most of the old houses in my neighborhood have detached garages very close to the property line. even though we are all on at least 1/2 acre lots. of course, this would never be allowed now. BUT, I've got to say, I never really worried about the side of my garage that I can't see. BUT, that doesn't give your neighbor the right to do what he has done. Why don't you simply talk to him? Seems like the easiest solution to me. After that, you would have to see what is permissible on the property line in your community.

I'm a little confused by your post.....you refer to a "new neighbor". Are you the new homeowner or is it your neighbor. If you are new, you never know what kind of arrangement he might of had before. I'd say talk to him.

Before you do anything check with your town/villiage/city to see what the rules are for fences. I know some places now say there must be at least so many feet between the property line and fence so a fence may not work.
Probably the best thing to do is gently speak with the new owner. Tell him you realize he's busy and has lots of workers running around but you'd appreicate it if they could show a little more respect to your property....namely your garage and not be tossing stuff on it.

Sounds familiar. Our garage is 3 feet from the property line, and the former owners of our house had put up chain link along the back yard, up to the garage, then did a return on the fencing to the garage wall, where the back yard was square, leaving the 3' wide strip down the side of the garage unfenced. At the alley, on top of the retaining wall, they had fenced the 3' strip to keep people out of that area (from the alley) and tied it into the fence of the yard next door, so in effect, that strip was "fenced in" to look like part of the neighbor's yard.

New people bought the house next door and they started clearing the area in that "L" part, thinking it was THEIRS. We brought out the plat and showed them (they don't speak English). Then we quickly put up a 6' privacy fence.

It was a previous neighbor that did all that? Is it possible the current neighbor thinks the block wall belongs to you? I would offer to help the current neighbor remove the block wall and install a new fence that you can both agree on (maybe a vintage looking little picket fence). You have to live next to him so itÂs best to keep it as friendly as possible.

Stucco? Geez, I don't know about that one. Can it be removed without destroying the garage? Would you want to remove it? At the very least I would repaint it to match the rest of the garage instead of the neighbors house.

I would put in a rock garden along that side of my garage. That could open a conversation with the neighbor about him keeping his construction material off your garage, therefore out of the way while you are working on your new garden. It would give you the opportunity to let the neighbor know how much you value the vintage garage and that you worry about keeping it in the best condition possible. The rock garden would eliminate any need to mow or use a weed eater against the side of your garage. If the neighbor gets disagreeable about it, then I would add cactus plants to my rock garden. *evil grin*

Who knows, maybe you and your neighbor can end up being friends while working out this problem.

We're on the opposite side of the garage. Our neighbor's garage is right on our property line and it is ugly! They don't maintain it and never come to clean out the gutter on our side. I don't know...it seems like if your garage got stucco'd (which it shouldn't have)they were trying to improve the look of it from their perspective? If it took so long for you to notice it, are you maintaining it? I'd call the city and see what the code is...and put up your fence if that's what you want. If it is against code to put up a fence, then talk to your neighbor....he might be wishing to cover up your garage like I am wishing to cover my neighbor's garage and he might be grateful you took care of it. In any case it would be good to tell him where the property line is sooner rather than later. Keep in mind if you do fence it, it will become a no man's land because you can't use it. It might be more aesthetically pleasing from the street if you just left it as is....it sounds like your new neighbor is trying to improve things on his side with the construction...maybe give him a chance?

If the fence thing works out, you can put in the post holes and then put the fence on joists attatched to the posts so you can lift the panels out for maintenance.

oops-- i meant joist hangers.

Here is a link that might be useful: fence on joist hangers

Before you act, think about this.....if either one of you puts up a fence, you will not have enough room to put in a ladder to maintain your garage! Neighbors can do really dumb things and take liberties with other peoples property. Ask me how I know?

Am I missing something here?? No matter how "nice" it looks, it's (to my way of thinking) no less than trespassing and destruction of property! Tell him to fix it back "the way you had it" and then get himself and his stuff off your property or you will be forced to take "measures". But remember, "Don't take the law into your own hands, take 'em to court!" [Start theme music.] LOL!

Leesa

If I were you I would probably write them a letter stating that it is your property and that you would like to make sure that is clear. there are laws that if a person is using someone elses property for a certain period of time - I don't remember how long - and the owner does not say anything - the property becomes theirs. I want to say it is eminent domain - but I don't really think that is it. I can't remember, I hate that!!!! It has been a long time since I took that real estate class.

Talk first. If it can be handled in friendly fashion, so much the better. Some of the other posts mention rock garden or fence on the side of the garage. I need help here- how can one build a fence one foot from a wall and not get his foot (part of the body) onto the adjoining property during the process? The only way this will ever work is peaceful cooperation.

Thanks for all your responses to my post. I am still thinking about what to do. I will start by talking to the neighbor. I've chatted with him several times before and he seems a nice-enough guy. It's just that he is an immigrant and he comes with his own cultural preconceptions which don't necessarily jive with how Americans do things. So it is hard to know what he is thinking/planning.

Just to answer a few of the questions y'all posed: I have been living in the house for 25 years. The present neighbor has been here one year. The neighbor before him was here about 18 months. (They gutted the house down to the studs, drywalled everything, and sold it for a big profit). The neighbors before them are the ones who built the wall and stucco'd my garage. They were living there when we moved in 25 years ago. So we had the same neighbor for 22 years.

No, the side of the garage was not being neglected to the point that it was an eyesore to the neighbor. We had it painted every few years (before the block wall went up)and it was the painter who discovered it had been stucco'd by the neighbor who we had for 22 years. But I do appreciate the perspective from Spunky MA who lives on the other side of the garage. (My OTHER neighbor has their garage about 2 feet from the property line. His garage is in terrible shape but with a 6 foot fence on that property line, I don't care all that much about his ugly garage.)
Again, thanks for all your responses!

Wow! I'm surprised that wall was allowed to stay through 2 property transfers. It would have been out of here in my town with an encroachment like that.

I would talk to the guy. It is probably a case of misperception which is easy enough to understand considering the wall was there when he bought the place.

Thanks! This thread just inspired me to go check out the other side of our garage to make sure it's not an eyesore to our neighbor :)

[quote]Neighbors can do really dumb things and take liberties with other peoples property. Ask me how I know?[/quote]

Ok softfurn, how do you know? Tell us your story.