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NFT: legal fence question for NJ lawyers

LG in NYC : 1/15/2018 10:12 am
hi. I know we have a few lawyers here and I believe a few in NJ.

quick question... we have a white fence on our property, the top of which is decorative lattice.

the new next door neighbor is installing a new fence on her property... and though I am not sure... it seems she is going to put her fence right up next to ours on the side of the property that we share.

my concern is that it will look odd and blot out our lattice.

are there any rules at all about this? there is no dispute about property line, and while I appreciate responses that will say "why don't you go talk to her?"... I am merely curious if there are any laws/rules about this in NJ.

thanks.
Not a lawyer,  
smshmth8690 : 1/15/2018 10:24 am : link
but I'm pretty sure fencing is zoned differently in each town. Some have height restrictions, others restrict types of fencing. Is your new neighbor installing a pool, if so a fence is mandatory. Lots of variables.
Fences in general  
pjcas18 : 1/15/2018 10:39 am : link
are expensive, I'm not a lawyer, but I did just put up a fence, and your neighbor would need to be a complete asshole to put up unnecessary fencing (of any quality) on a side of their yard that is already fenced. Rule of thumb (not law) is you install a fence 1 foot of property line (meaning into your property) so you can maintain it. Assuming you did that, and if they follow that you'll have two fences facing each other with a 2 foot alley in between, beyond wasteful and really stupid.

Also decorum, not law, dictates owners typically install the better looking side of the fence outwards (assuming like most fences one side is built that way), not inwards, so it's even more wasteful and asshole-ish if they put a fence facing a fence.

For reference I do have a pool and I have a 6-foot vinyl fence around my yard and it cost over $20,000 (most are by linear foot) if one of those areas already had a fence I would have been thrilled.
It is all up to your local code  
jlukes : 1/15/2018 10:42 am : link
no state wide laws/rules would govern anything about this.

Agree with looking at local  
ctc in ftmyers : 1/15/2018 10:43 am : link
codes.

Why someone would erect a fence on a property line that is already fenced is the question?

Appears there is more to the story.
pjcas - nailed it  
LG in NYC : 1/15/2018 11:02 am : link
we have a pool and a white vinyl fence... if this neighbor (not sure if they are an asshole but they are super rich) puts her fence right up next to ours it will look ridiculous and be a total waste of money...

they are getting close to that part of the fence so I should know in a few hours what the deal is.

thanks,
ctc  
LG in NYC : 1/15/2018 11:04 am : link
nothing more to the story - at least from my side of the equation.

this person moved into a massive house by herself with her 3 dogs and has basically kept to herself in the 4 months since she moved in. No one with half a brain would waste $$ putting up a fence right up against another perfectly fine fence... but thus far she has shown herself not to care too much about others.
maybe she hates your ugly ass  
oghwga : 1/15/2018 11:08 am : link
fake vinyl fence and doesn't want to look at it. But it will create a 2 foot DMZ between the two fences which is hilarious. A few houses in a neighborhood I work in sometimes have that, IDENTICAL white vinyl fences in their tiny backyards but two feet apart.

Makes no sense.

maybe she's putting up a 6 foot fence in front of your shorter fence to keep her dogs in? Post pics it should be good.
RE: ctc  
The 12th Man : 1/15/2018 11:24 am : link
In comment 13789919 LG in NYC said:
Quote:
nothing more to the story - at least from my side of the equation.

this person moved into a massive house by herself with her 3 dogs and has basically kept to herself in the 4 months since she moved in. No one with half a brain would waste $$ putting up a fence right up against another perfectly fine fence... but thus far she has shown herself not to care too much about others.


What town are you in? Every town has their own fencing ordinance. I would go online and read the ordinance.
RE: Fences in general  
Rocky369 : 1/15/2018 11:38 am : link
In comment 13789830 pjcas18 said:
Quote:
Also decorum, not law, dictates owners typically install the better looking side of the fence outwards

Nitpicking, maybe. But why would any property owner owe their neighbors a better visual quality for their side of my fence? Maybe there's some unknown-to-me code, but I assumed you erect a standard fence with the horizontal members in your yard so no one is scaling your fence and into your yard. And for the greater curb appeal, but not for the benefit of your neighbors.

She puts up the fence she's pissing away money.
RE: RE: Fences in general  
section125 : 1/15/2018 11:48 am : link
In comment 13790010 Rocky369 said:
Quote:
In comment 13789830 pjcas18 said:


Quote:


Also decorum, not law, dictates owners typically install the better looking side of the fence outwards


Nitpicking, maybe. But why would any property owner owe their neighbors a better visual quality for their side of my fence? Maybe there's some unknown-to-me code, but I assumed you erect a standard fence with the horizontal members in your yard so no one is scaling your fence and into your yard. And for the greater curb appeal, but not for the benefit of your neighbors.

She puts up the fence she's pissing away money.


You put the better side out because that is the traditional thing to do. Show some respect for your neighbors.
it's not even about which side is out...  
LG in NYC : 1/15/2018 12:09 pm : link
it's that her fence will taller and within 2 feet of mine... it will just look stupid and take away from the overall appeal of both yards.

12th man - Madison NJ

owgh - that was funny. made me laugh


I'm about 30 min away from knowing the answer here.
I see it as a win  
DennyInDenville : 1/15/2018 12:10 pm : link
Now you got double fences , double security..

Doubt she will put one along yours tho..

Keep us posted
just asked the workmen...  
LG in NYC : 1/15/2018 12:13 pm : link
she is putting up alongside mine for about half the fence line, then running it back toward her house.

because of the hill line, her fence will be taller than mine - about a foot more in certain spots.

what a bitch.
Do you have space to plant  
pjcas18 : 1/15/2018 12:26 pm : link
any high shrubs or small trees inside your fence so you won't see hers?

when I put my fence up there was a row of evergreens right behind it on one side. I owned the evergreens. They provided some shade from like 4pm onwards to one part of my pool deck.

One day I came home and they were gone, one of my neighbors had a tree cutting place remove them so he could get sun on his deck. I told him based on the plot plan and survey I paid to have done when I put my fence up I owned those evergreens. He was sincerely beyond apologetic offering to pay to have new trees planted there, etc. mature trees to replace the old ones. He always assumed they were his, since they pre-dated either of us living here.

In the end though, with my fence I really didn't need the evergreens for privacy, I liked the shade though and that's where all the dead animals I scooped out of my pool and my dog killed were thrown (and the dead animals still go there, F-him)

anyway, I am going to consider this year getting maybe some big hydrangeas that would look nice around a pool setting and can grow big enough to mostly obscure the fence if that's your goal (and require little maintenance). or maybe even some smaller Japanese Maples (though they require more maintenance).
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