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Thanks for the info. on "OP" I had all sorts of things imagined.
I did hired an attorney after I was assaulted. I think he's just going to represent me in the assault charge against me and hopefully do something to prevent this jerk the opportunity to do it again.
He charged me a thousand dollars. I can't keep doing this. The cost for the emergency visit after NFH (neighbor from hell) ran over my dog cost me nearly 500.00. This was all within a two day period.
I could have used that 1500.00 to build a new driveway for NFH. I will run the idea of a new driveway by the attorney and see if he would agree to include this in the fee I already paid him.
Fingers crossed.
Thanks for your help and supportive ideas.
This is what happens when you live in rural areas that attract trailer trash, redneck country idiots.....
If I was in this situation.. There would be a trailer fire soon....
Thats a good way for you to have all sorts of legal issues, arson, life endangerment, assault, attempted murder, trespassing, vandalism, destruction of property etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wendy cummings
I'm a newbie to this site, would someone tell me what OP is?
You are the OP (original poster)
Oh and I would go to court for reimbursement of the vet bills too.
I did hired an attorney after I was assaulted. I think he's just going to represent me in the assault charge against me and hopefully do something to prevent this jerk the opportunity to do it again.
That's fine, but you need an attorney who specializes in real estate and can interpret your sales documents, plat map and also knows local zoning and codes.
I purchased my country home with my two dogs in mind. They have always been protected within an invisible fence and know their boundaries well. My driveway is centered in the middle of my property so my two shepherds have run and played on both sides for nearly six years.
Although I agreed, when I purchased my home, to allow use of my driveway if anyone ever bought the little piece of land in back of me, I never really expected it to sell. It's just a small piece, literally in the middle of nowhere. But here they are, suddenly scooping up this property, sticking a mobile home out there and turning our lives upside down.
Yes, I can and probably will have to find a way to move the base of the invisible fence to a location that cuts their play area literally in half, perhaps even building a protected shelter for the unit since it's not waterproof and needs electricity.
It's difficult and a bit disheartening to suddenly take away the land my shepherds have run and played on for so many years and continue making mortgage payments on this property we no longer can use.
I have only asked for a little consideration when turning onto my property. This wouldn't be too much to ask the average person.
If the parcel in back was so small, did you ever consider buying it, to combine it with your property?
5 adults live in the trailer in back? Must be some trailer!
Last edited by Ruth4Truth; 05-10-2015 at 08:24 PM..
Yes 5 adults in one trailer, it's actually a newer model double wide, I'd say it still must be pretty tight quarters!
I am still looking for a good exterior video recorder, but there are so many different types and models and I'm not positive exactly what I need. I think having the capability of storing enough data to take me through the night is important, Also I'd like to have the capability of switching to real time so I can view any suspicious sounding activities from my computer screen rather than confronting some lunatic who's prowling around my property in the still of the night.
I looked at the trail cam but the ones I saw different have the capability of holding enough data.
Suggestions anyone?
As for purchasing their parcel, I doubt that would be up for debate at this point and I really just can't afford it at this point.
unfortunately, not a good situation for you given that you were notified and agreed to the easement via your driveway to access the 5 acre parcel behind your place at the time of purchase. Apparently, that easement is part of your purchase agreement and recorded.
You are now required to allow that easement use, particularly if the parcel is landlocked and the access across your land is the most direct means of access from the parcel to a public road.
Unilaterally changing that access across your property is unlikely in most states; ie, you must honor the original access route of the easement unless the other party agrees to a change of access. Also, unless the other party sees some benefit to them in the route change and agrees to help pay for it, all of the costs of the change will be yours. That's everything from the costs of construction to any legal filings to record the project if you can even get the new route approved; ie, you can construct the new route and will find that you cannot force the other party to use it since they had the right to use the original route.
While you are free to engage a lawyer to deal with this situation, it is most likely going to be an expensive exercise for a futile effort. Unfortunately, few lawyers will advise you of this at the outset since they have a vested interest in your billable hours to grasp at any possibility of a result for you. I think you'll find that "justice" is going to be a very difficult, if not impossible, outcome from your situation. IMO, "quiet enjoyment" use of your property will be an impossible outcome with these neighbors who have shown but a portion of how little they regard others rights.
Criminal assault charges are in the province of the legal authorities, and you can be sure that this will deteriorate into a "he said, she said" situation where you'll never come out ahead even after spending a lot of money with a lawyer to defend your rights. Absent other witnesses to the assault, medical bills on your part, etc., it's a difficult situation. Even obtaining a peace warrant will be difficult in most states. Devoting your life to documenting and reporting every minor incident of annoyance/nuisance from these people will eat you up ... and they'll be laughing it off as having succeeded in making your life miserable.
Your real options here are to:
1) press suit for the injuries and vet bill to your dog, which may or may not result in a payment to you in excess of your legal fees
2) Move. Sorry for the harsh reality of this, but you're not going to change the behavior of your neighbor and his family. For whatever reasons (which may have absolutely nothing to do with you), they've shown themselves to be anti-social to your presence and property.
Please take this from the point of view of another landowner who has dealt with similar situations of disrespectful and aggressively antagonistic neighbors. They are immune to a rational discussion of reasonable behavior and typically derive a great deal of satisfaction causing you as much distress as possible. Deliberately running over your dog is but a small indication of how aggressive these folk are. Your spending a lot of money with a lawyer results in only writing another chapter in the "Bleak House" saga. These situations are nothing new and the fodder for which many attorneys live to be of service yet in reality cannot resolve to anybody's satisfaction except the lawyer's personal gain. (If you're not familiar with Dicken's Bleak House, it was a story about the impoverishment of a family's sizable fortune by the lawyers retained to obtain clear title to the monies).
PS: I wouldn't even bother with the video equipment. Save your energy and resources for getting out of there. You'll be money and sanity ahead.
sunsprit has some good comments. I would still question whether the easement is recorded on the deed. An easement always has a specific location, and it would be unusual that the 'easement' would go right through the middle of your property and what I am assuming is up next to your house. If the paper you signed used the term right-of-way but did not specify an exact location there may be something you can do to force them to relocate the way they get in.
Another point is that a true easement does not need to be the shortest distance between two points. Thus, your property being the easiest access for those people does not mean that they have a basic right to a) go thru your property, or b) go thru the middle of your property on a driveway that you own and paid for.
If you put in another driveway, so what? The hellhounds won't use it, and if there is already a recorded easement under your driveway (not likely), it will not be under the new driveway. So that is out.
Get copies of all of the documents that you can find about your land and the back property. Call around to find an attorney you can afford. Ask law enforcement for advice. And if possible do something before they take the axles off their trailer making it a permanent house. Also, look into crowd funding in the future to help with your attorney fees. Dog lovers and women's groups might be all over this.
You need to talk to resources for people with low income. You should be able to get a lawyer working for you pro-bono. Lawyers charging a ton to poor people is just pathetic. As for the required access, you may want to find out what kind of access is permitted. You might be able to have ditches installed that make it possible to only walk past the house, not drive. You would still be allowing access. You might look into selling him a path on the edge of the property in exchange for him allowing the easement to be removed. Sell a path that is thinner than his vehicle and put up an iron fence that prevents him from using any other method.
He sounds like a lunatic, so you may want to get a gun. You already have a restraining order, talk to the police and inform them that you are scared he will violate it. Set up a history so it is clear he is a menace. Whenever he does anything wrong, including vandalizing/theft, you'll want to report it to the police. Every time. Get the cops out there 2 to 3 days a week so he can't leave in peace. Set up the cameras (available on amazon) to record when he comes near you. If he uses the easement himself it should be a violation of the restraining order. Document the violations and have them enforced. The restraining order itself may be a valid method to require him to move. Contact your city about trailer zoning, it may not even be legal there. Sue him (small claims) for the bills for your dog and press charges. Plenty of officers have dogs of their own and if they hear what he did to your dog may come down and cuff him just because they despise people like that. Don't take the word of the first person you speak to. I've reported people for animal abuse (their animal, not mine) and some cops are good about it and others are complete idiots. There can be some luck of the draw in whether you get a competent person behind the badge.
Talk to a battered women's shelter. They are incredible advocates for women that are being attacked by "men". While your situation clearly isn't traditional, you do have a large male that physically assaulted you and whom you have filed a restraining order against. That male is refusing to exit your life, so you should qualify for their assistance. The people that choose to volunteer in these kinds of roles often had a loved one that suffered from abuse, so they are motivated by justice rather than putting in face time to collect a payment. They will have several great suggestions.
Do you have any grown children that might stay with you for a while and provide some additional safety?
I'm sorry you've learned the hard way about the problems of easements. I would refuse to buy a property that had an easement requirement on it unless I could get an enormous discount relative to similar houses and I was planning on renting it out.
You'll want the full text of the easement available. Since most lawyers just want to collect their fee, the document might have some severe holes that can be exploited.
He is a bully.
I had a neighbor from hell for 10 years before I moved.
He used every intimidating tactic to make my life worse.
Called police many times and nothing ever came of it other than intensifying the situation.
If nothing changes on your end I just hope the whole thing doesn't end badly for you.
I ended up moving for work purposes and now have the best neighbors in the world.
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