A single family homeowner, whose house and property are behind a row of condos, has for years been using this approx 1,000 feet of the Condo Assoc land to run a wood cutting business that involves sometimes as many as 3 men with chain saws cutting up 30 plus foot logs into 2 firewood, storage of trailors and other commercial barbeque equipment, and several snow plows. This single-famiy homeowner has erected a fence that extends 6-8 feet onto the Condo Assoc. property in and effort to extned his property which is less than the 1,000 feet of the adjacent condo property and even paved some of the condo property in order to extend his driveway-ALL of this has been happening for about 4 years and no one from the Condo Assoc. realized the property belonged to the Assoc. and not this abutter who now that that the Condo Assoc Property Manager has been made aware of the situation, the Property Manager thinks the best solution would be to sell the vacant lot to the abutter who has been helping himself to this property and in the meantime making all of the Condo residents who live behind him unable to enjoy the piece and quiet they should have becasue of his log cutting business. Important to also mention, this homeowner works for the town's DPW and he and his fellow town workers have been delivering this wood (driving trucks with several 30 plus logs) to this lot by driving onto it many times a year and this abutter has lead the town to believe that it is his property but it is not and this action leaves the Condo.Assoc. liabel for any injuries occured, does it not? The homeowner on the opposite side of the parcel is also interested in purschaing the property to have a larger play area for his children and also to not have to live next to the wood cutting business. What should be done about this past unathorized use and any potential sale to this arrogant abutter?
Submitted by Patricia Ross on Mon, 06/01/2009 - 12:11
Posted in
Editor's Response
If I lived at that condo development, I would ask the association to get off its collective A*#@ and do something about the situation. If the use of the property has only gone on for four years, you do not yet have to worry about adverse possession. However, the association should have its attorney send a cease and desist letter and demand that neighbor remove his personal property, fence and wood from the condo land. I agree with you. Why would you want to sell the land to a noisy business (have you checked with the town re zoning violations) when you could sell it to the other party for personal use? Good luck, and please tell your friends about The Forum.