I own a house on a plot of land next to a vacant plot of land. The vacant plot of land is declared "unbuildable" by the town assessor(Wakefield). I have never seen the owner of the land and I have been maintaining the land for the past 8 years(mowing, fertilizing, cutting shrubs) so the land doesn't get overgrown. Over the past 2 weeks, 2 panels of fencing have fallen from high winds and just deteriorating wood. There is another neighbor adjacent to the side with the fallen fence and their teenage son and his friends cut through the vacant lot, to my street. I've picked up cigarrette butts and beer bottles so far. My question is whether it's the land owner's responsibility to repair the fence. I would rather not pay out of pocket to pay for his fence but it is pretty annoying to see teenagers cutting across the land. If the land owner is required to repair the fence, should I just send a letter to him or is there a way the town can inform him? Thank you.
Submitted by maace on Tue, 03/08/2011 - 18:31
Posted in
Maintaining lot
It is very likely that your town or city has ordinances or by-laws that regulate the maintenance of property where you live. You need to go down to city or town hall and do a bit of research. If your neighbor is violating a by-law, the local inspectors may send a notice of violation.
However, before you make an enemy of the owner of the neighboring land, you may want to consider buying the lot. A local real estate attorney can help you with the details. If the lot is unbuildable, it is worth next to nothing to the owner, but may be valuable to you: Adding it to your parcel could increase the value of your home AND allow you to maintain it in a way that adds to the curb appeal of your property. Good luck.