: ACHD - Plumbing Section

If what he did is against their code, they can force him to rectify the problem or can use their own lawyers to fine him until the issue is corrected. Call them and see if the Health Department can help you out before you spend your own money hiring an attorney.

Thank you so much for the advice! I definitely will call them. The borough inspector is coming back this week to make sure that he has a legal cap on the drain pipe. The inspector told him what he did was illegal.

[cam1957]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

Since this is a property line/ encumbrance type dispute that predates the purchase of the property, can this be something which might be covered by Title Insurance?

I'm not sure, but I am going to call my Homeowner's Insurance tomorrow. He actually installed the pipe and the drainage on my property and not on the line. He had to have done this extensive work while the previous owners were either on vacation or possibly they had a summer home.

I really do appreciate you help and advice!

[guy2073]

Good call on the title insurance, that maybe your best bet. The insurance company may go after him for restitution. The problem I see is it is going to be hard to prove he was the one who did it.

If it was my house I would find where the pipe enters my property, drill two holes a foot apart, first hole gets a can of spay foam and hole on his property line gets 50 pounds of hydraulic cement

[cam1957]

Originally Posted by ny789987

File an action against him in small claims court for trespass. You don't need a lawyer. Put down the jurisdictional maximum for damages. Small claims court actions only provide monetary relief and they do not have injunctive powers to force him to do anything, but maybe when he receives the complaint threatening legal action it will light a fire underneath him to talk to you and remedy the situation.

Thank you so much for your informative advice. I have a feeling that once the inspector sees what a massive project this was and he may have been diverting water in another spot for 50 years that's now clogged, he's going to be in major trouble with the borough and they may force him to correct this disgusting underhanded dirty rotten stunt.

He's the reason I found C-D back in Feb. I wrote a thread, Never buy a house with a side by side driveway.

[cam1957]

Originally Posted by guy2073

Good call on the title insurance, that maybe your best bet. The insurance company may go after him for restitution. The problem I see is it is going to be hard to prove he was the one who did it.

If it was my house I would find where the pipe enters my property, drill two holes a foot apart, first hole gets a can of spay foam and hole on his property line gets 50 pounds of hydraulic cement

Hahaha I'd love to see the look on his face if I did that! I am SO done with this man and his antics.

I found the pipe by accident while I was replanting grass. This is the fourth time I've caught him diverting water onto my property. I thought the pipe was only an inch or two, but when I told him about it, he agreed to cap it off. I decided to put a barrier between the properties, so that he could do this anymore. I just thought it was a pipe. I called 1-800- Dig and the borough came out first and said I could put cement in if I wanted to. It's my property.

I decided to mark where I wanted to dig the trench with a hand edger. He came running out wanting to know what I was doing. I told him that I was going to dig a trench. He asked me to move the trench a foot or two over and I told him NO.

I wasn't allowed to dig until Wed., so I thought I could just pop the dirt up with the edger. I hit something so hard on his side (still my property) that I had to get my Sawzall to cut through it. It's stone, rocks and some type of yellow cement like material. I was amazed to say the least. I finished digging on Friday. This project was a massive undertaking. He has this product from the end of the pipe and all the way to my hillside. I also believe he has it another 15-20' onto his property making a nice floor for his perfectly level grass in that section of his yard. I wondered after catching him shovel a pathway through my snow and into my yard to divert the melting snow from his driveway into my yard, why he had a great big pile of snow two weeks after the snow had melted everywhere else. I literally can't wait until the inspector comes to see this massive project to damage his neighbor's property. The only thing I can think is the previous owner either had a summer home or they took a long vacation. This is literally making me sick. It had to take him several days to do this.

He admitted to putting the drain in, but if the inspector makes him dig a whole in his yard where it's perfect, that will prove this was done at the same time using the same material.

I guess I showed him that I'm not the stupid woman that he probably thinks I am!

[cam1957]

Originally Posted by selltheburgh

Yeah, a lot of people go that route...but it can backfire.

The property owner behind my first home was a landlord who was never friendly with us. Years later his attorney sent a threatening letter stating that we had to remove all of the trees from our back yard because the leaves were falling on his roof and causing damage to the roofing and gutters.

Had he been friendly and asked if we could trim the trees or clean the leaves, we would have been a lot more cooperative. Instead, I played hardball.

I called his attorney a few times and basically wasted his time, adding billable hours to the landlord's bill - knowing that it was a pretty ridiculous threat. With that, I demanded that they provide me with a survey to prove that it was my tree. I bothered the attorney a lot asking for the survey and just wasting time until I was able to get one. Then I proved to them that the trees were actually just barely on their property - and I sent them a letter stating that they were not permitted on my property to cut the trees down. Given the property boundaries, they have no access to the trees without going in my yard, so the trees are still there.

So my advice is:

1. Talk to the neighbor and ask him to remedy the issue.
2. Have a survey to prove that it is actually your property
3. Hire a good attorney who will help you sort out the issue if he's unwilling to help.

Thank you so much for your advice and I will take it into account with all of the great poster here trying to help me.

The neighbor and I are officially not on speaking terms as I told him I never wanted to talk to him or his wife for the rest of his life. See my next post...

[cam1957]

I wanted to update all of you great people on what happened today when the inspector came out.

He approved the drain cap that the neighbor put on even though he used duct tape to make it fit. The trench I dug was covered with mud from the rain, so he said there was no way to prove this man built a tench on my property.

The neighbor and his wife were sitting in the garage as I asked if I could illegally install a drain pipe on his property for twelve years to divert my water because he's not even getting fined! I told the inspector that my neighbor is a liar, a scammer and a thief and it's okay with the borough. I went to tell my neighbor that the unkind words he spoke to me the day I moved in and on the third word he told me that I said I'd never speak to him again, so he held his hands overs his ears.....like a little kid. haha So I asked the inspector to convey the message that this is not a communal driveway and he is no longer welcome to use my driveway and to stay off of my property.

I do have a survey and unbeknownst to me, 3" of his driveway and yard are my property. I have no doubt that he moved the property marker when I bought the house as it was down over the hill and not in the yard. I tend to think people are good...

He is worried that I am going to make him take the 3" off his driveway. For as nasty as he's been to me, I wouldn't do that, but let him worry about it because he has acted like that driveway is diamond studded. Don't touch my property, but I can come onto yours and ruin it. You reap what you sow in life and he'll have to answer for the nasty stuff he's done to me. He is losing the best neighbor he ever had.

I asked the inspector to document his visits because my insurance company is sending out an agent tomorrow, but he told me not to get excited because there's a lot of stipulations with the policy.

I can't tell all of you how much I appreciate ALL of your helpful advice and links. I'll fill you in on what happens tomorrow