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Can you ask your town if you can fence THEIR property?
My wife and I have been working on purchasing a short sale home for over 7 months now. We didn't think to check the property line maps closely for whatever reason. We are novices when it comes to all this. When we got the appraisal back, I noticed the property line comes right next to the driveway, cutting off the entire side yard. We planned to fence in this yard completely. The other side of the property line is town property. I am not sure on the easement lines. The town does not use the this part of the land, and it is only for the purpose of electrical lines that pass through the area.
I am not sure who to ask so figured I would pick everyone's brain here as there are people that are knowledgeable on so many things. You can see the properties from the arial map and the land in question is to the right of the driveway. I had a surveyor out today to verify, and you can see the line in the pictures below.
My subdivision has a single lot that is owned by the town park district. It is reserved for a thoroughfare to an unincorporated area behind us ... if the area is ever annexed town code would require a road there to allow two access roads for emergency vehicles. Because of the potential to replace the lot with a street the park district does nothing but keep grass mowed on it. Our homeowners association inquired about being allowed to put some decorative plants and perhaps benches for a little sitting/gathering area to make it more of a park in the meantime. We were turned down.
I`ve dealt a bunch of times with our local city gov`t`over the years through a business I owned and my home in the same area. Basically there are a lot of rules on how you do your business with the municipality but not really any on how they do business with the home/business owners.
Basically they don`t have to do anything. Put on a nice suit and go down and ask, doesn`t hurt to state your case.
Also I would ask how much they want for the property next door with the wooded area it looks pretty nice.
Why would they leave a random, city owned green belt there, sandwiched between a forest and a house? Seems odd.
Not sure if you're at all interested, but you could make a case to buy that land from the city- and then do whatever you'd like with it. Unless there is a specific need for the city to have that land (drainage, etc), they generally are ok with selling small parcels of land off. At least here they are. As stated, they won't let you put a fence up around it if it's not yours- in that way, you're assuming ownership of that piece without any consent. Also, if they ever needed to get in there, they would be permitted to knock that fence down any way they'd like and there's nothing you can do about it.
Personally, I would look to buy that piece at fair market value. If you go in to talk to someone about this and they say no, work your way up the chain of command. Yes, you will become "that guy", but honestly, who cares. In my experience, the higher you climb, eventually you get to a certain level where someone says "yeah whatever, let them do what they want". If someone says no to you (and they likely will), politely ask who their boss is and ask for their contact info. Do that with everyone who says no. Eventually you'll be barking at the mayor's door, but again, who cares.
who mows that part of the grass? does the town come and do it?
This city does not mow it. It was taken care of by the previous owner. There really is nowhere to access from that space. There is a stone wall beyond the grassy area, separating the grass and wooded area (and then the area opens up to where the power lines are).
We know that IF we were to fence it without permission, that it would be a risk. Our attorney who is also a family friend is calling the town to see if they are open to selling the land.
Not that it matters, but this is a short sale which if it continues to sit will become a blight. It was very overgrown but the sellers attorney had someone go mow it. Also, this is in Newtown, CT (yes, that Newtown, CT). It is a tougher sell due to the stigma that now comes with the town. We are hoping the folks at town hall realize this and are willing to work with us on this. We shall see.
what i would do is say hey you guys don't even maintain the space... if i am there to maintain the space then why not sell it to me... if your attorney is a good RE attorney and has been in front of the board of adjustments before he should know how to navigate the council... definitely don't do anything until you know for sure what happens with that space... are you in escrow already?
my house was in a similar situation... long ago there was a proposed road that was supposed to continue alongside the property... that idea was abandoned and the lot sat vacant as an easement... the first owner of the house used the space and ended up paving it to make into a tennis court (she was a Phys Ed teacher)... after the second owner bought the property he went to the town and had the easement removed and combined in with the property... so essentially i have almost a full double wide lot... the property behind me is part of the next town over and developed and sold the land long ago and there is a house there currently... i on the other hand enjoy having full court basketball games in the yard...
05-27-2017, 11:00 AM
