Neighbor keeps pulling out our fence post

I'm not sure now who owns the carport. At first I thought it was his, then I thought it was the OP, now I have re-read it and it sounds like it's his!

Strange arrangement no matter who owns it!

His house is at the rear of my property. As I am on a corner lot, the front of his house faces the street to the side of me, and my house faces the cross road. He had erected a carport between our houses, with it phsycially attached to our house, and the legs resting on his property, and made a driveway for himself underneath it. When his car is parked there, it is a tight fit and it is on about 4 feet of our property. As the property stretches back, he just piled his yard stuff about 2 feet onto our property (we keep putting it in his yard, he keeps moving it back). There never was an easement for the driveway, nothing noted in the deeds, nothing filed - but there was the written agreement, which was broken in writing, signed by him.

I guess I am just frustrated because we tried for sooooo long to try to settle this peacefully, fairly, and politely. As soon as the rain stops here, we are just going to do as we mentioned - add some heavy duty posts, wait for the surveryors' report, have his car towed, and I guess wait for him to call the police again.....we will as carefully as possible unattach his carport from our house, put it in his yard, and wish him the best. He has plenty of room on the street to park his car, so I will feel no guilt over that.

Nice thing about problems with old folks,they do tend to die off eventually,the day it happens,destroy that carport and put in a fence.
Bummer is,the good old folks,great neighbor types die off too.

BooBoo

Guy sorta reminds me of a character I knew who lived in a nursing home I volunteered at. He was early 80s when I met him. His kids dumped him in there and sold all his stuff and he had turned into a certifiable grouch in a lot of respects since being stuck there. He seemed to like me for some reason and we would sit and talk quite a bit. I enjoyed visiting with him because he was still sharp as a tack, had a wicked sense of humor and had a million stories.

A year or so after he had been dumped off he started "misbehaving". He left when he felt like it and had to be corralled by the cops a time or two once when he attempted to steal a staff member's car, he had dalliances with a couple of the old ladies and was quite grabby with the female staff members. He would disrupt the little time wasting games like bingo usually with a acerbic remark or joke delivered with absolutely impeccable timing. He watched the staff carefully and figured out which buttons on the door locks to push to get to areas where he wasn't to be like the kitchen and outside. Everybody thought he was going senile or had dementia. We were sitting talking one day and I asked Jack why he acted like a juvenile delinquent. He gave a sly grin and in a low conspiratorial whisper told me that at his age he could do anything he wanted and get away with it. "What are they gonna do put me in prison? I'm just an senile old man?" he would snicker in a faked frail old man voice. He would give a running commentary of the comings and goings of the staff as they were working and it was as funny as anything you would hear from a 20 something comedian in a comedy club and let me tell you that old man worked blue.

I never looked at old people quite the same after I got to know Jack.

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Respect The Cactus!

I agree that age should be left out of it. Some people are just nasty no matter how nice you are or how well you try to handle a situation.
When I was a kid about a million years ago we had an elderly man who lived a few houses away. His job was make everyone as unhappy as possible each day. The day we moved in he told my Dad he did not like children and to be warned that my brother and I better never step in his yard.
Anyone who got a cat didn't have it long, it was always poisoned.
He tried to sue the lady next door to him for putting up a fence. Not kidding.
No matter what anyone did to their own property it never suited him and he complained. Sometimes it got real nasty. I remember quite a few moving because of it all.

If it were me, I would put up signs along the property line. I would take down the carport, move his property back onto his lot, immediately cement post in the ground followed by a fence. That would end that much of it.

Something similar to this happened here on the edge of town. People built a garage and accidentally went a few inches over the property line. The owner of the adjacent property got a lean against thier property somehow. When they sold they had to give the nieghbor first refusal. Because the lean was on thier property nobody else was interested and the nieghbor named his price and they were stuck with it.

I wouldn't feel the least bit sorry for someone that so arrogant that he thought he had the right build something against MY building. Time to send him a rent bill including a reasonable amount of back rent.

Get an attourney

Even though you should not have to spend the money, a lawyer letter would put the guy on notice that you are serious about this. Also the lawyer could advise you exactly how to proceed and represent you in court, if need be.

I think the police are right that the dispute over the 4 feet is civil, after all you have a civil agreement about this. For them to act on it they would need a court order. As for his pulling down your fence posts, how would that be different in the policeman's eyes than your pulling down the carport? This one is way to murky for them to pass judgement on IMHO.

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"... it is not the things you have that make you happy. It is love and kindness and helping each other and just plain being good. " LIW

Forgive me if this has been suggested already....

Does this old guy have any daughters, sons or grandkids coming around that perhaps might be instrumental in setting their father straight?
Getting him to conform to your rightful wishes? Talking some sense into him?

It's amazing what an adult child can do when it comes to the art of persuasion. Especially if they're level headed. Not a trait they would have picked up from the old guy..... but it's worth looking into.

If you could have an attorney write a nice "FIRM" letter to this guy, maybe he'd realize you mean business and will stop with the nonsense. For a minimal amount of money it may be worth some intimidation. After all, the man is 83... and won't be changing his ways anytime soon.

Good luck to you. Pamela

Don't get overly concerned about squatters rights. Since he didn't go through the proper steps to make the claim, and you've reasserted ownership, he's got nothing.

That said, the police refuse to respond to him coming onto your property and destroying your belongings (fence), and perhaps parking his vehicle on your land... There's something more to this story.

Beware of setting traps like some folks here have suggested. That can land you in all kinds of trouble.

Pay to have his car put on the street in front of his house then put your post in . If that don't work call someone 30 miles away to have his car towed to their yard.

mikell

post a sign saying no parking cars will be towed at the owner expense..and take pictures of his car being parked there. Call a tow company and have it towed. Once it's towed put your posts in and remove the carport from your house. I agree with talking with family..you want them to know now..before the coot dies that the carport is there illegally. Don't set traps..don't flatten his tires..do this the right way.

I think the police did not know how to handle the situation, as they kept saying it is a civil matter. What got me mad was the police chief (we are in a very small community of 5,000, and the police borough is around the corner from our house) came and ordered us both to stop: he from parking in on the property, and us from continuing to put our fence up, until we each contacted our lawyers and settled it thorugh the courts. As we were are waiting for the surveyor's report, we agreed (it was getting late in the evening). So, he parked his car in front of his home on the street, we stopped with the fence and when we awoke in the morning our fence posts were removed and his car was there. We went to the police station and they were uncooperative, I think because the police cheif is as old as our neighbor, and has known him for over 40 years. We are relatively newbies to the neighborhood, having lived there for 5 years only. I know this is no excuse, but you know how these small towns operate. Right now I have a friend who is a lawyer writing a "firm" letter to this guy, ane we just bought some "quick dry cement"! We'll see how it goes!

Well, I hope that the letter from your lawyer friend does the trick. It really stinks when you've done all you can think of to settle this and the old coot still pulls his stunts. Please, let us know what happens after he gets the letter. I wonder if he'll take you seriously then.

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My faith keeps me here until my purpose is fulfilled. Good choices & bad I learn from everything! I am still beautiful and messy and a work in progress!

I'd send a letter to the Newspaper and the Mayor of the town you live in to check on how the cops in town are doing there jobs. If other folks in town know how the cops are handling this things might change in a hurry. Later And Good Luck Matt

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Spelling and Gramer subject to screw ups I'm not perfect. Later MAtt

I admit I did not read every post so if I duplicate some advice then I appoligize.

In just about every area I have seen there are city or county zoning that prevents anyone from building any structure within a certain distance from the property line. If this is true for your area then get zoning involved and see what they can do.


BTW I would tell the chief of police to stick it. He can not tell you to stop building your fence as long as it is on your property. I personally would push that issue and is the police do anything I would see them in court.

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Colton
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Never look to the STARS while walking with untied SHOES

Im not so sure if tweaking the nose of small town cops is a very wise thing to do.There is no telling how far their relationships go.

BooBoo

I'd be a little leary of tearing down the carport with part of it being on his property-he might decide to get you for destruction of property.

Have you also checked about where you can set the fence? Where we were living there was a problem neighbor and we were going to put up a fence and found that there was an ordinance that the fence had to be placed a lawn mowers width inside the line and if it was a privacy fence the nice side had to be facing out.

I understand what you are saying but you cant let the police dictate your rights without any laws to back it up. All the chief of police really want is to have the bickering stop, not help the person who is with-in their rights.

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Colton
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Never look to the STARS while walking with untied SHOES

Have you Lawyer send a copy of the letter to the Police Chief. Write up an editoral describing all thats happened and have it ready to mail to locale paper. As soon as it looks settled mail it.

Getoverit, do you have an update for us?