My neighbor's fence dispute taught me a $600 lesson

I put up a new privacy fence along my property line back in June, right up against where I thought the boundary was. My neighbor came over and told me it was six inches over onto his land, and I laughed it off. He pulled out his survey from 2018 and sure enough, I was wrong. I had to pay $600 to have the fence moved and I learned never to trust my own eyes over a proper survey. Has anyone else gotten burned by assuming where a property line sits?

3 comments

3 Comments

aaron88012d ago

My buddy had a similar thing with a shed. He built it four feet from where he thought the line was, turned out it was two feet over. The neighbor made him tear the whole thing down and start over. That cost him way more than $600 by the time he paid for lumber and labor again. I guess the lesson is never trust your gut when it comes to property lines, always get a survey done before you dig or build anything. Surveys are boring and expensive but they save a lot of headaches down the road.

nancy_wood12d ago

Doesn't it feel like that's just how life works now? We skip the boring, careful step and end up paying double later. It's like with car repairs or even just putting together furniture. You think you can eyeball it and save time, but then you're stuck with a bookshelf that wobbles or a neighbor who's mad. I swear, every time I try to take a shortcut with something important, it backfires. It's almost like the universe has a rule. "Pay attention now, or pay attention later with interest.

the_holly12d ago

Maybe a little harsh, but yeah, $600 is cheap for that lesson. Your eyes and a handshake can't beat a survey.