cissado
Premium
join:2008-01-14
Clifton, NJ
| Who is responsible for this wall?
My neighbor's property which runs alongside mine and is separated by a wall and a fence that is falling apart and crumbling. My property line is exactly where his wall starts. The wall is 10 or so inches wide and is the beginning of his property. It pretty much runs along the whole length of our properties.
My land is about 3 feet or so above his, so all my soil and rocks and everything that is on my land is falling into his driveway. His fence is on an almost 45% angle onto his property! lol He fixes the fence every two years or so when it almost hits him in the face I guess, or if he has to walk in the center of his driveway to avoid it hitting him in the face. lol wtf???
Anyway, I already offered him to replace the wall at MY EXPENSE. Long story short, he thought it was my wall. I showed him that it wasn't, he said he'll fix it then.
That was 7 years ago.
Anyway, who needs to fix it? It is on his property but I think I have to shore up my soil or something, right?
I think I have a very old pic. Not sure it would help, but it's pretty funny to see the wavy fence. Now 5 or so years after the pic, it looks much worse. Mud and everything on his driveway. idiot!
thanks for reading. |
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ninjatutle
You can keep the "change"
join:2006-01-02
San Ramon, CA | Just split the cost |
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robbin
Premium,MVM
join:2000-09-21
Leander, TX | reply to cissado
I'll play devil's advocate here. Lets say it is his wall and he decides to just remove it. Who stands more to loose?
I am curious that you don't know who the wall belongs to but the fence is "his". Where is the fence located? |
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SandShark
So it goes
Premium,MVM
join:2000-05-23
Santa Fe, TX
clubs: | reply to cissado
It's your soil and rocks (property) that are falling onto his driveway. For that reason alone, I think you two need to reach an amicable agreement and get something done. |
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cissado
Premium
join:2008-01-14
Clifton, NJ
| reply to ninjatutle
said by ninjatutle  :Just split the cost Well, he's a pretty cheap guy. Got a lot of money, but cheaqp. No big deal. I don't care.
I did offer to replace the whole wall at my expense many years ago when I had a ton of money and was working on rehabbing my house. He said "Oh yeah, you should fix the wall. It's your wall and it's about time you did so." lol ummmm... NO, that's not my wall. It's yours BUT I will still replace it at my expense while I'm doing all this other work..
His reply... "Noooooo, it's your wall" blah blah. He went home (his other home) to get the survey to show me... by the time he got back (he didn't find them btw), I had already goten my survey that I recently had done when I just bought the house. I showed him that the wall was indeed his and it started exactly where his property line started.
His reply... "Ohhh, OK, I didn't now that. Well, now that I know it's mine, I'll fix it myself."
7 years later.... mud and rocks still in his driveway. I won't pay for anything at this point if I don't have to, but if it's on me, I would of course do what I have to do. |
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cissado
Premium
join:2008-01-14
Clifton, NJ
| reply to robbin
said by robbin :I'll play devil's advocate here. Lets say it is his wall and he decides to just remove it. Who stands more to loose? I am curious that you don't know who the wall belongs to but the fence is "his". Where is the fence located? The fence and the wall is his. The fence sits inside of the wall. My question is really a legal one in who is rsponsible for retaining wall there. Maybe the answer is I need a wall separate from his on my property and not rely on his? I don't know.
I'm not trying to get something for fre here. Just want to know where I stand. thanks for the replies. |
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MrFixitCT
Premium,VIP,ExMod 2001-06
join:2000-12-01
Guilford, CT
 ·AT&T DSL Service
 ·Comcast Formerly ..
| said by cissado : Maybe the answer is I need a wall separate from his on my property and not rely on his? That'd be my move, leave nothing to chance even if it costs you a foot of property.. |
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cissado
Premium
join:2008-01-14
Clifton, NJ
edit:
September 3rd, @07:55PM
| said by MrFixitCT :said by cissado : Maybe the answer is I need a wall separate from his on my property and not rely on his? That'd be my move, leave nothing to chance even if it costs you a foot of property.. Yep, I was afraid of that. In NJ here we don't have the luxury of huge properties, so I don't have much room for another wall. It's not impossible, but just wouldn't be right.
That is the reason I originally contacted him with me paying for the wall on his property. I would shore up my house, he would have a new wall, my property would not get smaller... In theory everyone would be happy.
The dotcom buble has exploded and I can't really be throwig away 10's of thousabds of dollars now. lol
He should have taken the offer when 'something'.com stock was $600/share damnit!!! lol |
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ninjatutle
You can keep the "change"
join:2006-01-02
San Ramon, CA | reply to cissado
Sounds like you already know whos responsible for the wall. |
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cissado
Premium
join:2008-01-14
Clifton, NJ
| said by ninjatutle :Sounds like you already know whos responsible for the wall. I do appreciate all the replies. I also do know that legally SOMEONE is responsible for it. Maybe different cities have different codes, I don't know. In the end, I'll have to speak with a building inspector in my city or someone else who knows the codes here. That will be my answer I guess. I just thought it was, I don't know, maybe 'common knowledge' among certain contractors or professionals who do this work. I see there are knowledgeable people here, so I thought I'd throw the question out there before I went to my local officials and they saw that yes I did have to fix it, and ASAP, or I'd start getting fined. lol
Thanks for the replies. |
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cissado
Premium
join:2008-01-14
Clifton, NJ
edit:
September 3rd, @09:01PM
| reply to cissado
Here it is. lol My property ends at the line of rocks. The white fence in the distance is mine but it is a good distance on my property, not right on the line. The "wall" is not even there really in the pic. This was taken many years ago. Trust me, it is a lot worse now. The whole fence is slanting like the middle there. It really does poke you in the eye if you don't walk to the left of the driveway there. How many times did he get his truck scraped from that? lmao.
 |
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Tursiops_G
Technoid
Premium,MVM
join:2002-02-06
Norwalk, CT
clubs:
·Optimum Online
| It's His Wall, His Fence...
HIS Problem. 
If it degrades to the point of causing damage to YOUR Property (Soil Erosion, etc.), Then HE should be held responsible for performing any necessary repairs. 
-Tursiops_G.
--
If You're Unsure, "RTFM"... If You're SURE, "RTFM" Anyway. |
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sdgthy
@optonline.net | reply to cissado
7 years and they haven't done anything... I would build a new wall on my property and stop worrying about it. |
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blizzard105
@comcast.net
| reply to cissado
Don't know bout NJ but in Indiana there is supposed to be kind of an easement between properties so things like that don't happen. If that is the case then he is responsible for upkeep of the wall, but you could have a court order to have it removed at his expense. |
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seaquake
Premium,MVM
join:2001-03-23
Millersville, MD
clubs: 
 ·Verizon FIOS
| reply to cissado
I'd extend the fence 
So long as no damage is done to your property I wouldn't worry about it. I thought you were originally talking about a several foot high wall as if your house sat 10 or 15 feet higher than his on a side of a hill. I see that all the time in TN and that's not pretty. Without the wall, both neighbors lose....
Anyway, just glimpsing at that picture, the wall probably failed due to water runoff from the driveway. Water likely eroded away the soil to the side and under the wall causing it to fail...obviously it wasn't built very well.
Extend the fence and you won't have to look at that disaster anymore. |
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whizkid3
Premium,MVM
join:2002-02-21
Queens, NY
| reply to cissado
Crazy Ivan - lol.
Its his problem. Unfortunately, you have to look at it. My suggestion is to put up a new fence directly inside your property line. Put up a solid, vinyl fence as tall as local codes allow. Then you won't have to see his rickety fence (he'll tear it down anyway), nor will you have to see him. |
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james1
join:2001-02-26
antarctica
| reply to cissado
said by cissado :Well, he's a pretty cheap guy. Got a lot of money, but cheaqp. Can't get rich by spending money!
One thing you could do is build a wall along the outside there, but turn it into a path of some manner. That way you dont feel like you're losing any useable land. Then let him rebuild his fence, or build a fence of your own if you have the money.
I maked you a pretty picture of what you could do: |
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acid343211
Hallo lisa Aus Amerika
Premium
join:2001-08-31
Byron, GA
edit:
September 4th, @12:46AM
| reply to cissado
Why should you fix his wall? |
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sailor
Premium
join:2003-10-21
Long Island
|  reply to cissado
What is the purpose of all those rocks? For drainage or decoration or? I'm always picking up large rocks from the Long Island sound and have them all around..They make great weights for BBQ covers or whatever..Will do something decorative with them some day. |
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tcope
Premium
join:2003-05-07
Sandy, UT
·Comcast
| reply to cissado
I agree with others... I don't see the problem. I can't see that you'd loose dirt but if you are, is this concerning you? How would repairing a chain link fence keep dirt on your property? You've not asked him about it in the past 7 years? Personally, I not build another fence on your property... I think that would look terrible. As a last resort you could call code enforcement to see if they can do anything about the issue. |
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