I’m having a bit of a dispute with a next door neighbor. My property line goes along my driveway about 6" away. It’s grass, and my neighbor’s property which butts up against it is also grass. While mowing my yard I also mow that strip, but since my mower is wider than 6", some of the mower obviously crosses into my neighbor’s yard. My driveway is about a foot higher than the grass, so I can’t have the offending part of the mower on my driveway. I have to run the mower against the edge of my driveway.
I’m going to try to talk to them nicely to see if we can come to an understanding, but my neighbor can be a bit of a nasty snit. I’d like to get a feeling if it’s generally accepted that it’s okay to make reasonable access on a neighbor’s property in order to maintain my own.
I understand that people here may not be a lawyer, and even if they are, they certainly aren’t mine.
Normally neighbors with a grassy strip lying across a properly line will either take turns maintaining it, or one will do it in the other’s behalf, usually with some sort of recompense in the form of a returned favor. Perhaps you and he could make that sort of arrangement?
I agree. Most normal people would come to a nice arrangement for this. But you don’t always get to live next to normal people. He doesn’t want to mow it and says I should do it with a weed-wacker so I don’t step on his yard. I guess I’d have to walk with one foot in front of the other so I don’t go outside the 6". The strip also follows along a fence, so I can’t even reach the whole thing from the driveway.
My guess is that he’s preemptively fighting a property line battle that you aren’t even interested in. (“Look at filmore! steam from ears He’s always trying to steal those 18 inches of my property. ‘Hey, filmore, stay off of my property. Yeah, that bit right there! That’s mine!’”)
I think if you make sure to mention explicitly that you understand where your property ends and his begins, it might help.
I’m thinking the neighbor would rather mow the 6 inches up to your driveway and not have the strip mowed on his lawn by you . His lawn then has to be mowed to be even with what you just mowed. Ask them if they’d prefer to mow that 6 inches so it’s done at the same time to the same height as their lawn. It’s not like you have a 4 foot strip next to their yard. Worry what to do if that doesn’t work out good for you both.
I see you have new information. Time for asphalt or Round Up.
I second this. If he won’t mow it himself, after the Round Up, plant something else there, like ivy. You presumably can’t see it from your property, so if it looks like ass, well, that’s his problem.
I am completely dumbfounded by you folks in the U.S. I have responded to 2 or 3 previous posts here about neighbours and how to handle them. You folks have a MUCH more protective idea about personal property than anyone else in the known Universe.
I cut a few extra “laps” into both my neighbours’ lawns and they do the same. To stop at the EXACT property line is insulting.
Fer Christ’s sakes we plough each other’s driveways in the winter when one of us isn’t home.
To think that 6" should make a difference. Wow! Just Wow!
When I was in high school, our house and our neighbour’s house were situated such that they were mirror images of each others. (The houses themselves were not identical. What I mean was that their orientations on the properties were opposite.) There was a short, ratty-looking wormwood fence dividing the yards. That was soon taken down, and my dad or I and the guy next door would take turns mowing both yards.
Yeah, Leaffan, don’t fret. We all aren’t like the neighbor in the OP.
I’ve [del]wasted[/del] spent several years of my life living in subdivisions. The norm here is for whichever neighbor is out mowing to mow that whole strip between driveways, if it’s narrow. That way it matches the height of the rest of the yard. Doesn’t matter if Herb mowed it last week, this week, if you’re mowing your yard, you mow it.
Leaffan, it’s not everyone down here, just a few nutcases. You can count on at least one in every block.
My dad used to give the whole neighborhood a Christmas present by getting out his leafblower and bagging up leaves on the street and front lawns two houses on either side of us and across the street. Everyone appreciated it except one crazy old lady, who responded by bagging up the leaves in her backyard and then dumping the leaves all over our front yard. I’m not entirely sure what the message was meant to be, but we skipped her in future years. (And this was California, so, yes, there were actually quite a few leaves still falling at Christmas time).
As for the OP… I don’t think you’re doing anything illegal by mowing just over the edge or walking on his property to do it. However, I think gravel, paving stones, cement or something like that would be worth putting in, just to keep the peace.
This is not an average person. Normally some overlapping occurs, because how can you mow and not overlap. Being that it’s a 6 inch strip I would expect the neighbor would want to mow it. The neighbor has a confrontational attitude that is not the norm. Most people would understand cooperating on this benefits both parties.
I’m sure the obvious answer is escaping me, but couldn’t you not mow it? I mean, we’re talking about a 6-inch strip of grass that’s adjoining your neighbor’s yard and separated from the rest of yours. Aesthetically, it is part of his yard. If it’s more about establishing territory, just have a flag raising ceremony once a week, or have your dog piss on it.
My God, 2 or 3! I mean, 1 or 2 would clearly be nothing worth noting, but 2 or 3! It’s insanity!
Ooo… I’d love to do that. Unfortunately, we have a set of neighborhood covenants which specifies that the lawn must be properly maintained. And I have no doubt that my neighbor would be more than happy to submit a complaint if I didn’t mow.
In all the other houses I’ve lived in we’ve always just mowed what’s appropriate. The other side of my house has a 4’ strip of land of which half is mine and half is my neighbors. We both just mow the whole thing depending on who gets to it first.
Yes, leave it alone- well, ask him nicely what he’d prefer you do. Mow both? Let him mow both?
All the rest of these ideas:
“…a six-inch strip of concrete on your side of the property line…”
“Some nice flat rocks or stepping-stone type thing…”
"…after the Round Up, plant something else there, like ivy. "
"A giant wall of big fracking gnomes on that six inches. "
are all either poor attempts at humor, or reeally fucking bad ideas. Wars with a neighbor are something you** can not win.
**
I have seen these turn into murder. :eek:I am not in any way shape or form exaggerating. Neighbors will poison your pets, slash your tires, report any and every violation to everyone, play loud music, and so forth. :mad:
The only way out is to sell the house and move or go to prison.
Since this one is mine, allow me to disagree. You seem to be assuming it’s supposed to annoy the guy next door. I don’t see how you’re coming to that conclusion. If there is nothing to mow, then how can the neighbour be annoyed? If the driveway is concrete, what’s wrong with making the driveway six inches wider? It saves filmore from having to mow at all, and it has zero impact on Mr. Territorial.
