PA Property Laws

[J8300]

Ok not firearm related and I didnt see a better place to put it...

Yesterday I was out trimming hedges, if you call trimming wacking off two feet. Ok heres the deal. A neighbor on one side of us wanted the hedges lower so he could reach them to trim. The owners here had a deal with all affected neighbors to each do their side of the hedges. I did the one side where the neighbor complained it was too tall, and it was. No problem. He even complimented me on the job I did on his side. Then I move to the hedges adjacent to the street. No one affected there. Now the fun part. I go to do the other side, chopping about 2 feet off. I got our side completely done and the neighbor comes running out screaming...

The deal was keep your side trimmed, they never did. They want them about 8 feet tall while the owners here want them 4 feet. According to the neighbor there is a pole in the ground at the corner of the properties. She thinks the hedges are mostly on her side of that pole. They arent. The stems (in the ground) definitely fall on our side. The clump closest to the pole is actually the clump closest to the property line. The rest are back about another 3" onto our property.

Anywho she comes out yelling to stop and is just in generally an agitated state. She was breathing hard and talking fast, seemed like some kind of anxiety attack almost. Then she decides she has to go confer with her husband after I say theyre on our property and they didnt keep up with their end of the deal. They were trimmed on top, but the row was nearing 8 feet. When she finally comes back she says they decided to just let us finish but come talk to them before anybody trims again, them or us.

The hedges do overhang her property but they are planted on our side. She claims theyre mostly on her side according to the pole she pointed out that was there before she moved in.

This house has the same hedges on 3 sides. Hers has none except the one. Clearly the hedges were planted by the owner of this property some time back. She doesnt get this.

So the dilemma...the owners of this property wants them 4'. She doesnt want them short. She wants her communication before they get cut but she doesnt want them cut at all. So next time the same situation will probably happen again.

It should be obvious to anyone that the hedges are part of this property. Its surrounded on 3 sides by them. The trunks or stems are clearly on our side of the line, tho she thinks theyre not.

I'm willing to go tell her once that theyre going to get cut next time I go to do it. But not more than that. I also planned on letting her know that would be the last time Id "have" to communicate with her the cutting of OUR hedges.

I've done the google thing and cant find much on real property law. Can we cut the whole top off even if it extends over her property since the stems are on our side? Is anything that overhangs hers? Ive also looked online for the property lines. Cant find them. They were online for my county in Texas. I dont want to assume some stupid pole is the actual line. Who knows how it got there.

Any suggestions?

Oh and before you suggest be nice and compromise...we have tried. She isnt listening.

[Ramtuff]

If there's a question on the property line, get a survey done. It'll cost a couple hundred bucks, but it'll put to rest any concerns regarding that. If the root structure of the bushes lie on your property, they're yours and you can do what you want to them.

[normanvin]

If there's a question on the property line, get a survey done. It'll cost a couple hundred bucks, but it'll put to rest any concerns regarding that. If the root structure of the bushes lie on your property, they're yours and you can do what you want to them.

what he said........

[Statkowski]

If you trim them down to ground level, you won't have to trim them again.

You don't know exactly where your property line is?

[N3HCP]

We went through the same sort of thing with a couple trees a few years ago. Boundary trees (or hedges) are always a problem. Anyway, we did as Ramtuff has suggested and had a survey done. Money very well spent, indeed!! Turns out both I and the neighbor were wrong about where the line was! Now we know and the problem is solved. The trunk is, by a couple inches, on my side. He does what he wants with the part of the trees the hang over the line. The rest is my problem.

He even plants flowers around the base of the tree now! Surprising how many of these things resolve themselves when all parties know exactly where the line is and who's responsible for what.

[IV_Warrior]

You don't know exactly where your property line is?

I'd be many people don't. I know I'm not sure EXACTLY where my lines are, either. I've never even measured the distance between the fences of my neighbors on either side....

Yeah, I've thought about having a survey done, but it's money that can be better spent elsewhere unless a real NEED to have it done comes up.....like getting the money to build a garage, then I'll need to know exactly where the line is, so I can build as wide as I possibly can.

[J8300]

I dont really want to spend a few hundred on a survey. If the plots were online like in Texas it would be easy to figure out. All I would need is a tape measure.

I guess I will just stick with my original plan of letting her know one last time that I'm going to trim them. They match the hedges on the other 2 sides so Im pretty sure they were planted by the previous owner. If she bitches next time she can hire the surveyor.

Thanks for the suggestions. Keep them coming if you have more.

[widearea]

Just be kind and act civil...neighbors can be a nightmare...when they are nuts.

[Willie D]

On your deed there is often a fairly explicit clarification of the boundaries your property, sometimes measuring from static landmarks.

When we sold our old house the home inspector found metal stakes buried in some ivy that marked one of the boundaries.



If the hedges were on your property you can mostly do what you want. However, I know how the lady feels. We had new neighbors cut down almost everything on their property and it felt like we had lost a lot of our privacy.

Maybe you could give her some hedge seeds so she can do what she wants on her side.

[N3HCP]

Believe it or not, property lines can and do move over time. The deeds here say "starting at the center of the road..." Over the years the roadway has changed. A couple inches at the street can translate to a couple feet at the back of the property. In our case they did. In another 50 years they may be back where they started. Go figure...