[marvella]

i need some suggestions on how to use some land. i have a ~10 acre lot that adjoins my place. it's mostly hillside, with about 2 or 3 acres level. it serves as a real nice buffer between me and everyone else. it adjoins my land, but you can't get there without going a ways down the road, and turning onto another road that goes up on the hill. i hardly ever go up there, but it looks like i should go more often.

there is a woman who owns a double wide up there, whose land adjoins on another side. she just uses my land as if it were her own. she has r.o.w. through mine. in the spring i bought a load a gravel for the road she (and I)use. driver couldn't deliver where i wanted him to because she had left junk cars parked on my side. she moved them when i told her i was getting gravel.

went up yesterday, and she had taken part of the gravel and spread it on her driveway but didn't bother putting any on the shared driveway.

there was a shady looking guy at her house yesterday, i presume her bf. looks like he could use some serious time in rehab. anyway, i told him to tell her to go ahead and put the gravel on the shared road, because it may be next spring before i get around to it. the way i got it figured, i paid for it, surely she can spread it.

got to looking around further and they have put up some ramshackle fence that is several feet onto my land.

i clearly need to spend more time there, stake a more visible claim to it. but right now, it's not really serving any purpose except as a buffer.

so i am looking for suggestions on how to use this land. livestock would be difficult as i can't go there every single day to keep an eye on what is going on. besides, their dogs run all over it. my whole heard of whatever could be dead and i wouldn't know for days. orchard is a possibility except the whole area is over run with deer.

y'all are always full of great advice and ideas. TIA!!!

 

[botebum]

Buy the neighbor's land, evict her, put up a gate, and turn her trailor into a chicken coop for a free range/foraging flock

Doug

 

[Wisconsin Ann]

get on this immediately! The longer she is on YOUR land, the closer she is to claiming it. Yah, I know...that's wrong, but it happens. She can claim you let her live there. Let her use it. Let her fence it. therefore..it's hers.

Get her fence down. Get the sheriff up there. Put the fear of god into her.GET HER OFF YOUR PROPERTY.

Get the junk cars off your property. heck...they're on your property, so they must be yours...so...sell them to a scrap dealer.

Fence in the area. put on some highland cattle. Make your presence known. See if you can redo the r.o.w. particularly since you couldn't put the gravel down because she was blocking the road with cars. make a stink.

good fences make good neighbors. put up a REALLY good fence. and then "no trespassing " signs. If she is on your property again...call the sheriff.

 

[comfortablynumb]

a mile of electric wire and a bad tempered bull.

 

[Puddin]

I'm with Doug on this one. Buy her out, get rid of her. There is no way she's going to be a good neighbour in any form. (I'm presuming you've had a conversation with her, about your 'fence-line' in comparison to hers?)
Mind you, if it doesn't bother you much, leave things be.
But, if you put something up there that needs any tending to in order to stake your claim, her way of life could become a big irritant.
Gloria

 

[marvella]

i tried to buy her place. she owes more on it than what it is worth. it's a matter of time before she finishes spiraling downward. it has a good well but her trailer is a liability. i just have to wait it out.

we haven't had the "get your fence, etc. off my land" talk yet. she wasn't there. if i don't give her r.o.w she has no access. i can't just block her from getting in.

any suggestions for use of the land? while a bull is an interesting idea, i won't feel right putting any livestock in a place i can't at least check on every day.

i've considered putting a rental unit up there. of course, that could end up being more trouble than i already have.

ideas, anyone?

 

[leecofarm]

i worked for an attorney whose largest files were not on murder or divorce cases--it was right of way cases. so i wont even look at property that requires me to give or get right of way.

be sure you can visually point out where the markers are to her AND take a picture before you show it to her AND sink double markers that cant be seen.

i was painting my moms rent property when a guy walks onto it and plays with his dog. i order him off and he yells at me that he has been mowing that area for the last year and therefore it gives him the right to use it. so i went to the cops and the familys argument was that they didnt know where the property line was although it was clearly marked with a slender white stake and their fence. by the end of the day they had moved the marker so it appears that the fence runs completely on their property instead of sitting on the line.

im still having trouble with them letting their dogs use my moms yard as a potty. i am sure that we will put in a fence soon.

 

[bill not in oh]

8' eight strand electric fence around the whole thing then plant fruit and nut trees and grapes. The fence will keep her and her dogs out and discourage the deer.

 

[Wisconsin Ann]

well, let's see here. You don't want to get confrontational, apparently. You don't want to run livestock on it. You don't want to look at re-doing the right of way. You don't want to go to your own property every day to check on things.

that doesn't leave much you CAN do.

guess i don't understand why you can't take the time to run up there every day or so. Is it miles away? and if it's that far away, why do you care?

If it's adjoining your residence, running a good fence on it with highland cattle and/or perhaps goats would take care of the "it's mine". those two animals eat anything and go everywhere, even hills. they're good foragers.

but, you don't want to do livestock, it sounds like because it's too much trouble. (i've yet to see the dog that can take on a grown highland bull). that reminds me....tell her to keep her dogs off your property.

you're right about a rental unit. that's a whole heck of a lot more trouble than anything else you could do.
so..that leaves putting some sort of plant on it.

young orchards need to be watered. that's out. altho if you CAN do the orchard thing but are worried about deer...there's a net called 'deer barrier' that works great. 8ft high, light weight. just run it along temp posts you cut from the woods.

I like the multistrands of electric fence, tho. that keeps everything out.
hay field? wheat, oats?

 

[marvella]

well, let's see here. You don't want to get confrontational, apparently. You don't want to run livestock on it. You don't want to look at re-doing the right of way. You don't want to go to your own property every day to check on things.


please read more carefully. i said i CAN'T, not that I don't want to. you have no idea what my life is like, so please reserve your judgement for a time when you have more facts. there's always someone....

about the trees and grapes... so far, that's about the only half way do-able thing anyone has come up with. can't say i've ever run fence 8 foot high tho. i used field fence and electric for the goats, but for 10 acres, the cost is prohibitive. plain electric on a solar charger should work. how exactly could i gate that? there are already a ton of black walnut and shagbark hickory trees up there. a real squirrel heaven.

she knows exactly where the line is... she has it marked. part of the problem is that the land used to be hers, or more accurately her ex bf's. when they split up she got the trailer and 5, then he sold me ten and another guy another 5. r.o.w or not, it gave me a much needed buffer and he sold it to me for 1900/ ac.

the other neighbor and i wanted to put up a gate to keep the riff-raff out, but she refused. the way the land lays i'm not sure i can fence it properly without putting in a gate.

so, any other crop ideas?

 

[Wisconsin Ann]

look, lady (or man, whatever you are)
YOU wanted ideas. You said "i can't just block her from getting in." that's not the same as "i can't get confrontational". You said nothing about being UNABLE to go up and check on the land.

"there's always someone.... " yup. there's always someone that calls you on your problems. makes you own them.

I tried giving you the lowdown on how to keep her off your property without putting up fences. (since you don't seem to have the time to even check on your own property). CALL THE SHERIFF. she's trespassing. You don't like the guy who's there...you say "shady character". that sounds to me like you think he might be doing something illegal.

do you REALLY want to get sued because these people get hurt doing something on your land? and yes...they CAN do that. They can end up owning EVERYTHING just because they were out for a stroll and "fell down a hole on unfenced property". How do I know that? because my neighbors ended up in court, using up their savings, to pay a lawsuit from some yahoo who was trespassing on an unfenced part of their land.

 

[Earthbound]

What about calling the llocal bee-keeping association(if there is one?) and getting a beekeeper to set up shop. You supply land and he pays you back in honey (what ever amount you feel is fair). I've been doing that for years in a couple areas of my property that I have not had the ambition or time to get around to. You have honey you can call your own and the land is being used....I also second the electric fencing...
corry

 

[MELOC]

kumbaya my lord, kumbaya...

 

[Wisconsin Ann]

What about calling the llocal bee-keeping association(if there is one?) and getting a beekeeper to set up shop. You supply land and he pays you back in honey (what ever amount you feel is fair). I've been doing that for years in a couple areas of my property that I have not had the ambition or time to get around to. You have honey you can call your own and the land is being used....I also second the electric fencing...
corry

Earthbound..that's BRILLIANT! simply brilliant. We have bees and it's very difficult for non beekeepers to understand that the bees won't hurt them..so they stay away from the bees. and the property. The dogs? no problemo! they get stung once and they learn fast.

In this area bee rent is 2 gallons a summer. AND the bees will be really great for any of your flowering trees/plants. heck. you could even learn to do the beekeeping yourself. It's kinda pricey to start up from scratch, but once you get them started, they pretty much take care of themselves. We check on our bees maybe once a week, just to add new supers or take honey out.

 

[bill not in oh]

kumbaya my lord, kumbaya...

Meloc - I think this is the third or fourth time I've had to clean my monitor off because of you....

:rotfl:

 

[bill not in oh]

but for 10 acres, the cost is prohibitive.

Do the two or three acres closest to her dwelling then add on later....

 

[bill not in oh]

Ya and think how annoying those bees would bee to her and her BF...

Not to mention how happy they would make all those fruit trees...

 

[woodsrunner]

there was a shady looking guy at her house yesterday, i presume her bf. looks like he could use some serious time in rehab.

Next time you are up there. Tell them you have given your local law enforcement agency permission to train thier K9 unit on that 10 acres.

If they are that shady, see how long they stay then.

 

[bill not in oh]

Next time you are up there. Tell them you have given your local law enforcement agency permission to train thier K9 unit on that 10 acres.

If they are that shady, see how long they stay then.

:rotfl:

 

[marvella]

y'all are a hoot!

that bees idea IS a good one. i've always wanted to try bees, but figured it was something i would do when i retire. and fencing only a few acres is a good idea too. i can manage that.

about calling the cops.... someone stole the freon out of my heat pump. not sure when it happened, maybe before i moved into the new house. the heat and air guy that came out said it was probably someone close and making meth. i've got my other neighbor, who lives closer to these yahoos, watching them.

fruit trees, bees, grapes.... i think we are on to something here. :dance: