Fence question

[ahisma]

We have great neighbors. They are a laid back retired couple who meticulously care for their property but are very understanding that we're in a different stage of life.

We have a fence between our yards. It's on our property. Their tree fell on it about 7 years back. We fixed it, but it's never been right since then. They have always helped fix it, and have offered to buy supplies (but we have). It really should be replaced.

We're going to get quotes, and are wondering if we should see if they'd like to split the cost.

I have no idea what the protocol is.

Thoughts?

[JustMe]

It is fine to ask them. The house next to me has absentee owners and is managed by a real estate agent. They asked if I wanted to split the cost of a new fence. I posted about it here because I was nervous about it. I ended up agreeing to split the costs and it was fine. A little while later they asked me to chip in to do something else to the fence and I said no.

I would not hesitate, especially since your neighbors are great. On the other side of my house, I have a very difficult neighbor. I did not ask her to chip in when I replaced the fence on that side.

[hillview]

personally I would not ask but I WOULD let them know you are planning to replace it and show them a sample of what you are planning to put in. If they offered to chip in I'd accept.

[TwinFoxes]

I wouldn't ask either. I think it could be quite awkward. They are under zero obligation so I think it would be weird. They may not even care about having a fence (many yards in our neighborhood are not fenced, we put a fence in when we bought the place because of our dogs) I like both my neighbors, and it wouldn't occur to me to ask them to chip in to repair/replace our fence. It's not really hypothetical for us, the fences are on our property and when they need to be fixed it's up to us. I think they were being extra neighborly offering to pay for supplies.

[jgenie]

I wouldn’t ask either. We had some tree work done last summer and use the same tree guy as our neighbors. They asked if we would split the cost of removing a large tree from their yard so we could get more sun. We declined.

We had a big storm this winter that took several trees from us and our neighbors. Our tree guy has requested we have our fence removed and then put back to give access to some of the trees. I’m hoping they can figure out another option because it’s a new fence and I don’t think it will be the same once it’s been dismantled.


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[klwa]

personally I would not ask but I WOULD let them know you are planning to replace it and show them a sample of what you are planning to put in. If they offered to chip in I'd accept.

I think this is a good way to go about it.

[khm]

I wouldn't ask either. The tree thing was long ago. Fences get old and need replacing. Yes that probably sped its demise but I think the time has passed to hold them responsible financially. How old was the fence then?

[Liziz]

Where I used to live fences were shared property between the two houses, so it was always custom to ask about chipping in (from whichever neighbor wanted it fixed/replaced). But if the fence is officially yours and on your land, not right between the properties, I wouldn't directly ask or expect. But I do think it's a good idea to let them know you're planning to get it done and given that they've offered in the past, I bet there's a good chance they'll offer to chip in and you can accept that then.