Maine news, sports, weather from Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram, Portland, Maine

Loathe thy neighbor

Or rather, how not to: A guide to next-door etiquette and solving those anything-but-neighborly disputes.

By Ray Routhier rrouthier@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

It's debatable whether good fences actually make good neighbors.

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Michael Fisher

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GOOD NEIGHBOR POLICY

THERE ARE ALL types of problems that may arise between neighbors. Some of the most common involve noise, property boundaries, fences, trees or blighted property. Below are some general steps toward preventing or solving them.

GET TO KNOW YOUR NEIGHBOR: Even if a problem has occurred, try to get to know your neighbor before making the complaint. Introduce yourself. Talk about general issues of interest. A few weeks later, raise your complaint.

START A LOG TO TRACK THE PROBLEM: Write down the date, what occurs and any other observations that may be helpful. You may find that the problem is not as frequent as you thought. In any event, a clear log will help document your case for the police or the courts, if it gets that far.

DISCUSS IT WITH YOUR NEIGHBOR: Talking to your neighbor in a pleasant way may be all that is needed to work out a mutually acceptable solution. Remember, yelling is unlikely to persuade the other person.

PUT IT IN WRITING: When talking does not work, you may find that a clear written description of the problem and a proposed solution may persuade your neighbor. If you believe he or she has violated a law or local ordinance, include a copy of that law or ordinance.

TALK TO OTHER NEIGHBORS: If the problem is bothering you, it may be an issue for others. If it is a mutual problem, consider a joint letter.

TRY MEDIATION: Mediation is less formal and likely to be cheaper than going to court. In addition, the chance to have a neutral third party sort out what are often multiple issues can help the overall situation.

CALL POLICE: Calling the police should be done after considering the possible outcomes. First, the police are most likely to be able to help if the other party has violated a local ordinance or state law with criminal penalties. A reasonable documented approach will set you apart from others who put in calls to the police.

GET HELP FROM A LAWYER: Talking to an attorney can help you sort out next steps and the costs/benefits of various options. One possibility is asking an attorney to write a letter on your behalf explaining the law, the proposed solution and raising the possibility of a lawsuit.

SOURCES: Maryland Legal Assistance Network (MLAN) Maryland State Law Library (MSLL), and www.peoples-law.org

But it's a fact that a bad fence has the capacity to create bad feelings between neighbors.

''Fences can be tricky, because usually they get put up right on the property line. The problems can start when you want to paint the other side of that fence but you technically can't go on your neighbor's property to paint it,'' said Chris Neagle, a Portland lawyer with the firm of Troubh, Heisler who has worked in real estate law and handled property disputes in Maine for 32 years. ''Ninety-nine percent of the time, the neighbors are friendly and can work that out. But maybe it's better to make sure that fence is a couple feet within your property line.''

Maybe, but then do you go in your neighbor's yard to mow that extra 2 feet of grass? Or let it grow and risk angering your neighbor?

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

The ins and outs of neighbor etiquette can be tricky, complicated by property rights laws and noise or nuisance laws with which most people aren't familiar.

Besides fences, some of the things that can cause a strain in neighborly relations include trees or bushes rooted in one yard but hanging into another, consistently loud noise or bad smells coming from a neighbor's home, or a shed or other structure built by one neighbor on another neighbor's property because neither knew the legal boundary line.

That last one is important, because in Maine real estate law, there is doctrine known as ''adverse possession.''

It basically means that if some physical feature remains in place for 20 years without anyone complaining, the feature can become permanent and alter property lines, Neagle said. So if your neighbor puts up a fence 5 feet onto your property, because both you and your neighbor think that's the property line, you could lose that 5 feet if the fence goes unchallenged.

One of the basic ways to avoid ''adverse possession'' problems is to know your legal property lines. Don't just take for granted you know where they are because there's a fence on both sides of your property.

The only way to know for sure where your property lines are is to have a surveyor come out. A surveyor will use the deed to your property to find landmarks and measurements to help determine where the boundaries are.

A survey probably will run $1,000 or more, so you might not want to take that step unless you're planning on building something, planting a tree or making some other change.

YOU CAN TALK, TOO

If you don't want to have a survey done, sometimes you can ask your neighbor to agree on where the property line is. This could cut down on the chance of future problems arising from where one person's property ends and the other's begins.

Or you and your neighbor can come to an agreement on some existing feature that straddles your boundary. The agreement should be in writing. It can be fairly short, but probably should be checked by a lawyer to make sure it covers the important legal points, said Robert S. Hark, a Portland lawyer who has worked in real estate litigation for 35 years, both in the Lewiston/Auburn area and in Portland.

In the case of a fence that's already up and straddles the property line, Hark says two neighbors can enter a written agreement that clearly states the maintenance of the fence is the responsibility of the person who put it up. And that person has the right to come onto the neighbor's property to do that maintenance.

In such cases, both parties often agree that if the fence ever needs to be replaced, it will be rebuilt on a spot that is well within the fence owner's property instead of straddling two different properties, Hark said.

Hark said that nowadays when someone buys a house, a requirement of the mortgage is to have a survey of the property done, though it would be less thorough than a full boundary survey.

Still, they might uncover problems, such as a fence or birdbath that is actually on your neighbor's property when you thought it was on the property you are buying.

When it comes to your neighbor creating something you don't like to look at -- a big pile of tires, let's say -- you probably don't have any right to stop that.

''Sight lines are what they are; there's really no law about that,'' Neagle said.

But when it comes to noise or odors, there are ''nuisance laws'' on the books, Hark said. Still, you would have to convince a judge in civil court that your neighbor's smells or noise ''unreasonably interferes'' with your enjoyment of your property.

If you win, you might stop the noise or odor, but you may create a permanent rift between you and your neighbor.

So maybe the best way to prevent full-blown disputes with your neighbor is to say ''hi'' once in a while, be civil and build a bridge of goodwill for the future.

Or you can just find out where your property lines are and stay well within them.

Staff Writer Ray Routhier can be contacted at 791-6454 or at:

rrouthier@pressherald.com