first rule of construction

[Anonymous-0]

My neighbor down the road a way is building a garage to store his ATVs etc. in (I think). He's got it about 3/4s done. My other neighbor, the farmer who owns the land around the first guy stopped to chat and said he had gone down (when they were gone) there with a long tape to check out where the new garage is sited vis-a-vis the property line. He said even allowing for a few feet inaccuracy measuring off the survey pins, the garage is 100% on the farmers land. Oops, Farmer says he will give him the option to buy the land at premium building lot price or remove building. This should be interesting to watch!
First rule of construction...try to do it on property you own!

 

[Anonymous-0]

Keep us informed!

 

[old]

Sounds like the farmer may own a brand new building and not have to pay a dime for it. Bet this could get to be a very big legal battle and most of the time they never come out well. And yes keep us undated on what happens
Hobby farm

 

[Coloken]

What ever happened to what I call "farmers"?
First thing a "farmer" would do with a new place is walk around it to see what he has.
Other thing I have noticed about "non farmers" is they have to back up their cars. Was at a yard sale this morning, very tipical, city layout. 5 or 10 acres with several building and not a single "circle" or turn around. 3 or 4 drive ways and I had to back out.
Guess I am still used to the horse and buggy days of going forward.

 

[Tom in NE]

I had a Morton Building put up a couple years ago. I picked the best spot I could find so everything would line up with the driveway I had. I had the dirt brought in and I leveled it out. All the neighbors said "You don't need a building permit. We've built buildings and garages and never bothered with a building permit." The Morton Salesman insisted on a building permit. Thank goodness I was over 25 ft. from the back of the lot & I had to move my plans only a foot & a half to get the needed 34 feet from the middle of the road. My advise...apply for a building permit. I do only live 3 miles from town. Never would of thought about a permit had I built it myself.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Can happen if you don't establish property lines first, from known or established reference points per the deed, map or whatever documents exist, then overlay the building footprint making sure there is no encroachment onto someone elses property and or a set back for margin of error. Surveys are'nt cheap either, lot of people wing it, but comparing aquisition costs of the land you now need to make it legit, and or removal costs, survey is money well spent.

You ought to see what it's like to layout a new high rise building and keep it within tolerance all the way up, in NYC, dealing with lot lines and building lines some bordering city property lines, other peoples air rights, put up a building and encroach on city property, you won't get a final certificate of occupancy, if an as-built survey shows your over the line, even if it is a removable ornamental/architectural feature.

Thing to be learned here is to do the correct layout first, or you could spring a huge leak in your wallet.

 

[RobMD]

He better work DAMM FAST in the middle of the night to get the building DOWN. That farmer might get some ideas and take the building.

 

[Gun guru]

The guy building the garage must be a total idiot, or doesnt know the real propery line.

 

[Pitalplace]

Building permits can be a very good thing. Also helps keep that neighbor from building a trash pit next door.

 

[TomH in PA]

That happens all the time. Guy building the garage will probably claim the ground belongs to him; if you don't agree, take him to court. The farmer has to choose between giving giving up the ground or spending several thousand $$$ on surveyor and lawyer.

The first thing you should do when ground is subdivided is build a fence, and make sure you keep an eye one it. The smaller the lot the other guy bought, the more he covets the land around him. My neighbor's deed clearly states his lot is 200' across the front, but he was adamant that he owned 250' of frontage.

 

[omahagreg]

In Omaha, a few years back, was on site where a new swimming pool was almost done-tall retaining walls and all. The surveyors were out, and they could not pour the concrete patio that day, they were 2 feet over the lot line! OOPS! Greg

 

[RodinNS]

You've been down this road....
We have here too. Surveyors are indeed expensive, and that will be the first step here if the garage builder wants to fight. The farmer will have to survey it, prove it is on his land, and then go from there...

Rod

 

[buickanddeere]

Sounds familiar. The wife runs the kids soccer league in the local village.
The municipality hired a builder to erect a fence around the soccer fields to keep the four wheeling pricks from tearing up the grass.
The builder missed the property line by 25 ft on one end and 60 ft on the other side....oops.
Themunicipality is now looking at purchasing their neighbor"s that"s now fenced in.
The municipality has been now requested by the Ag Society to get a fresh survey on the old race track, new ball diamonds, new concrete sidewalk, fair grounds, horse show ring"s parking area, horse exercise grounds and memorial gardens.
Been too many years of "I think the property line is here, they cut the grass up to there you know.............

 

[Kevin in OK]

Now, me not being there doesn't give me much room to argue. You say the farmer measured off of existing survey pins. If this was the case, how did the neighbor building the garage miss his own property by 100%, and how did it get 75% done before the other farmer noticed?

I would hate to be in that situation, both the farmer and the builder.

Kevin

 

[thanksguys]

There is some legal BS called "adverse possession" under which a man who uses another mans property can claim it as his own and the courts have backed it up. There was a case like this in boulder CO were a corrupt local politician took his neighbors property and made him pay the court costs when the owner appealed the ruling.

 

[Gun guru]

Did the farmer see the guy at first putting in the foundation? And did the farmer say anything to him when construction began? How much land does the barn builder guy own? (if he only owns a 1/2 acre or something he may just be trying to push his luck and think, "eh the farmer wont mind if I use a little of his land to build me a barn" (which is stupid)

It is always a good thing to know where property lines are to begin with.

 

[JML755]

gun guru, "It is always a good thing to know where property lines are to begin with."

I agree 100%. Before I bought property few years back, the bank had it surveyed and staked. One of the stakes was near a creek and a small foot bridge behind neighbor's property and it showed the bridge to be on the neighbor's property by 30+ ft. This didn't seem right at the time. Couldn't see one of the other property stakes on a fence line some 200 ft away, so I cleared a bunch of brush to get a line of sight and used a construction transit to "shoot" the lines. Sure enough, the bridge was clearly on my property. I put up fencing on what I knew to be the correct line eliminating their access to the bridge. Neighbor threw a hissy fit, said THEY built the bridge and pointed to the stake. I told them that they were pretty dumb to build something not on their land (if, in fact, they had built it, which I doubt to be true) and "someone" had obviously moved the stake. I ended up getting the stake re-set by the surveyor (confirming it had been moved, a misdemeanor) and it was within an inch or two from where I calculated. Neighbor then called the County Drain Commission saying I had built the bridge without a permit !!

I ended up taking the bridge out and putting in a proper culvert so I could move vehicles across the drain, something I was planning to do anyway. I'm in the process of fencing the rest of the property lines.

I'm not so sure applying for a permit would GUARANTEE that you're legal, depending upon how good the building department is. :shock: Moral: Don't trust anyone but a registered surveyor and double-check it yourself.

 

[steamnjn23]

i worked for a home builder who built a custom, pre-sold house 19 ft over the neighbors line. had to buy that extra land to go with the house so he could close. another builder here in the area built a house 25' over the county right of way. well they came to lay sewer pipe and discovered it. in 2 days the builder had the house gone...and he was holding a valid permit for the house

 

[robersw]

Sorda makes me wonder if the farmer could be referencing off of what he thought was the property line and the guy building is going off of a recently done survey. I am seeing more and more instances where land is being sold and what people have been using for years has never even been their land. If there wasn't an "old" fence or tree line there to back up the years of use, the land will go to the owner as surveyed.

Seen this personally with my family. The road that leads to my parents house runs right now the line. The road also has serves as the entrance to our one neighbor. Always were family friends growing up so no issues. As I had a survey done to build a house, they surveyor said that the road must be split since it provided access to the neighbors house and no easement was done 50 years ago when they built. I decided I would build on the other side of our land to avoid making that survey permanent and having a deed made up.

 

[JML755]

steamnjn2- "....and he was holding a valid permit for the house".That's what I was talking about. Building departments aren't going to check for clear title on a particular piece of ground. Nowadays that's what Title Companies do and what Title Insurance is for. Anyone who buys a piece of property without one is asking for trouble. Seller pays for it and the buyer is the insured party. Never had to use one, but I'm glad it's there. It's amazing how "murky" legal descriptions can be on deeds over the years.