I have a neighbor who seems to be too helpful. He needed privacy near
his backyard deck, so he decided to add a few 8' pines between our
property line, but on his side. He asked me if I wanted a few trees
too, I agreed to pay for 3. They were planted on my side of the line.
In front of the house, on my side of the property but close to his
driveway, there was a tree planted by the township. It died one day,
but I found that the neighbor had paid for and planted a new one there.
Again, this is on my side.
I asked him about it; he said that since the old one died, he replaced
it. He also volunteered to cut his grass just a little over the line on
my side because he thought that I cut my grass too closely. The tree in
front was included in his line of cut grass.
Recently, he paid to replace the mulch around both these front and back
trees with red stone. He didn't ask me if I wanted it done to my trees
too. He just did it. He also did not ask for payment.

Anyway, my question is, is he doing this because he happens to be nice
or to silently "take over" a piece of my yard (including the trees). Is
there a local law that says that if a person maintains a piece of
property, it becomes his?
Could he, in future, claim that since he has maintained a strip of my
property parallel to the prop line (lawn and trees), it becomes his?
Does this depend on local laws?
Thanks.
Mark Sabatini

writes:

Anyway, my question is, is he doing this because he happens to be nice
or to silently "take over" a piece of my yard (including the
trees).

He could be 80% altruistic, and 20% wanting the area adjacent to his
to look nicer than it does now. If necessary, take the hint and pick
up your lawn care game. :-)

I have gone so far as to mulch and put weedpaper underneath a bed
adjacent to the house of a neighbor who was an absentee owner who let
his place fall into complete ********-ness and I had to look at it
outside my window.

That's not to say your place is like that at all, but just an
example.

Is there a local law that says that if a person maintains a piece of
property, it becomes his?

I tend to doubt it (do not construe this as legal advice)--especially
considering that a survey is ordered every time a property changes
hands--that way all parties know exactly what property is being talked
about. Tis an interesting question.

But I suspect your suspicion is misplaced, and the guy just wants
things to look nice. All the same what he's doing is kinda weird--he
is stepping across boundaries though by doing stuff on your property
without your consent and could use a tactful "back off" of some sort.
The best way to broach that with him is left an exercise to the
reader. :-) A joking "hey, keep those improvements on your side of
the lotline" with a big cheesy "I'm kidding.... but maybe I'm not"
smile might get it accomplished if he has any sense of humor. Or,
starting to modify stuff on his property and see how he reacts might
be another more devious tack. At any rate, it's your neighbor, and
keeping the peace is always worthwhile.

Best Regards,
--
Todd H.
http://www.toddh.net/

"Todd H." wrote in message
...
writes:

Anyway, my question is, is he doing this because he happens to be
nice
or to silently "take over" a piece of my yard (including the
trees).

He could be 80% altruistic, and 20% wanting the area adjacent to his
to look nicer than it does now. If necessary, take the hint and
pick
up your lawn care game. :-)

I have gone so far as to mulch and put weedpaper underneath a bed
adjacent to the house of a neighbor who was an absentee owner who
let
his place fall into complete ********-ness and I had to look at it
outside my window.

That's not to say your place is like that at all, but just an
example.

Is there a local law that says that if a person maintains a piece
of
property, it becomes his?

I tend to doubt it (do not construe this as legal
advice)--especially
considering that a survey is ordered every time a property changes
hands--that way all parties know exactly what property is being
talked
about. Tis an interesting question.

varies by state.



But I suspect your suspicion is misplaced, and the guy just wants
things to look nice. All the same what he's doing is kinda
weird--he
is stepping across boundaries though by doing stuff on your property
without your consent and could use a tactful "back off" of some
sort.
The best way to broach that with him is left an exercise to the
reader. :-) A joking "hey, keep those improvements on your side
of
the lotline" with a big cheesy "I'm kidding.... but maybe I'm not"
smile might get it accomplished if he has any sense of humor. Or,
starting to modify stuff on his property and see how he reacts might
be another more devious tack. At any rate, it's your neighbor, and
keeping the peace is always worthwhile.

Best Regards,
--
Todd H.
http://www.toddh.net/

Todd H. wrote:
He could be 80% altruistic, and 20% wanting the area adjacent to his
to look nicer than it does now. If necessary, take the hint and pick
up your lawn care game. :-)

I have gone so far as to mulch and put weedpaper underneath a bed
adjacent to the house of a neighbor who was an absentee owner who let
his place fall into complete ********-ness and I had to look at it
outside my window.


I'm the guy in my neighborhood who ends up cutting the grass on those empty
houses waiting for tenants. It has nothing to do with me wanting anything from
the owner and has everything to do with me being tired of looking at overgrown
lawns. I've had one new homeowner who I assumed hadn't bought a lawnmower yet
actually call the cops on me after I cut her grass. I'd have loved to be a fly
on the wall at the police station when that call came in. The grass was over a
foot high when I cut it down to 4".

I guess this is proof to the old saying: "No good deed goes unpunished".

Needless to say, that was the last time I've done anything for her. If her
house was on fire, I doubt I'd have time to call 911.

All I want is for the street to look nice. And I enjoy riding around on the
John Deere. G



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

VE

In article ,
Mortimer Schnerd, RN wrote:

I'm the guy in my neighborhood who ends up cutting the grass on those empty
houses waiting for tenants. It has nothing to do with me wanting anything from
the owner and has everything to do with me being tired of looking at overgrown
lawns. I've had one new homeowner who I assumed hadn't bought a lawnmower yet
actually call the cops on me after I cut her grass. I'd have loved to be a fly
on the wall at the police station when that call came in. The grass was over a
foot high when I cut it down to 4".

I guess this is proof to the old saying: "No good deed goes unpunished".



Although you had good intentions, you are not within your rights to
trespass on someone's property and mess with it. You should've asked her
if she needed help. Alternately, complain to the city/county/whatever
about the unkept yard(s).


Dimitri

D. Gerasimatos wrote:
Although you had good intentions, you are not within your rights to
trespass on someone's property and mess with it. You should've asked her
if she needed help. Alternately, complain to the city/county/whatever
about the unkept yard(s).


Oh, you don't have to worry about that. G



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

VE

In article , Mortimer
Schnerd, RN says...

Todd H. wrote:
He could be 80% altruistic, and 20% wanting the area adjacent to his
to look nicer than it does now. If necessary, take the hint and pick
up your lawn care game. :-)

I have gone so far as to mulch and put weedpaper underneath a bed
adjacent to the house of a neighbor who was an absentee owner who let
his place fall into complete ********-ness and I had to look at it
outside my window.


I'm the guy in my neighborhood who ends up cutting the grass on those empty
houses waiting for tenants. It has nothing to do with me wanting anything from
the owner and has everything to do with me being tired of looking at overgrown
lawns. I've had one new homeowner who I assumed hadn't bought a lawnmower yet
actually call the cops on me after I cut her grass. I'd have loved to be a fly
on the wall at the police station when that call came in. The grass was over a
foot high when I cut it down to 4".

I guess this is proof to the old saying: "No good deed goes unpunished".

Hmmm - why is it that, whenever I hear this phrase, it's just after the speaker
had described some "favor" that is at least unasked for, if not actually
deleterious.

In this case, it was simply unasked for. Hint for future use: there are
telephones and doorbells, and I presume you're not mute.

Start with "Ma'am, if you don't mind it, I would be happy to.....(fill in
blank). Would that be OK with you?"

Banty

Banty wrote:
In this case, it was simply unasked for. Hint for future use: there are
telephones and doorbells, and I presume you're not mute.


There won't be a future use. I'm done with my neighbors. Let them cut their
own damned grass... and if they don't the city will be happy to... for a hefty
price.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

VE

In article , Mortimer Schnerd,
RN says...

Banty wrote:
In this case, it was simply unasked for. Hint for future use: there are
telephones and doorbells, and I presume you're not mute.


There won't be a future use. I'm done with my neighbors. Let them cut their
own damned grass... and if they don't the city will be happy to... for a hefty
price.

So, is this your pattern?:

1. Do unsolicited help
2. "Helped" objects
3. You're "done" with the person you "helped" and strut about "let them
.....(whatever)

OK - so, eventually you'll have lots of people to be peeved at (in your mind,
with wounded and outraged justification...).

Does this get you anywhere? Do you ever learn anything?

-B

Seek legal advice from an attorney. Other wise thank him for his hard
work, have his family over for a BBQ, be a good neighbor. In addition
share your skills and talents with others that may have needs.

Good luck.

Darwin

wrote in message
oups.com...

I have a neighbor who seems to be too helpful. He needed privacy near
his backyard deck, so he decided to add a few 8' pines between our
property line, but on his side. He asked me if I wanted a few trees
too, I agreed to pay for 3. They were planted on my side of the line.
In front of the house, on my side of the property but close to his
driveway, there was a tree planted by the township. It died one day,
but I found that the neighbor had paid for and planted a new one there.
Again, this is on my side. . . .

Anyway, my question is, is he doing this because he happens to be nice
or to silently "take over" a piece of my yard (including the trees). Is
there a local law that says that if a person maintains a piece of
property, it becomes his?

1. So far as personality matters, you know him and we do not.
2. So far as laws matter, we do not know where you live or what
laws apply. You should look into "eminent domain," the commonest
term for acquiring rights to property you do not own but have looked
after for some years. Getting such rights takes years.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

"1. So far as personality matters, you know him and we do not.
2. So far as laws matter, we do not know where you live or what
laws apply. You should look into "eminent domain," the commonest
term for acquiring rights to property you do not own but have looked
after for some years. Getting such rights takes years. "

Eminent domain is the taking of private property by government, not a
neighbor. The potential legal issue here is adverse possession. If
someone maintains a piece of property, pays taxes on it, etc. for a
long enough period of time without permission of the owner, they then
may acquire ownership of it. The exact requirements and period of time
varies by state. Generally it's a long time, like 20 years. And it's
very unlikely to be effective in trying to take a couple of inchs from
a neighbor's side yard. A more likely problem would be if you agree to
let him mow your lawn and then he has some kind of accident with his
mower and sues you.

It's unfortunate that there are neighbors like this guy. I would never
have the nerve to replace trees in front of somone elses property or
ask them if I can start cutting their grass. I think it comes from
some psychological need to assert dominance by screwing around with
other people's property. I would make it clear that you intend to mow
all of your own lawn and in the future if trees in front of your
property die, you want to replace them with ones that you find
attractive, not what your neighbor likes. I'd do it as nicely as
possible, but unless you do, expect more of the same. In fact, I would
expect more of the same no matter what you do.

In article , Don Phillipson says...
2. So far as laws matter, we do not know where you live or what
laws apply. You should look into "eminent domain," the commonest
term for acquiring rights to property you do not own but have looked
after for some years. Getting such rights takes years.


I think you mean "adverse possession".

Banty

Well I mow part of the grass on my neighbors side, but that is because my
mower and her mower are set at different heights and the grass goes from my
yard up to her driveway. So it looks better if it is all mowed with one
mower.

But before doing this, I did discuss it with her.

And on the other side, if my neighbor mows first, they will mow part of my
lawn going up to my driveway. If I mow first, I will mow a little over on
their side.

I live in a good neighborhood and everyone helps everyone else out. I
volunteer to help others and they do the same for me.

I think you have a good neighbor who wants the neighborhood to look nice. I
would thank him for his help when he does these things, but mention that
you would prefer to be consulted in the future before he does anything
else.