"Step 2: Bite the bullet and get a survey done early. Yeah, it stings the wallet, but trust me, it's cheaper than moving a fence later (ask me how I know)."
Haha, learned this one the hard way myself. Thought I was being clever by eyeballing it based on an old tree line...turns out trees don't care much about property boundaries either. Who knew? Curious though—anyone ever had neighbors dispute even after a survey? Seems like that could get messy fast...
We had a neighbor dispute even after our survey was done. It wasn't anything huge, just a disagreement over about two feet of grass near the driveway. Apparently, they'd been mowing it for years and assumed it was theirs. Even after showing them the official survey markers, they were still pretty skeptical—kept saying "well, that's not how it's always been." Eventually, we just shrugged and let them keep mowing it because honestly, less yard work for me, right?
But yeah, surveys aren't bulletproof. People get attached to their own mental maps of property lines, and sometimes reality doesn't match up. Has anyone ever had to escalate something like this legally? Seems like it'd be a headache and a half...
Honestly, you handled this perfectly. I've seen so many minor disputes spiral into full-blown legal battles over a couple feet of grass or a fence line—it's rarely worth the stress or expense. Surveys are useful, but you're right; they're not always enough to convince someone who's been mowing that patch forever. Letting it go was practical and probably saved you a ton of headaches down the road. Sometimes peace of mind is way more valuable than two feet of lawn...
"Sometimes peace of mind is way more valuable than two feet of lawn..."
Couldn't agree more with this. But I'm curious—has anyone found that property line disputes actually affect refinancing or appraisals down the road? I've refinanced a couple times and it always felt like the bank barely glanced at the actual boundaries. They just seemed more interested in comps and overall condition. Still, I wonder if having an unresolved boundary issue could ever complicate things later on...
A friend of mine had a similar situation with his neighbor's shed being partly on his property. He decided not to push it either, figuring harmony was worth more than a few square feet. But then again, I wonder how clearly documented these things should be if you ever decide to sell or refinance again? Maybe it's just me being overly cautious, but better safe than sorry when it comes to banks and paperwork...
My parents had a similar issue years ago—neighbor's fence was a good foot into their yard. They ignored it until they went to sell. The buyer's bank caught it during appraisal, and it delayed closing by weeks. Not a huge deal, but definitely a headache...
