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I would sell the lot and buy in a different place. Your going to make an enemy of your neighbor and you will live there a long time. It’s not worth having a neighbor who hates you so close. Everything you do they will turn you in for, any noise etc. Be prepared for a nightmare.
I agree 100% I lived in an HOA in Nevada and a resident filed a lawsuit for 'obstruction of view' after a 2 story house was built on a lot adjacent to his. The HOA rule was that "additions" to structures that obstruct a view, were not permitted but it was silent on new home construction, there were no state or local ordinances dealing with obstruction of views outside of a local vague nuisance ordinance. . He spent a ton of money on attorney fees and ultimately lost when the case was heard by the state supreme court. Another homeowner sued the association for allowing his neighbor to violate a setback ordinance when they built a deck 'too close' to his house. The judge hearing the case said that in order to make a decision every lot would have to be surveyed and inspected to make sure that there were no other encroachments. The complainant backed off realizing that the costs of that would be recovered by a levy on every home in the community and that he probably wouldn't be invited to very many pool parties or BBQ's if he pursued the issue.
The county may have a say, as it violates building codes, and the setback is set at 20 feet due to fire codes to help prevent spread between buildings. Just not sure what the time restriction is since it was put in in 2013. I think it’s 10 years, but have to confirm.
Oh, I thought the other poster was implying that the county would help enforce the CCR's. But if the house also violates the county's setback code due to fire safety reasons, that's even more reason to proceed against this property owner. You might even get the county to help, but I wouldn't count on that. Your best bet is to get a coalition of other concerned property owners and jointly proceed to enforce the CCR's through an attorney. Get an attorney that deals in these type matters.
I feel like you're off to a bad start here. Even if he did start it, you still knew where the house sat when you bought the property. If it bothers you that much, I do agree with the advice to sell the lot and buy something else. It will always be with you and you don't want to have a neighbor that you despise. It's no fun.
In addition, it may not be the HOA that you need to be discussing this with. It may need to be the county or town zoning board. Obviously the HOA has requirements that were violated but if they choose to grandfather or grant an exception you'd have to proceed against the HOA. HOA doesn't have squat to do enforcing zoning issues with structures over a setback line. Is the setback violation only an HOA violation or is it a zoning violation?
If you're going to spend time and money pursuing this, I'll reiterate you may be better served just selling it and starting over with a new property.
Sometimes but you can't live your life in fear of asking people to comply with the rules. This is not the OP's battle against the neighbor but the HOA's duty to enforce compliance. Also maybe the neighbor will move once he sees that he does not have free reign. I would politely request the HOA do their job.
The county may have a say, as it violates building codes, and the setback is set at 20 feet due to fire codes to help prevent spread between buildings. Just not sure what the time restriction is since it was put in in 2013. I think it’s 10 years, but have to confirm.
The county must have approved the building permit which should include a surveyed map, have you tried to look at that?
The county must have approved the building permit which should include a surveyed map, have you tried to look at that?
Or, the addition may have been put on without a building permit. This is not uncommon in many parts of the country. Building permits may be required nearly everywhere, but enforcing that law is often another matter.
My experience with HOAs is that enforcement isn't even-handed. Perhaps the person who built the addition was on the HOA board at the time the addition was built. And subliminally approved his own "variance".
The county must have approved the building permit which should include a surveyed map, have you tried to look at that?
It's possible the permit was issued and builder made the mistake. The county inspectors don't measure the setbacks when issuing the Certificate of Occupancy. It is within their rights to force the owner to tear down the structure but that doesn't mean they will do that. The neighbor would possibly have some recourse against the builder but so much time has passed I suspect that they no longer have that option. I would deter to an attorney on any statute of limitations for the construction of the house over the setback line. Heck, there's a chance the builder is no longer in business or even deceased at this point it's been so long.
The issue as I see it, is once the OP goes down that road there's no turning back and her and the neighbor will always hate each other. Life is too short, IMO, to bother with all the negativity that would result form that course of action. Is it fair to the OP? Not really, but then life isn't fair sometimes.
I believe I can, its not a done deal yet. The HOA is consulting an attorney on the matter, no outcome yet. The covenant states that any structure found to be in violation of this must be removed at the expense of the owner. Also, per county ordinance, any found violation must be addressed, or their title gets a violation on it, making it impossible for them to make any further changes to the property (no further permits granted), and it comes up as a title issue if they decide to sell.
I am glad I am not your neighbor. Life is too short too start fighting day one. I actually feel sorry for your neighbor, what if it was done in error. Forcing him to destroy an addition seems pretty cruel. Just my opinion, but glad you don’t live near me. Your starting out the wrong way …going to make your neighbors watch you and don’t be surprised if every violation gets turned in.
I would sell the lot and buy in a different place. Your going to make an enemy of your neighbor and you will live there a long time. It’s not worth having a neighbor who hates you so close. Everything you do they will turn you in for, any noise etc. Be prepared for a nightmare.
^^This
I have lived next to neighbors that were bent on making life not fun for us. If you force a neighbor to tear down a structure, you think life living next to them will be fun? No thank you!!! And by the way, we didn't even force them to do anything.
cd :O)
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