new neighbor put electric fence up on our fence

How the heck was he supposed to ge in touch with you to discuss this, much less ask permission. you got free fencing for your cattle. Glad I don't live next to your property.

Basically I believe whats mine is MINE, But I don't think that screaming at the other guy until you know why the fence was put up is good idea. This guy might be a greenhorn and though he was doing the right thing. A lot of new neighbors get to be really great neighbors when you get to know them. But with this attitude you will never know!!!

If you don't live there how was he supposed to discuss this with you? I don't see how him not owning livestock is relevant because people usually put up fencing before they buy livestock. At least with his electric fence there,YOUR cattle wouldn't be pushing over your fence and trashing HIS property. I would rather live next to your neighbor than you, dude.

im not sure why the other post here are saying you need to be there to discuss something that's being done on your side of the fence just dont get that at all. they need to find you and not the other way around in my opion to put there fence up like that. just take it down and roll it up and throw it on there side of the fence

If someone else without my permission erected fencing on my land, I would be upset too. More at the fact they thought it was ok to trespass than at the fence itself. I'd also suggest that if they wanted to use the existing fence to support their electric they could reimburse me for 1/2 the cost of the materials.

Now, if they had approached me before hand I would have no problems at all with them using the existing fence to support their electric lines. And sure, they could string them on my property - less work for me.

If you walk into the tax assessor's office, they can look up the name and address of any land owner. It's public information - at least that's the case here in WA. Sounds like a nice polite letter would have avoided all of these problems.

Geez Louise! That's not the way to build a good rapport with your neighbor! He's paid for the fencing material and for the electric to keep that wire hot. Why get in a hissy? When you move out to the country & put in fence, you have a couple different options. Letting the neighbor pay for it is the easiest and least maintenance for you and IMHO, you're getting off on the wrong foot with him.

I would be happy if my neighbor wanted to put in fence to keep my cows in! Heck, I'd bake him some cookies to thank him!

Just curious. If I were to put up a fence 1' from a boundry line would my neighbor need to put up his own fence (assuming he wanted stock) paralell to mine but just over a foot away? Seems like something big city folks would do when they fight over lot lines. I think city folks get this way because they are always fighting encroachment one way or another. I would NOT want to bring the city way of fighting to my country life, else why move to the country?

I bought property out in the hilly country that was fenced on one neighbor's side. NOBODY's gonna pay to do a survey in hill country just to put up a fence. The fence meanders from tree to tree along an approximate boundary and "his" fence is my fence too except that he keeps it up since he has stock.

When I bought an acre from him and was preparing to fence it off (to keep his stock off my property) I asked him to come check where I was going to put the new fence. He said put it wherever you want to. I put it on what I believe to be is smack on the borderline.

So Sad.

I would suggest he may not have known you owned the fence.

Maybe he thought it was on the "lot line" & he could use "one side".

I did that, and my neighbor nicely told me it was his fence & could we work something out. I removed my electric fence, put in t-posts and restrung it.

I found out in this area, most people put their fences inside the property line so this doesn't happen.

Did you know in "olden days" fences were built to keep neighbors stock OUT. Today, they're built mostly to keep livestock IN.

His wife and I are now good friends and he does extra things for an old city gal.

If the fence is exactly on the property line then it's just as much his fence as yours. He should have put the electric fence on his side of the fence, however.

Like I say he had to climb over on your side to put it up.Nobody has any business on my property wheather I'm there or not,I don't care for what reason.

Lets put it this way if you lived in town,in an Apartment,if you weren't there,and some body came in put new Locks on the Door,would this be right?

big rockpile

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I completely agree. If it were me putting up the electric fence, I would contact the owners of the other property just to let them know of my intentions. It seems like a courteous (did I spell that right?) thing to do.

Having said that, maybe GrammarGoddess could take a gentle approach to the situation, as others have suggested, and initiate a friendly conversation regarding the fence before resorting to action. It's always helpful to be on good terms with neighbors

Lori

you don't have to go over a fence to string a hot wire, just reach through at each post, attach the darn insulator and run the wire! What harm? I'm assuming the existing fence was barbed wire as the original poster did not stipulate what type of fencing was used for "their" fence and I'm assuming there was a single strand of hot wire run at the top of the fencing.

You are getting some good feed back here..Granted the guy may have overstepped his boundry. I think that would puff up anyone. But you have to live near they guy at least be nighborly and ask why he did it. There is no need to get all worked up yet. Investigate first. May be a harmless move if it was done for being nasty.....well bring it on buddy!!! Tell him you have TONS of help here LOL

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Crashy

The issue is not the electric fence, but the fact that the fence was put up on the inside of the poster's property and without permission or askance.

When I had a neighbor post "No Trespassing" signs on trees several feet inside of my property line, facing toward my side of the fence, I simply removed them all and kept them. The fence was on the line and had been there since long before my grandfather had bought the property. The neighbor has a son that was caught trespassing and hunting on my land several years ago, and had he not hit the deer, would have sent a round through my bedroom window. I didn't get upset, I just remedied the situation. To me, it was rather cheeky to do what he did when his son could have killed me during deer season several years ago.

The way we generally deal with things where I live is you talk to your neighbor before you do something that might affect them, especially with fencing, gates and such. If you don't know where they live, you look up the information at the courthouse.

Property lines are only in contention around here when you have someone who conveniently "forgets" where they are and causes harm or you have someone who moves down here, or sometimes even when they visit on vacation, and they think that if they can't see a house, the land must be free for the use, or abuse, and then do what they will.

I would talk about the electric fence put on your land with your neighbor and see what their reasoning was before you get very upset. If they did it out of ignorance that is one thing, but if they did it out of malace or with selfish motives, I would do whatever you feel is warranted to solve the situation.

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Sounds to me like your DH is mostly upset that some ""idiot" bought the adjacent overpriced house and 20 acres. I had a similar issue. I bought a farm that had 1/3 of an acre deeded off of 1 corner. The previous owner had given it to a child to put a trailer on. The trailer was long-since gone as the child had moved away. When I bought the farm, I wanted that corner simply because it was the only place that had a well on it. Guess what? The kid asked me as much for that 1/3 acre as I had paid for the whole rest of the farm. I chuckled and refused, thinking that I would eventually get the 1/3 acre at a reasonable price as soon as the owner came to his senses. Didn't happen. Some "Idiot" paid the ridiculous price and bought the place. Now there's a modern 2 story home on that 1/3 acre and they draw their water from that well I wanted. HOWEVER...I get along fine with them...I still think they paid an idiotic price for that 1/3 acre, but I'm not going to let my disappointment at not getting the well make me act like a petty schoolboy. I think your man is p.....ssed off that he didn't get the adjacent place for the price he was willing to pay, so he's got a chip on his shoulder at the "idiot" who bought it...Just a thought...

I would ask him to put the hot wire on his side of the fence. Legally depending on the state part of the fence maybe his. I know in MT that when you are facing your property and standing in the middle of a run, whatever is on your right is yours to maintain erect.

Bobg

I can't imagine someone moving in to a new house and property and having nothing better to do than improve the neighbor's fencing. That's why I would investigate further before getting cantankerous with the neighbor! If you don't live there, "often" may not have been often enough to visit and check your cattle, and the electric may be on your side of the fence to keep YOUR stock in and the new guy's yard plans safe. Heck, the electric charger isn't a cheap piece of equipment, and if he's paying the monthly bill too, I'd just consider it a plus! If the electric were on his side, it would only be a matter of time till your cows had the fence pushed out some. But with it on your side, it's protecting your investment.

I know, I know, I would think it was odd and pushy too, but I'm trying to imagine what led to the situation, and I just can't imagine someone going to all that trouble just to be irritating.

First of all, welcome to the forum. I hope you don't mind honesty, lol.

The ideal situation is to get along with your neighbors. Not everyone knows how easily you can locate a land owner who isn't living on the property they own... and as someone already mentioned, it's possible they may have thought the fence was theirs. If they didn't, then yes, they should have spoken with you first.

Irregardless, why does the electric fence bother you so much? It would be to your advantage actually. As many others voiced, I'd be thrilled if a neighbor put electric fencing up on my fenceline, LOL - it would just save me the effort and expense. (I'm guessing your fence is on the property line and when you said they put the electric fence on your side, you mean on your side of the fenceposts.)

You've now alienated someone (or will play heck mending the damage already done) who could have been a real asset to you. A neighbor is someone you have to deal with, so it's best to pick and choose your 'fights' very carefully. It's entirely possible it was completely innocent but it's doubtful they meant any harm to you.

A good neighbor could be of great benefit to you, particularly if you're not there to protect your property. A lot of meth labs are set up on rural property that's unattended. Having a neighbor who cares about you would be willing to alert you or the authorities right away if something seemed amiss. But if you're unfriendly, they may just shrug it off and walk away, leaving you to deal with a real mess later.

Sounds like you're a little angry at the previous owner who sold you the property, wanted an exorbitant amount of money for the 20 acres & house, and demanded you put up fencing... and the new owner (you call a "nut") is getting the brunt of all this. You've really given no other explanation why you feel this guy is a nut, other than he paid a lot of money and he's from out of state.

When you live in the rural areas, you need to depend on your neighbors in an emergency. The best thing you can do is try your best to get along with them all the best you can. By the sounds of it, you'll have a hard time making friends with this one, after your husband confronted him with an ultimatum. Good luck.

Before getting into a lot of trouble and hard feelings please check one thing. If the fence post are t-posts there is only one side the insulators can fit on. They can't be put on the other side. If the posts are put in with the flat side facing your side that is the only side the insulators will fit on.

umm, you got a free electric fence!
That's like on the property line, I DON'T EVEN CONSIDER THAT TRESSPASSING!

I really don't see a problem here, except for the stiff-necked landowners that utterly dispise people who Tresspass!

Look-it, that fence COULD very well be on his side of the property line, who knows without a survey!!!

Now I feel like riding my ATV down the local trails, WITHOUT LAND OWNER PERMISSION.