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Neighbor angry I had his vines cut down, what can he do? (1 Viewer)

IC FBGCav said:
If you let someone use your property and maintain it without a written contract it can become theirs.
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From the placement of their fence, it sounds like they don't want it.   How much resale value loss are we looking at for 1 ft x N length of property?   

 
NutterButter said:
From the placement of their fence, it sounds like they don't want it.   How much resale value loss are we looking at for 1 ft x N length of property?   
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Paperwork nightmare.   Plus you can go to close your house when selling and have a dispute.

 
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IC FBGCav said:
Someone else might own your land if they use it long enough

A little-known rule of law says that if you use someone else’s land for a long enough period of time, you can actually acquire legal title to it.

This rule is called “adverse possession.” In order to claim adverse possession, a person must use someone else’s property for a period of years. In some states, it’s just a few years, but other states require up to 20 years or more. During that time, the person’s use of the property must meet several criteria:

They must demonstrate actual possession by changing the land in some way – building a fence, cutting trees, mowing – as opposed to just walking on it.

Their use must be so open that it would be obvious to an observer that they’re using the property as their own.

They must act without the owner’s permission, to the exclusion of the owner and in a way that’s contrary to the owner’s interests.

They must use the land relatively continuously – as opposed to cutting a few trees once a year, say, and then leaving the property alone at all other times.

In a recent case, a vacant lot on a resort island on Lake Erie was owned by a real estate investment company that became defunct. For years afterward, three families whose property bordered the lot used it as their own. They cleared paths across the lot, used it to access a beach, harvested firewood there, rode bicycles and motorcycles on it, and otherwise treated it as common property.

An Ohio appeals court ruled that as a result, they could claim ownership of the lot.

This rule might seem unfair. However, its original purpose was to prevent disputes over land ownership. The idea was the no one should be allowed to upset everyone’s settled idea of who owns what by suddenly showing up with documents from 100 years ago that nobody knew about.

You can think of adverse possession as a kind of “statute of limitations” on claiming property rights.

The fact that this rule exists means that it’s important to be vigilant about asserting your property interests. Suppose you have a neighbor who builds a fence that encroaches onto your land. Or suppose you own some woods, and a neighboring family or business regularly uses part of the woods as its own. You might not want to make trouble by complaining or suing them for trespassing, but in certain cases, if you don’t act to preserve your rights, you might find that the land your neighbors are using no longer belongs to you.
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So the way this read, if he didn't build that fence and mowed that one foot strip of land on the outside of the fence which i'm sure the kooky neighbors aren't taking care of, he could have added a nice one foot x N ft section to his property.   Someone should have consulted the ffa before building that fence.   

 
Unless the workers uprooted and removed the whole plant, it was simply trimmed. I doubt this guy can do a damn thing.

 
IC FBGCav said:
Paperwork nightmare.   Plus you can go to close your house when selling and have a dispute.
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You can avoid the whole thing, and stil link up to the neighbors fence, by simply getting an agreement that you are only borrowing the land (or something like that - it has been many years since my law school days - and I sucked as a student and only went for a year). 

 
Christo said:
@menobrown It's not clear what they did to the vine. Did they take out the entire thing or just enough to replace your fence?
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They cut the vine and chopped away roots that were either on my fence or in between both of our fences. The vine, which looks more like a 100+ foot bush, rests almost 100% on my fence so no way to just cut it back. The biggest issue on my end, and for fence installers, which you can see what the roots can look like here,  Wisteria Vine  The roots are a major issue as they will eventually start tearing up my new fence.  But the vine is planted in his yard so no I did not take out the entire thing, but just about.

 
the moops said:
Why are there two fences back to back? That sounds dumb. One of you could have saved a bunch of money
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Everyone agrees with this but as to the why I don't know, was like that when I bought the house.  We tried to amend this yesterday, did not work.

I let the neighbor know that we could turn this into a win for him. Since this fence runs the length of our backyards, and of course has two fences and it's about 130 feet I went for a cost cutting approach and decided to not do board on board for the back section of the house. I'm on a corner lot and have a lot of fence to put in so did the rest of the house as board on board, just not the back because money and just did not see the need.

So yesterday we let him know if he'd cover the cost difference to convert that back fence to board on board it would basically give him a brand  new fence, his current one is about 20 years old and looks every bit of it.  He'd get basically a new fence for very minimal cost, a better fence than the when his 20 year old fence was new. He said no.

 
menobrown said:
So yesterday we let him know if he'd cover the cost difference to convert that back fence to board on board it would basically give him a brand  new fence, his current one is about 20 years old and looks every bit of it.  He'd get basically a new fence for very minimal cost, a better fence than the when his 20 year old fence was new. He said no.
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So you cut down his vine, and the solution was to get him to pay for part of your back fence?

That takes some balls.  :thumbup:

 
From an outsiders perspective, a little heads up a couple weeks ago could have taken care of the issue. IMO, you said F him and here we are. 

A little late to mend fences at this point. 

 
menobrown said:
They cut the vine and chopped away roots that were either on my fence or in between both of our fences. The vine, which looks more like a 100+ foot bush, rests almost 100% on my fence so no way to just cut it back. The biggest issue on my end, and for fence installers, which you can see what the roots can look like here,  Wisteria Vine  The roots are a major issue as they will eventually start tearing up my new fence.  But the vine is planted in his yard so no I did not take out the entire thing, but just about.
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Is that a vine or a python? 

 
NutterButter said:
A twist to that is that I believe its not so cut and dry if the tree had seen better days and your neighbor asked you to take it down.   I'm not sure how that plays out if you don't agree with your neighbor that it needs to be taken down.   
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Coming to post this.  If there's expressed concern about the tree by your neighbor and they draw your attention to necessary maintenance, then the tree falls because of their concerns, it's on you.  This happened between two neighbors in my previous neighborhood.  One had been after the other to get some work done on an oak tree that ended up falling and crushing their deck.

 
Cjw_55106 said:
From an outsiders perspective, a little heads up a couple weeks ago could have taken care of the issue. IMO, you said F him and here we are. 

A little late to mend fences at this point. 
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Nice play on words but from a non-outsiders opinion I did not F anyone, all I did was have an obtrusive vine cut down so I could have a new fence built.

In terms of giving him a heads up we've not spoke in over 15 years, we already did not get  along and so giving him a heads up or soothing his feelings over a cut vine is not a big priority for me. I firmly believe every mans home is his castle and I seek to never mess with anyone's, but that is a two way street. It's like respect, hard to get it when you don't give it and one of the reasons we don't speak is he has failed to give it, one of the reasons. He thinks it's his neighborhood and we are all just living in it.

 
menobrown said:
They cut the vine and chopped away roots that were either on my fence or in between both of our fences. The vine, which looks more like a 100+ foot bush, rests almost 100% on my fence so no way to just cut it back. The biggest issue on my end, and for fence installers, which you can see what the roots can look like here,  Wisteria Vine  The roots are a major issue as they will eventually start tearing up my new fence.  But the vine is planted in his yard so no I did not take out the entire thing, but just about.
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Oh...this is Wisteria?  Burn that #### to the ground and deal with the consequences of the guy later....whatever you've got to do to get rid of it.  If it were me, I'm finding some sort of systemic herbicide like "Remedy" or some such, cutting a small slice in the vine itself and dabbing some of that on the bare wood and letting it do it's thing.  He'd never know what you did.

 
The Commish said:
Oh...this is Wisteria?  Burn that #### to the ground and deal with the consequences of the guy later....whatever you've got to do to get rid of it.  If it were me, I'm finding some sort of systemic herbicide like "Remedy" or some such, cutting a small slice in the vine itself and dabbing some of that on the bare wood and letting it do it's thing.  He'd never know what you did.
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Yea Wisteria. The fence installer said that vines are his worst nightmare and that while Wisteria was not easy to kill he knew how to do it without anyone knowing.  It's a problem, calling it a vine is accurate but people probably think in terms of some thin vine's growing along the side of a fence. What it looks like is tree roots sprawling all over leading to a giant bush. I call it the tree vine myself.

 
The Commish said:
cutting a small slice in the vine itself and dabbing some of that on the bare wood and letting it do it's thing.  He'd never know what you did.
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Exactly. What you've got to do is cut the vine on the back of the main stump right at the bottom. It will never grow straight again, because the weight displacement goes back, all the weight is on his right vine, and it'll grow everything off to the right. It'll never come through on anything. It'll quit the growth.

 
This neighbor guy sounds like a real treat. He gets to enjoy a thick, lush vine on your fence, on your property. You did nothing wrong, and is exactly what I would have done (I would've done it years ago). 

When this thing grows back, not one leaf nor root should find its way onto your property. You should go as far as trenching between the fences every summer.

 
menobrown said:
Nice play on words but from a non-outsiders opinion I did not F anyone, all I did was have an obtrusive vine cut down so I could have a new fence built.

In terms of giving him a heads up we've not spoke in over 15 years, we already did not get  along and so giving him a heads up or soothing his feelings over a cut vine is not a big priority for me. I firmly believe every mans home is his castle and I seek to never mess with anyone's, but that is a two way street. It's like respect, hard to get it when you don't give it and one of the reasons we don't speak is he has failed to give it, one of the reasons. He thinks it's his neighborhood and we are all just living in it.
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I didnt say you f'ed him. I said you said,  F him...which is pretty much what your reply states. You 2 dont like each other and you didnt give a rat's ### about his vine. I'm not saying you are wrong, just indicating how I read the situation. 

 
Cjw_55106 said:
I didnt say you f'ed him. I said you said,  F him...which is pretty much what your reply states. You 2 dont like each other and you didnt give a rat's ### about his vine. I'm not saying you are wrong, just indicating how I read the situation. 
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I don't recall saying that.

I would not even classify these last 15 or so years as not liking each other so much as just ignoring each other. No words, at all. Like I'm talking I'd wave when they drove by,  because I think it's odd when humans who live in a close capacity to each other don't even acknowledge one another, and they'd just leave me hanging, total ignore.

When that vine bloomed in the spring it looked nice, but yes fair to say I don't care anything about that vine from his angle. That being said if I did not have it chopped down to be an #####. If there was a way to remove my old fence, build a new fence and make sure root regrowth was not an issue all while still preserving his vine I'd have gone that route.

 
Still don't get why you wouldn't just take your fence down and not build another one. There is already a ####### fence there.

 
the moops said:
Still don't get why you wouldn't just take your fence down and not build another one. There is already a ####### fence there.
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 If I just took down my fence and relied on his fence as the only fence I would be relying on a 20 year old dilapidated side by side fence with several holes and wide gaps between the fence which would severely compromise my privacy.  A matter made even worse because it would expose my pool which is a bother to me in general but an even bigger issue because I'm an overprotective parent of a teenage daughter. My house is on a corner lot so no neighbors to one side, neighbor on other side can't see into my yard so those areas are covered. I don't think wanting to maintain a degree of privacy in my backyard  should be so hard to understand and that can only be done by building a new fence.

 
menobrown said:
Yea Wisteria. The fence installer said that vines are his worst nightmare and that while Wisteria was not easy to kill he knew how to do it without anyone knowing.  It's a problem, calling it a vine is accurate but people probably think in terms of some thin vine's growing along the side of a fence. What it looks like is tree roots sprawling all over leading to a giant bush. I call it the tree vine myself.
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He'd do exactly what I said.  He'd go get something like this and go to town.....Is that an actual picture of the tree or just an example?

 
I personally would have walked over to give the man a heads up.

You initially said you guys just ignore each other. Didn't sound like a specific blow out. Many people and neighbors are like this. They for whatever reason don't wanna be bothered or in some cases a simple misunderstanding triggered an initial feeling of said person.

He tried waving at you twice when you 1st moved in, you didnt have your glasses on and kept on going and suddenly he feels you are an A from day one....and here we are 18 years later. We people can be stupid and stubborn very often.

Anyhow, you let your perception and attitude towards this man effect how you would handle this and in turn it upset him.  There are no winners here.

Its cool to say 2 way street, earn respect etc....

Everyday is a new day man. Give love, respect and trust freely.  

Don't give people the power over you to dictate how you plan to treat them.

Overall I think the reasons for not going over to talk about these situations beforehand are typically immature and childish. We as people just use the excuses that make us feel better to justify our actions. I do it often.

 
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menobrown said:
Example, but a good one.
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Yeah...i'd find out where it branches off and comes to your yard.  If it doesn't branch off and is simply planted on his property, yet growing completely on your property, I'd be going to town....anything to get rid of that stuff.  It grows underground and will just pop up in random places.  It's worse than Kudzu.  

 
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menobrown said:
They cut the vine and chopped away roots that were either on my fence or in between both of our fences. The vine, which looks more like a 100+ foot bush, rests almost 100% on my fence so no way to just cut it back. The biggest issue on my end, and for fence installers, which you can see what the roots can look like here,  Wisteria Vine  The roots are a major issue as they will eventually start tearing up my new fence.  But the vine is planted in his yard so no I did not take out the entire thing, but just about.
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brohan that is not a fence that is a tree swc solving riddles left and right take that to the bank bromigos 

 
The Commish said:
Coming to post this.  If there's expressed concern about the tree by your neighbor and they draw your attention to necessary maintenance, then the tree falls because of their concerns, it's on you.  This happened between two neighbors in my previous neighborhood.  One had been after the other to get some work done on an oak tree that ended up falling and crushing their deck.
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So I had a similar situation at my last house.  My b**** of a neighbor sent me a certified letter making note of a huge tree in my front yard.  None of it was dead, or dying, or even looked bad.  It provided tons of shade over my house, and looked beautiful.  The letter stated that any damage coming from the tree or any parts of it falling (on their bushes, not their house) would be my responsibility.  I laughed, didn't do a thing - and have since moved.  The buyers of the house ended up having the tree cut down at their expense due to the ongoing requests, I feel bad for them.

 
ChiefD said:
Exactly. What you've got to do is cut the vine on the back of the main stump right at the bottom. It will never grow straight again, because the weight displacement goes back, all the weight is on his right vine, and it'll grow everything off to the right. It'll never come through on anything. It'll quit the growth.
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break this down a little more for me.  

 
matttyl said:
The Commish said:
Coming to post this.  If there's expressed concern about the tree by your neighbor and they draw your attention to necessary maintenance, then the tree falls because of their concerns, it's on you.  This happened between two neighbors in my previous neighborhood.  One had been after the other to get some work done on an oak tree that ended up falling and crushing their deck.
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So I had a similar situation at my last house.  My b**** of a neighbor sent me a certified letter making note of a huge tree in my front yard.  None of it was dead, or dying, or even looked bad.  It provided tons of shade over my house, and looked beautiful.  The letter stated that any damage coming from the tree or any parts of it falling (on their bushes, not their house) would be my responsibility.  I laughed, didn't do a thing - and have since moved.  The buyers of the house ended up having the tree cut down at their expense due to the ongoing requests, I feel bad for them.
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Yeah, I'd have told them to pound sand and had an arborist state, for the record exactly what you said...that there was nothing wrong with it and there was no reason for there to be concern over it.  

 
The Commish said:
Yeah, I'd have told them to pound sand and had an arborist state, for the record exactly what you said...that there was nothing wrong with it and there was no reason for there to be concern over it.  
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I actually went over and talked to them (####### next door neighbor, they couldn't walk across their front lawn and talk to me about it).  They said they talked to a lawyer about it and that's what he suggested.  I asked if the lawyer also suggested all the misspellings in the letter and walked away.  Pissed me off to no end.  I moved just a few months later, which was always the plan anyway.  Feel sorry for the new owners dealing with it, but that's their problem now.

Back to the original post here - had he dug up the roots of the plants on his side, and that ended up killing the plants/vines - would the other guy have any legal recourse?  As that happened with those same previous neighbors of mine - but with me moving, I didn't do anything about it. 

 
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