WWY ask: received request to split cost of a fence with neighbor from real estate

[elbenn]

I'm surprised by all the people who are commenting that they won't pay for fences on their neighbor's property. Where I live, the entire subdivision is fenced -- every single yard. The fences are built directly between properties -- so there are no fences that are exclusively "mine" or my neighbor's. I'm not even sure it's allowed (by the HOA) to take the fence down...and definitely I'd have recourse if one of my neighbors tried to take down any sides of my fence as it's all shared. I'm picturing the same for OP since she said the other sides are fenced. It's incredibly common for neighbors to split the cost of fencing.

This is also what I assumed since she didn't mention it was their fence on their property. I assumed it was a shared "party fence".

[Green_Tea]

I'm surprised by all the people who are commenting that they won't pay for fences on their neighbor's property. Where I live, the entire subdivision is fenced -- every single yard. The fences are built directly between properties -- so there are no fences that are exclusively "mine" or my neighbor's.

And where I live - HOAs are pretty rare here - some people have fences and some don't. Our neighborhood was built in the 50s and most yards either run into each other with no fences or have natural borders like shrubs or lines of trees.

A fence can be a big expense, and depending upon where the OP lives and the way things work in her neighborhood, I don't think she should automatically split the cost of a fence with owners who are on their way out.

[JustMe]

OP here-Thanks so much for the replies. I feel much clearer on what questions to ask. I have a falling down fence on my property and they have a wire fence on their property with a small area in between--so a very essential question is where are they building this fence. If it is just replacing the one they have up and have no intention of linking it to the back of mine to complete my fence, I don't think it makes sense for me to pay for it. If they are thinking of having just one fence down the middle that does link to the back of mine (meaning it would be one side of my fence and form a corner with my back fence), I think I would be happy to split costs. I am not really worried about a new owner tearing it town, and we have no HOA here.

It will be interesting to find out what they say. I am wondering if the plans were to just fix what is their fence and not even have it connect to my back fence...guess will find out.

[JustMe]

Thanks for answering all of my questions, especially the below. I wondered if I would be crazy to at least not ask about the splitting the other side of the fence with the other neighbor, but she really is wacky and erratic..plus her fence is completely separate, I have a fence up (that is falling apart), and I don't think it really is much better if I just worry about my fence.

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I also think you're smart not to mess with asking to split costs with your "wacky" neighbor. We had a similar situation and I'm glad we didn't try to split costs! Just make sure you give that neighbor a heads up on what you're doing.

[HannaAddict]

I probably wouldn't unless had some say in it and agreement. We have built nice fences and never asked the other side to split the cost and wouldn't want to spend money for a pine fence. No one uses anything but cedar here. Pine just wouldn't last.


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[Snow mom]

Even without a HOA there are probably rules about the fence. Your town/city may mandate that a survey be performed and that the fence be built a certain distance off the property line. Like others I would worry about paying for a fence that I ultimately had no ownership of and I don't think you are obligated to pay half, although if you want to join your back fence to it I think you should expect to chip in. It seems like a neighborly thing but it's also a fair amount of money going toward a fence of neighbors you don't even know. For splitting the costs I'd expect to be involved in the decisions about the fence and then there is the question of who gets the "nice" side and who is responsible for upkeep. Know you will have absolutely no enforceable recourse if the fence gets taken down by a new neighbor if it is on their property. You should call your town building department and ask them about fences since you want to replace the other side anyway.

[JBaxter]

My guess ~ and you would have to check our ordinances ~ but if you split it they it could go on the property line. If not then there has to be some amount of set back. I'm always leery of sharing things like fences.

[trales]

I would hesitate. We have very good friends that were good friends with their neighbors . . . until the fence. Now the neighbors are suing them, they have spent $5000 in legal fees to defend the fence. It got ugly fast. The fence is totally on our friends side as declared by survey and our friends paid 100% of it. They even courtesy noticed the neighbors. People get weird, shared property line gets weirder.

You manage your fence, let your neighbors manage theirs.

[ahisma]

We have a shared fence with our neighbors. It has needed pretty consistent repair, as their tree fell on it a few years ago. It doesn't really need to be replaced, oddly. We've managed this with them just fine for 10 years. I'm sure it depends a great deal on the neighbors but I would never assume that it's a recipe for disaster by any means.

[JustMe]

Thanks for the continued responses. Hmmn, you have good points. As of now, there are 2 fences and maybe that is best...more to think about. I am still thinking, but may lean towards telling the agent I;m not ready to move forward/don't have the money right now...(which is true, I was thinking of doing this but in several months or maybe even a year)..but OTOH, I do want a fence replaced and it would benefit me if they would split half. My back fence was entirely paid for by my "back door neighbor" (at least that's my understanding..it was before I lived here), and there are no problems with sharing a fence, etc.