Replacing super old fence - Legal question

[Radar]

I had the same situation. I bought some land from a bank that did the fence according to the survey. Neighboring landowner sued the bank. They settled so I could buy it. It was only about an acre. I offered to buy the acre for $1500 which is what I paid for the rest. Nope. He had $10,000 in legal fees plus had to move 1/4 mile of fence.

Had another one where the neighbor wouldn’t go half. Went ahead and had the fence built. Neighbor calls and says the fence is off a couple feet in one place. I said okay. Go ahead and move it. 20 years later it’s still hasn’t been moved.

We must have the same neighbors. I had one that tried the squatters rights along the boundary of a creek. It did not pan out for him.

[BTLowry]

Build the fence on the property line

That is the right thing to do

Split the cost of materials 50/50 unless one wants more than barb wire (i.e high fence, pipe fence etc) then one who wants fancy fence pays cost minus half what a 5 strand barb wire fence costs

Or pay for all of it and set fence back 10' from line and make your road down the outside

[RiverRat1]

...but does the survey actually show the fence on the plat...in the wrong place? The survey should show the fence line, wherever it is, unless you just got a survey of the boundaries or corners. It seems like the title company would have put an exception to their title policy.

The survey has "x" 's on most of the boundary line that veers off a few feet in certain areas which I assume is the old fence. But there's no legend that shows what "x" represents. "x" 's are on this part, right on it. I bet they skipped this part since it was too hard to get too and assumed the old fence was on the boundary or close enough.

[TacticalCowboy]

A quarter mile of fence? I’d ask the neighbor if he wanted to split it according to the survey. If not, I’d doze/grub a line an build a ****** fence directly on the property line.

[Burnadell]

The survey has "x" 's on most of the boundary line that veers off a few feet in certain areas which I assume is the old fence. But there's no legend that shows what "x" represents. "x" 's are on this part, right on it. I bet they skipped this part since it was too hard to get too and assumed the old fence was on the boundary or close enough.

Generally, the “x” ‘s indicate a fence if my memory serves me correctly.

1650’ is a pretty long way to eyeball a straight line between corner posts/stakes/rods, especially if there is brush/trees in between. Ideally, they should stake/flag the property line between the corners, but that usually costs more.

[Burnadell]

My bad, I was thinking 1650 yds rather than feet, so not as hard to eyeball the property line unless severely obstructed with brush which it sounds like it is.

[Wall_Hanger]

My bad, I was thinking 1650 yds rather than feet, so not as hard to eyeball the property line unless severely obstructed with brush which it sounds like it is.

I am not sure what all they do now with drones and gps. We had a topo survey done of our commercial property. Its 34 acres and they flew it in 5-6 hours, accurate to within 1/8". Brave new world.

[gigem95]

I am in a very similar situation. I have an old fence that is not exactly on property line. Someone just purchased the property next door and started clearing the fence line. Pretty sure they cleared over the property line on my side. We’ve talked and they seem to understand my concern but I’m thinking I need to pay to have property line marked now just to avoid future issues.


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[Atfulldraw]

Fence goes on the line. You already have a dispute brewing, you just don't know it yet

I don't like splitting fences, period.

I split one with my old neighbor and then later tied into it with a cross fence (on our side) Stretched a top wire and then hadn't put the final cross brace up and at the line post that would eventually be the new "corner" and he was already complaining how the cross fence was making "his fence" lean.

Right before I fixed the post, I explained that it was only my half of the fence that was leaning, just to make him scratch his head.

[bphillips]

On the line

[Texastaxi]

The proper way to do it, is to have a surveyor come out and verify the property corners.

Build the new fence based on the iron rods (that should be already in place).

It might come out in your favor, it might come out in his favor, but whichever the case, it is the LEGAL property line.

[RiverRat1]

The proper way to do it, is to have a surveyor come out and verify the property corners.

Build the new fence based on the iron rods (that should be already in place).

It might come out in your favor, it might come out in his favor, but whichever the case, it is the LEGAL property line.

Even if the neighbor is claiming adverse possession?

This is the issue. Do I really want to doze trees where he is claiming AP? I mean I know he hasn't won in court but would/could it be asking for more trouble if he won AP after I built the fence where it now legally goes?

Wouldn't be cheap to move 1,500+ feet of new fence.


Anyways - We're working it out. I'll update in a few days.

[Kdog]

Seems to me in this case it should go on the property line, not where the old fence is.

People seem to lose their minds when it comes to stuff like this.

[Arrowthreat]

I would build it on the property line. Mainly because of future ownership. Saves you the possibility of having to pay to move it again in the future.

[drslonghorn]

This thread makes me appreciate my neighbors. Just went through a similar deal with my neighbors and it all turned out good. We put the fence where the legal property lines were.I had the property surveyed when I bought it about 20 years ago. He also had a survey that matched ours. We put in over a mile of new fence of which approximately 2/3 of it had never been fenced. Hope it works out for you, good luck.