After 2 trips to the site and a daily barrage of phone calls for a week I finally got the "neighborsfromhell" out of my hair. He just left with a copy of the survey and I have a check.;-)
Two grown men fighting over a fence that runs 205' between their two properties. The fence doesn't vary two inches off of line.
Anyway, I've decided that the "perfect" residential subdivision would have 5 acre lots, and exclude any building except for a 1 ac. square smack-dab in the middle.
Fences would be 96" tall masonry security walls, built by the developer prior to sale and shown on the recorded plat. Concertina would be an optional upgrade.
The H.O.A. by-laws would specifically prohibit any property owner from communicating with an adjoiner. If you wanted to borrow your adjoiner's leaf mulcher, you'd have to contact another property owner to relay the message.
Oh, and the name of plat would be "GET-A-LIFE ACRES".
end-of-rant..
Don't forget that the masonry wall should run all the way to the back of curb. No wheels off the driveay onto "my" property. No trees allowed within 50 feet of property line so no limbs or leaves can fall onto adjoining property. All animals (whether they are yours or wild) must be chained and within a fence so they cannot be seen (or heard) from adjoining properties. All power tools (lawnmowers, leaf blowers, power saws, etc.) can be run only between the hours of 10:00 am until 2:00 pm. Only the type of grass specified by the homeowners association will be used so your neighbors will not have to worry about your "weeds" invading their yard. All grass will be mowed once per week (see time schedule above). No vehicles, trailers, motorhomes, etc. shall be parked so as to be visible from the road.
Can you tell I don't care for homeowners associations?
Andy
The way to avoid fights over fences is to not have fences.
My subdivision of 198 lots has an HOA which has to approve fences. Since 1963 they have approved exactly two. One for a disabled child, the other I can't remember. I also can't remember any boundary spats in the 18 years I have lived here. It's wide open and like living in a park.
I'm with Andy on this one....I despise HOA's. I won't live in a subdivision with one if I can help it. I shouldn't have to answer to any one on a fence.
I do all I can to get along with my neighbors. If I have hateful neighbors I would rather move. They will find something wrong if they don't like you. I don't want to live in an environment of constant squabbling and upheaval at my own home. Who is going to help me out if I have a problem or watch my home when I am out?
I have a fence that is as much as 10 feet onto my neighbor's property. I pointed it out to him. If he wants to move it, I don't have a problem with that. I wouldn't worry if it was into my property either as long as it doesn't conflict with some of my improvements. Fighting over a minor fence encroachment says more about the people than the inanimate fences to me. I just don't want my dogs roaming onto the neighbors.
I assume you can't have dogs in your neighborhood if there are no fences? Either way, trying to contain a pet without a fence, or being told I can't have them isn't good.
I have heard real horror stories, about people losing their homes or HOA's costing them a lot of money. If they decide to take you to court, they will use your money (HOA dues or fines they put on you) to litigate against you with a better lawyer than you can afford. You get one nasty power-hungry president and some of his/her good friends, in there, and they might start picking away and fining you for every thing they determine as an infraction. Not to mention the cronyism that might go on with approving their friends, and coming down on their enemies.
I have had only one house controlled by an HOA. It wasn't that bad, but I have seen and heard too many HOA's gone bad, that I don't trust them.
Okay...my rant off. I didn't mean to put anyone down who chooses to live in an HOA-controlled neighborhood. There are some advantages to it too, but for me the potential disadvantages outweigh the advantages.
I assume you can't have dogs in your neighborhood if there are no fences?
Two of my three neighbors have dogs. Golden Retriever and Black Labrador. The dogs and the neighbors get out for half-mile walks once or twice a day. Good for dogs and owners. The dogs get out into the wider world than the fenced-in world, meet other dogs and other people, seem better adjusted, and are also better hunters according to one neighbor. Chained dogs and fenced dogs tend to bark a lot. We don't seem to have that problem, at least in the 18 years we have been here.
Luckily, in this country we have a lot of choices about where and how we want to live. If you like fences and dislike HOA's be happy. I'm happy for you.
> Luckily, in this country we have a lot of choices about where and how we want to live. If you like fences and dislike HOA's be happy. I'm happy for you.
I agree. Sorry I got on a bit of a rant. I don't "love" fences so much as the freedom to decide if I want one. But I do see where the only way I could live under some certain conditions is when I lived in HOA-controled environments that had rules I liked.
