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new neighbor put electric fence up on our fence
Hi, my name is Amanda and I am new to this forum. My hubby and I purchased 100 acres nearly 2 years ago. At the time, we had the option of purchasing 100 acres, or 120 acres and a house. We chose to purchase the 100 acres as the house did not meet our needs and he really wanted an insane price for it. In our purchase agreement, we were to put up a fence dividing the two properties which met specific criteria. We did this and the fence has been kept in excellent condition. We paid the full price for the fencing and farm labor, the previous owner paid nothing.
Three months ago, some nut from out of state purchased the house and 20 acres. When my husband went to check the cattle tonight, he found that an electric fence had been ran on our side of the property. DH went to speak to him about it. The man has no cattle (he had 5 when he came, but he sold them soon after). My DH is really ticked that the fence is up and has given the man 7 days to completely remove the fence. What a way to meet the new neighbors. Amanda |
Welcome, But we would probably need more info to reply, if that was what you are looking for.
But i do have one question and that is why was your husband ticked at the other neighbor putting up a fence if you aren't even living there yet? |
Don't get it
I don't understand. If Karl, or Greenwoods, or Francis, my fence-neighbors, put up an electric fence, I'd be happy. It would help keep their cows, etc out of our hay and nurse crops.
So, why not be happy? Is there a reason? Good Luck, Alex |
Hi~
this is what I gathered 1. you own land but dont live there 2. you put up a fence (per requirements) 3. you run cattle on your acreage 4. new neighbor put new fence on your side of the existing fence 5. new fence is hot wire your options 1. introduce yourselves to the new neighbor and casually mention the hotwire 2. go marching up to neighbor demanding the offending fence be removed 3. take down the fence that is not yours but on your land without saying anything 4.report traspassing to local officials. I would start at the top and work my way down (until I find satisfactory results) Rachel |
Our kids play near this fence. Although we do not live there now, we are on the property often. I think we are irritated because the fence was put up w/o any discussion. We just found it. We have told him that the fence must be removed or that we would have it removed for him. He is welcome to put up an electric fence on his side of the property, using his on fence posts, of course. He is not to use any of our fencing materials in any fashion. There is no need for him to be concerned about fencing anyway as he has no livestock.
I am less irritated now. Amanda |
Whoo boy, fences are supposed to "make" good neighbors, not be a bone of contention. Unless the fence is entirely on your property, the fence is considered a "shared" fence, no matter who put it up. That means that the new neighbor is completely within his rights to put up an electric wire on his side, assuming the fence is on the property line.
Unless you paid for a survey prior to building the fence, I'd be pretty careful about raising a stink about it or your neighbor would likely be within his rights to order a survey, billing you for half the cost, and if any of the fence is determined to be on his property, can make you move it. An electric fence is not going to cause irreparable harm to your cattle or your children. Electric fences are uniformly respected by just about anything. Just seems like a silly thing to get in a tiff about. They're obviously worried about your animals getting out and doing damage to their property. |
I'd be happy for one of my neighbors to help pay for a fence...of any sort.
Did I read correctly? Can I have a survey done and my neighbor is obligated to pay for half of it? :confused: |
Seems a bit petty to make your neighbor use his own posts for a fence when you already have some there. Fences and water cause a lot of friction between neighbors think about letting him use your posts....it might make for "good fences" between your family and his!
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The electric fence is doing no damage to your fence, and will actually probably protect it from your livestock. Your kids will suffer no permanent harm from touching it -- getting zapped by electric fences is pretty much part of growing up in the country; I've seen the neighbor's boys dare each other to touch it.
If he's actually put another line of fence posts up inside your fence, that's a bit much. But if he's just hung insulators off the fence, what's the big deal? I'd thank him for reducing my fence maintenance down the road ... Leva |
I would be mad too. Have your cattle ever gotten out? If so, then maybe he had a reason, but he should have talked to you about it. An electric fence is not a big deal, unless you don't know it's there and get zapped.
I think your neighbor has boundary issues (pun intended). Jena |
Anyone who has had cattle and fences for more than a couple of years knows that the cattle lean through to graze on the other side. You should thank your neighbor for putting up the electric fence because your fence will remain vertical now and not have to be rebuilt.
Your kids only have to be as smart as a cow to learn about electric fences. :rolleyes: It should only take once. |
Did the neighbor know how to get in touch with you? Perhaps he was worried about your cattle getting on his land, and considering you don't live there, the only thing he could do was put up a line. Since most fences run on property lines, he has as much right to electrify his side as you would yours. If you put your fence entirely on your property, you did the odd thing, and unless you told him this previously, he probably just assumed the fence was on the line.
You mention this is his howdeedoo from you. Perhaps it would have been neighborly to introduce yourself to him before this time, since he's the new kid on the block. An ounce of prevention. But in the end, look on the bright side. You have an electric fence on a vacant piece of property you run cattle on, and the paid for it and is paying for the electricity. Less for you to worry about. And if you had made friends with your neighbor, you may have had somebody looking out for your interests on a piece of propertry you're not living on. Just in passing, it sounds like I'd prefer your neighbor to be my neighbor than you. |
I think that this is all a matter of perspective. Most folks I know fence inside their property line, not on it, with the intention being to not share fencing with the neighbors. The disputes that arise from shared fencing is amazing. Just wait until a tree drops on it, and see who's going to fix it...and who intends to claim the insurance!
That said, I probably wouldn't have a problem if someone hooked hot wire on the outside of my fence, even with my fence being inside my property line. Of course, that would depend on what livestock they were running, or planned to run, on their side. It would also depend on if they had the basic manners to ASK first. You just don't hook up to someone's elses property (fence) without asking! All other things being equal, that alone would make me tell 'em NO! If they can't ask, I can assume they won't take responsibility for any other aspect of fence maintenance, either. My two cents worth... Meg |
Amanda,
I just want to know I can sympathize with you and your husband and understand how you feel. I wouldn't want an electric fence on my property line either unless I agreed to it, especially if I had small children. This is something that should be discussed by all parties and agreed to before it happens. Alot of people who put up electric fences in my area use roundup and other chemicals to control the weeds that grow along the electic fence. We refuse to use roundup and other chemical weedkillers for a variety of reasons. My neighbor who started to put up an electric fence on the property line got ticked at us because he wrongly assumed that we were going to let him dump roundup on our side of the electic fence to keep the weeds from interfering with the eletric fence. He ended up moving his fence back 6 feet or so from the property line so he could put roundup on both side of his eletric fence without chemical trespass on our property. |
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I would think them since the are paying the cost of the wire and electric bill (unless it's a solar one) and they are keeping your fence in good shape!!! |
A LOT! of people get upset if someone messes with their stuff, and the neighbors ought to have asked before they used your fence. It's the frendly thing to do.
That being said, a good neighbor is worth gold. Having someone living next door is worth gold. Vacant houses draw kids with guns to shoot at windows (and chase your cows or let them out). Good neighbors yell at kids with guns who are chasing your stock. Making up would be prudent. |
I would expect a neighbor to have the good manners to discuss something like adding a hot wire to a shared fence with me before installing it. But then again, I guess I'm just old-fashioned that way. I would check with a reputable land lawyer and know exactly what the law says in my state. BTW, welcome to the forum. :)
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establishing that you own the fence is a good idea . line fences are a source of contention amongst neighbours all over , the fact that you put it up and he is taking control of it by placing an electric wire there with out your say so is a good sign of things to come!! have a neighbour that thought the fence keeping our cows from eating the newly planted trees was our line fence and not the rail fence 16 feet in on his side . have yet to put in a page wire fence as he now respects the land the other side of the rail fence and does not mow the trees or dump crap there
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We get people moving in from the big cities all the time. They've never had property/acerage before and are so worried someone will take an inch from them. We have had a neighbor who moves the boundary markers for the four properties that merge to an odd shape bordering on his property. In his mind this okay, he's clever. Maybe your neighbor had one similar to mine who made his life as miserable as possible or like MANY people who move in, he is afraid of the countryside and imagines there are wild beasts looming out there waiting to get him and his family. Maybe the family was victimized by a home invasion. You just don't know where he's coming from. You and your husband sound like nice people, sane people. You and your husband should go over and introduce yourselves to your neighbors. Go bearing gifts, homemade bread, a cake or something. Take the woman a few plants for a flower garden or a few vegetable plants and be pleasant, don't mention the fence, let it ride. Over time after you establish (if you can; though it's not always possible, some people just aren't friendly) casually mention the fence. If you go charging over like the light brigade or take the matter to court you will start a neighbor war that will make your dream a nightmare and leave you all bitter and angry. Be the bigger people, be better than they are! Overlook a lot, they probably don't know what they are doing anyway. tamilee |
This is so simple it isn't funny!! :rolleyes: Cut the electric fence take it down. Your neighbor comes back across your fence :grump: Get him for trespass.
big rockpile |
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.
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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!!!
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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.
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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
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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! :p |
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.
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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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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.
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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!!! :grump: Tell him you have TONS of help here LOL
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The problem was trespass to do it it seems
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. |
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...
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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.
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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. |
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