Happy Neighbors...Happy Life
Posted on Jan 28, 2016 8:45am PST
You’ve just moved into a beautiful new neighborhood. You’re
excited and nervous. What will the neighbors be like? If you’re
lucky they’ll be around your age and interested in the same things
you’re interested in. Maybe you’ll have them over during the
week for dinner or drinks and over on the weekends for cookouts and football
games. Maybe you’ll be best friends. Or maybe…just maybe…they’ll
be AWFUL. Maybe they’ll be the kids who party all night and play
their music way too loud. Maybe they’ll have 14 dogs who bark at
all hours day and night. Honestly, new neighbors are like a box of chocolates,
you never know what you’re going to get. Cheesy but true.
Whether you are friends with your neighbors or mortal enemies, you share
a property line which means that you currently or will share a fence in
the future. Most of the time there will be few issues. The neighbor who
decides to replace their fence pays for the entire project and gets the
“pretty side” of the fence facing their yard.
Sometimes neighbors will come together and decide to split the cost on
a “good neighbor” fence, which means the panels flip flop
facing opposite directions.
Another option for neighbors wanting to split the cost and still have an
esthetically pleasing fence is the “shadow box” fence. This
fence alternates each picket instead of each panel.
Both of these options are great for neighbors who can come to a mutual
agreement. But what happens when your neighbors are the nightmare neighbors?
We’ve seen it many times. Our customer wants to replace their fence
but the neighbor refuses to share the cost of their section and wants
their demands met. Are you under any legal obligation to meet their demands?
The answer is no, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be considerate
in the process. Make sure to keep the lines of communication as open as
possible. Inform your neighbor of the demo date ahead of time so that
they have time to prepare for the containment of their pets. People get
understandably cranky when their fur babies escape. It takes just a little
common courtesy to avoid the Missing Pet posters.
It’s also a good idea to talk about the project ahead of time so
that your neighbors know what to expect from the final product. If you’re
ripping out an old fence and replacing it with a new fence that is exactly
the same, you shouldn’t have an issue. However, this may not be
the case if you plan to change the size or quality of the pickets, add
cap and trim, or change the type of materials used.
In the end it is always a good idea to keep in mind that you are neighbors
and whether you agree or not, you will still have to interact with each
other from time to time. Being considerate and respectful of each other’s
time, property, and opinions will certainly make things easier.
Remember…Happy Neighbors…Happy Life :)