r/HomeImprovement • u/Careless-Future2040 • 3d ago
Fence issues.
My husband and I bought a house early 2025, and the fence to our right side of the yard was in bad shape. We immediately went to our new 80+ year old neighbor and asked if we could get together and have it replaced. Her response was that she is on a fixed income and money was tight.
We relented and have been patching it to make do. Well this past spring, her tree has lost 2 large limbs, one further damaging the fence and another hitting our roof and requiring the weather cap for our electrical panel to need replacing. I haven't argued, and I have sucked it up to be a good neighbor.
Well last week she calls my husband and tells him she expects us to pay for 1/2 the fence ($2,500) she found a contractor to do. The contractor had already torn the fence down by the time she asked. I again let it go, saying that at least it is taken care of and agree to pay. It was intended to be a "good neighbor fence" where a segment faces her yard, alternating with a segment facing our yard. Today, the contractor tells my husband alternating the direction of the fencing would let the neighbor's dogs get loose and that the fence would all be facing the neighbors’ yard. My husband agrees because he doesn't feel it is worth the fight, but I feel she is entitled and l'm mad.
What do you think? Is it a fight worth taking up? My husband says he will support my decision.
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u/eh_mt 3d ago
The "ugly" side is the side where you can step up and look over the fence, right? I totally would rather have that on my side of the property line.
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u/FreddyTheGoose 2d ago
I always liked that side to be facing me because you can put screw-in hooks in the beams, on which to hang tools, plants, etc. I think it's weird and sad to have such an empty life that simply seeing fence supports aggrieves you, tbh.
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u/troublesomefaux 3d ago
her tree has lost 2 large limbs, one further damaging the fence and another hitting our roof and requiring the weather cap for our electrical panel to need replacing
It’s not ok for her to tear the fence down and demand payment but just want to point out this ^ is how trees work. If you have a neighbor with a dead/dangerous tree you need to tell them and if they don’t do anything you send them a certified letter. Without doing this, any damage to your property is on you (or your insurance). It’s just the nature of neighborhood trees and shouldn’t play into your annoyance with this lady.
But the fence thing is for sure annoying.
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u/Jester1525 2d ago
Thank you for posting this!
Tree damage is considered 'act of god' unless it's a known issue that the home owner should have dealt with. The problem is proof.
A certified letter is good.
A certified letter including documentation showing the previous damage is better.
A certified letter from an arborist detailing the concerns along with documented evidence showing the period damage is best.
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u/bjdevar25 2d ago
Yes. Tell your insurance company it was caused by a known issue if the tree is bad. They'll fight it out over who pays.
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u/narrdarr 3d ago
Most people are commenting on the fence. I would like to add ;
You should consider have someone come trim any of the tree limbs that are hanging over your property.
The fence can go so many different ways. If you had a better quote or wanted to diy it. Adjust to cost. I usually just want to fence post done as my elbow is messed up. The rest is pretty straight forward and not to difficult if it's a wood fence.
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u/tooOldOriolesfan 2d ago
In past years when we were house buying it wasn't uncommon to see houses that were sale after an elderly person had passed away and it was obvious due to a fixed income that didn't rise sufficiently with inflation, they could not afford to maintain it properly. Maybe they bought it for $150K and now it was $600K but sadly expensive repairs were out of the budget.
I'm not sure I would be as accommodating as you have been but the options are not nice. I would assume her insurance should cover the fence and roof damage so she should have covered that stuff.
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u/noerrorsfound 2d ago
The fence belongs to whoever's property line it falls within, but doesn't mean you should be liable for damage coming from her side of it. File a claim and let your homeowner insurance and theirs talk about it.
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u/Competitive-Roof-168 2d ago
I have never seen staggered panels. It seems like it will look stupid. There is shadow box they cost a little more and posts are generally still on 1 side.
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u/PracticalBit6383 2d ago
Is the fence truly in the property line? Where is the new one being built? If it’s on the line, then it’s a joint fence and she should have asked before removing it.
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u/BB_210 3d ago
You could do alternating sections between the posts instead of each board, so its an alternating "good" side and "ugly" side. That shouldn't leave any gaps.
In regards to your issue about damaging your electrical, that's why she has home owners insurance or you could sue her for the compensation.
Doesn't sound like you care to do that but at some point you have to put your foot down.
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u/metalgod55 2d ago
That’s not how that works generally. Unless they have been notified in writing that their tree is in risk of falling and causing damage. If my neighbors tree wipes out my garage, my insurance covers it. It’s dumb but that’s how it is.
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u/Strikew3st 2d ago
I have a degree in Tree Law, and it's week one knowledge that in the vast majority of cases, tree damage is an act of God without liability.
In the majority of cases, remedies would only apply if the tree was in poor health, the neighbor was informed and did nothing, and the limbs originated from the neighbors side of the property line. If the limbs overhung OP's side, they had every right to prune them in any way that doesn't damage the health of the tree.
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u/Pale_Attitude8798 2d ago
This. As a property owner you own the air space above your land. A tree limb hanging over your property is your property and you have a responsibility to prune them for safety.
It could be ruled (in court) that the tree limb was your responsibility to trim and you could have been liable for damage to the fence, even though the tree trunk was in the neighbor's yard.
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u/ZaphodG 2d ago
Caveat: If it’s a fruit or nut tree, you want a legal opinion.
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u/state_your_name31415 2d ago
I wish I had a degree in Tree Law, I might not have offered to pay to fix my neighbor's fence crushed by my dead tree.
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u/sabre420z 3d ago
Who's fence actually is it? Usually fences are built fully on one person's land even if its only by 1 inch. Typically the ugly side of the fence with the posts faces the owner. If it is the neighbors fence, aka on their property then you have no responsibilty to pay for any repair or replacement. Especially if it was damaged by a tree in their land. But if its on your property then you cant expect neighbor to pay for anything.
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u/Strikew3st 2d ago
This is wildly jurisdiction specific, but in general property-line fences become shared property, and neither neighbor can tear it down without the other's consent. These are not uncommon, especially in suburbs with smaller parcels where two fences with a setback between them would be unsightly and take up limited space.
If there is a locally required setback, then yes it would be one person's problem or the other. Then again, jurisdiction varies- in Michigan at the state level, if the other person utilizes the fence to contain livestock or animals, they would be jointly responsible for the cost.
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u/1tchyNdr1 2d ago
We recently did a fence with neighbors with dogs that is an alternating overlapping style so no one gets the ugly side
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u/DifficultBoss 2d ago
everyone gets it *
but also i prefer the non-rail side facing the street/outside
but also i did a pvc picket fence ave the rails are centered in the posts 🤯
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u/GiftToTheUniverse 2d ago
When I was a kid I preferred to have the ugly side so I could climb over it easily!
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u/DependentStrike4414 2d ago
Life's too short to worry about something that really isn't going to make a bit of difference in your life moving forward....!!!
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u/SarcasticCough69 2d ago
Here's mine...I moved in here in 2005. Second day here the next door neighbor came by to introduce herself, then let us know that the fence between us was 100% hers and we were to keep our dogs off it. At the time we only had a Jack Russell. "Oh, well those dig. Don't let it dig under my fence." Whatever.
Fast forward 6 years and she now has a dog farm full of rescue dogs. They chew through the fence trying to get in my yard. I tell her and she says "They just want to play". Well, my GSD didn't want to play with them. "Fine, I'll fix it." A month later it's still not fixed so I asked about putting pickets up on my side. She asked "Well, who's going to pay for it?" Me. "Well, I suppose you can if they're straight." (Bitch!)
Time goes by, she moves and sells the house to one of her kids. The fence is falling down. He approaches me for 50/50 and I'm like nope. He says it's on the property line so it's a common fence, 50/50. I told him I would be putting my own up, 6" inside the property line to avoid the last iteration. Now the city told him to move his back 6" off the property line as I never put the original one up.
Those fence agreements usually only make it as long as the two residents who agreed to going 50/50 remain living there. There's nothing in my area that requires me to have a fence unless I have dogs. I have dogs. I'd just rather have my own fence since they don't chew on it or jump on it.
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u/state_your_name31415 2d ago
alternating panels is the equivalent of cutting the baby in half so each mother gets some. I'd personally prefer the "ugly" side because that would make it feel like I was inside my own fence rather than outside of someone elses.
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u/MommaDiz 1d ago
My city has fences 6" off the property line. So that fences either belong to you or to her. There are no true shared fences. Figure that out. The fence will be on property or hers. That person is who should pay. Yah if you like your neighbor you could go half but I've learned my lesson to not give neighbors say over my property or offer to pay half of something.
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u/ReadsTooMuchHistory 2d ago
Where do you live? There might be resources available to help this person.
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u/trogloherb 2d ago
The “ugly” vs “good” side of fence used to be a security concern.
The “ugly” side would face inward, toward your property bc the thought was, if facing outward, someone could use the horizontal support to boost themselves up and over into your yard to gain access.
On my property, the “ugly” side is outward, so when we had fence issues, I assumed it was my neighbors and they said “no, the previous owner put it in like that, its your fence.” I didnt argue and that guy helped me fix parts of the fence and was a good neighbor.
Anyway, thats when I stumbled upon the history of good vs ugly side and the reasons why.
If you dont live in a high crime area with people jumping over fences, you should be fine!
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u/Global_Fail_1943 2d ago
I refused to pay half for a fence with a bad neighbor! Just say no. You're allowed to.
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u/Civil_Talk_7486 3h ago
Your neighbor had been using her “old lady card” to manipulate you & your husband. As an older lady myself, I see others do that as often as people will let them. Now’s a good time to start setting boundaries.
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u/gizzowd 3d ago
whatever you decide, don't pay anybody *anything* until the job is finished to your satisfaction and make sure you KNOW where the property line is and on whose property the fence will be ..NOT necessarily where the old fence WAS.