(This post was last modified: 09-22-2021, 10:30 PM by Stubble Daddy.)
Hey Paul,
Man, I had to learn the hard way on fences and property lines. Here's the quick version if you want to hear a crazy story:
Sometimes in life, previous home owners/neighbors decide to informally "trade land" and "make up" their own property lines. They also may choose not get them surveyed/legally recorded. Then they choose not to disclose that information when the home is sold. Don't assume an old fence line is really the property line! This was a VERY tough and expensive lesson for my Wife and I on our 1/3 ac home lot that we purchased in 2012.
If its just an old fence or landscaping, it might not be that big of an issue, as long as the adjacent home owners are aware and all ok with it (yet still not a good idea IMO). The real issue for us came when our neighbors (which were very close friends BTW) informed us they were planning to do a large driveway extension 12' X 30' almost entirely across our property... oh, and build a carport over it. LOL. Yep, permanent structures on someone else's legal property!
Things really hit the fan when I told them my Wife and I were not ok with that... I kindly explained if either of us ever go to sell our home that will be a huge headache and likely create some legal issues, hold up a home sale, etc. They informed me that a strip of my backyard and privacy trees were technically on their property and they are going to take spiteful pleasure in tearing that down and re-claiming that.
Long story short, I'm on year 3 of "re-constructing" my property. We have paid for legal Surveying, 250+ feet of new fence and lots of new professional landscaping, all to the tune of about $20K. We lost the better part of our backyard, but gained a massive (and very nice) side-yard with a view of the ocean. So we didn't lose land, but the property is very different now... yet legal, so that's good.
My Wife and lost some very close friends/neighbors over the whole debacle. Sad... I wish none of it ever happened to be honest.
PS. sorry to jack your journal with this, but I do like to tell my friends this story in hopes it helps someone down the line.