Category: Neighbor Relations
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The downside to fighting a real estate development
Reader Question: My family was fighting a real estate development 20 years ago. We own 60 acres of beautiful land in the midwest. A sister owns an adjacent property. We are landlocked on three sides, and our access is a one-lane road. Back then, the neighbor who owns the three sides wanted to develop…
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Do unkempt neighborhood homes affect my home’s value?
Homeowner has a feeling the neglected homes in the neighborhood are affecting value. When they learn the answer, they will have a decision to make.
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You can’t fight city hall – or can you?
Reader Question: Can we fight city hall? We live in a 75 lot development completed in the early nineties. We do not have an HOA. Our problem is we are on our own for upkeep and repair to communal areas. We have garage sales and take up collections and pitch in when the need arises.…
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Will a zoning change cause our property value to drop?
Reader Question: We own a small, well cared for, older home in a moderate neighborhood in a small midwestern city of about 30,000. We are one block off off of a feeder street near downtown that has both similar single-family homes plus a few apartments and small medical offices. The zoning allows for a medical…
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Household waste disposal gone wild
Reader Question: I have a neighbor with a house for sale. It’s household waste disposal gone wild. He had another neighbor with a backhoe come into his yard the other day and dig up a portion of the yard to bury a large amount of trash. By trash, I mean lumber, building materials, large metal…
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Homeowner Seeks To Nullify An Easement
Reader Question: I have a question regarding easements. I own a home built in the late 1920s. The original owner created an easement agreement with one neighbor next door. Nearly eighty years later I tried to dissolve the easement and told I could not, that my current neighbors would need to agree to terminate it…
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Dealing With A Municipality Issue
Reader Question: We are dealing with a municipality issue. We have a big problem with a new fire code dictating new elevations and width measurements of the easement road which currently services eight homes. Our real estate agent discovered it answering a prospect’s question about fire codes. We requested a variance in this provision in a…
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Should a Homeowner Allow Others to Use Property
Question: Should I as a Homeowner Allow Others to Use Property I own? I own a home that sits on about one-and-a-half acres that is very close to a high school. The back part of my plot is a twenty thousand square foot plot that was a fallow cornfield when we moved in. The agricultural…
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Zoning change upsets neighbors
Reader Question: Our neighbor petitioned for a zoning change on property he has owned for many years. Our city has grown out past our homes. His story is that a developer approached him claiming the town wants a small strip center and a convenience store. The city says area residents are complaining they have to…
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Three options for homeowners in a weak homeowners association
Reader Question: We have a weak homeowners association board. Our homeowner’s association (HOA) has bylaws. The HOA is not proactive in enforcing them and has allowed residents to violate, only addressing the violations if someone files a complaint. This refusal to proactively monitoring property conditions puts the complaining homeowner in harm’s way by exposing them to…
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Tree trimming thorny issue between neighbors
Reader Question: Our neighbor has a tree with branches that encroach on our property and pollutes our swimming pool. Our neighbor says we cannot touch their tree, as it will ruin its shape. Can we rid ourselves of this nuisance? Monty’s Answer: Many property owners see trees as a valuable resource that adds value to…
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Fallen tree concerns next-door neighbor
Reader Question: If a fallen tree from my neighbor’s yard, or a huge branch damages the fence or wall between our houses or my pool or pool equipment is he liable? My insurance agent gave me a very vague response about the insurance adjuster determining liability. How can I be liable for his tree, or…
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Staging a successful real estate proposal
Reader Question: I want to create a successful real estate proposal for a property owner. These are modest houses in a decent neighborhood where we own other rentals. One is vacant. We have a rental right next to the homes I would like to purchase. I have become somewhat of a friend of the homeowner to…