Neighbor plants on your property

[Westy]

My neighbor, whom I never met, planted a tree partially on my property and disconnected his water nozzle (from his irrigation system) and connected my irrigation system to that nozzle that is watering his tree.
He is now selling his house and is not living there.
What would you do?
Is there a local (the Villages) agency or community complaint center that would handle this?
Thank you. Westy

[retiredguy123]

I would disconnect your sprinkler system from your neighbor's nozzle. No permission needed to do that. For the tree, I would send a letter asking him to remove the tree from your property. And, if there is a real estate agent, I would also send them a letter. You also need to verify that the neighbor doesn't have an easement in your deed restriction document that allows them to plant things on your property.

[Mortal1]

Never seen an easement that allows someone else to plant on your property. Where did you see this retiredguy123?

[retiredguy123]

Never seen an easement that allows someone else to plant on your property. Where did you see this retiredguy123?
Courtyard villas have a side yard easement that allows your next door neighbor to landscape and maintain a strip of land that you own along the side of your house.

[villagetinker]

I would call community standards 352-751-3912 and ask them the question. The notification to the realtor sounds like an excellent idea so future buyers are aware there may be a problem. Good luck.

[Westy]

I would call community standards 352-751-3912 and ask them the question. The notification to the realtor sounds like an excellent idea so future buyers are aware there may be a problem. Good luck.

thank you---will call them.

[Decadeofdave]

Small drill and some copper sulfate will do the trick

[Villageswimmer]

Courtyard villas have a side yard easement that allows your next door neighbor to landscape and maintain a strip of land that you own along the side of your house.

I seem to recall some similar weird thing with patio villas, as well. Community Standards should be able to answer your questions. OP, did you not question him when he planted the tree?

[Mrprez]

Post a sign allowing dogs to poop and pee on said tree.

[Stu from NYC]

Post a sign allowing dogs to poop and pee on said tree.

Would that make the tree grow faster?

[barlfair]

What did the neighbor say when you asked them about it?

[I'm Popeye!]

One Word: "Axe"

[Stu from NYC]

One Word: "Axe"

Two words, blow torch

[Jima64]

Nice quick chop job one night will remove the problem since it is on your property.

[dewilson58]

I'm guessing this is a fake news thread.

[New Englander]

Courtyard villas have a side yard easement that allows your next door neighbor to landscape and maintain a strip of land that you own along the side of your house.

Very true. I own a Courtyard Villa and this is the way it is.

[tophcfa]

Small drill and some copper sulfate will do the trick

I was thinking of pouring a bag of rock salt around the root system of the tree, but the copper sulfate would do the trick also. Another option would be a chain saw powered by a lithium Ion battery, those things are very quiet.

[Bogie Shooter]

My neighbor, whom I never met, planted a tree partially on my property and disconnected his water nozzle (from his irrigation system) and connected my irrigation system to that nozzle that is watering his tree.
He is now selling his house and is not living there.
What would you do?
Is there a local (the Villages) agency or community complaint center that would handle this?
Thank you. Westy
In the end it pays to know your neighbors.


Call deed compliance.

[Mrprez]

Fix the irrigation, pull the tree up and toss it out in the trash.

[Stu from NYC]

In the end it pays to know your neighbors.


Call deed compliance.

Hard when neighbor doesnt spend much time there.

[banjobob]

I was to
told by the community standards there no tree restrictions in villas , if you live in a villa have it removed.

[nick demis]

Make sure all letters are registered so you have proof of sending them in case it becomes a legal matter.

[Bogie Shooter]

Hard when neighbor doesnt spend much time there.

Much?

[crash]

Small drill and some copper sulfate will do the trick

Not really then you will have a dead tree. If he recently planted it you can just grab it and pull it out.

[jimkerr]

I would just remove it especially since he hooked up to your sprinkler system.

[Skunky1]

First send letters with a return receipt to the owner and the broker who has the listing. If it is the Villages listing send the letter to the village real estate office naming the agent and the violation. It is the brokers responsibility to pass on a defect to the prospective buyer. Failure to do so would place the broker at risk of having to cure the defect themselves. Contact community standards along with your name and address contact information which now some villages require and file a formal complaint against the owner.

[cafw1]

Yes, there is a place to complain. Call Deeds Restrictions 352-751-3912. The office is open Monday thru Friday and is located at Sumter Square. There are rules against this and they will act on it immediately. You might have to give your name if the problem can't be seen from the street and you'll have to give Deeds Restrictions permission to enter your property to take pictures in order to make the neighbor take care of the problem. Your situation sounds like it could be a theft problem in addition to a violation of Villages rules. I have a problem neighbor too who thinks she can encroach on my property and Deeds Restrictions solved that problem. They are great!

[JoeManz99]

Pull out the tree and put sod in

[TandHSTAR@AOL.com]

disconnect his set up. it's your property. How did he manage to plant a tree on part of your property?

[Petersweeney]

That poor tree’s ears must be ringing

[J1ceasar]

I have to admit I don't understand why anyone would buy a property that allows another person to do what they want on your own property. Can somebody give me the reason the villages allows this and in fact specifies this?

[CFrance]

Very true. I own a Courtyard Villa and this is the way it is.
Yes, but how would he be able to connect to the neighbor's sprinkler system? There's a house wall and a garden wall running all along that strip.

[retiredguy123]

Yes, but how would he be able to connect to the neighbor's sprinkler system? There's a house wall and a garden wall running all along that strip.
The OP didn't say that he lived in a courtyard villa.

[Villagesgal]

If this truly is on your property, I'd check first, then just take it out and put it on your neighbors property, don't even plant it, just put it on their property. You should check with an attorney, many give you a 30 minute consultation for free. In Washington state if it's on your property you have the legal right to take it down, if it hangs over your property you have the legal right to cut back all branches that hang over your property. Check with an attorney and with the Villages. In the mean time, cut off your water supply, do not hook it back to your neighbors, just disconnect your water supply. You really should find out why your neighbor put the tree on your property and why he hooked it up to your irrigation system. The realtor will have his contact info.

[FromNY]

How long have you been watering his tree on your land? All of a sudden because of sale it is an issue?

[retiredguy123]

I have to admit I don't understand why anyone would buy a property that allows another person to do what they want on your own property. Can somebody give me the reason the villages allows this and in fact specifies this?
It allows each courtyard villa owner to have a private, fenced in back yard. The easements are an alternative to "lot line" building or townhouse construction, which can create a different set of issues. And, it allows more houses to be built on less land. In most cases, the easements work out fine, and there is no problem. I think courtyard villas are very popular in The Villages.

[richs631]

I have to admit I don't understand why anyone would buy a property that allows another person to do what they want on your own property. Can somebody give me the reason the villages allows this and in fact specifies this?

The Villages doesn’t allow it, you can’t expect to post a security guard at every house 24/7. It’s the neighbor’s fault.

[jbrown132]

I was thinking of pouring a bag of rock salt around the root system of the tree, but the copper sulfate would do the trick also. Another option would be a chain saw powered by a lithium Ion battery, those things are very quiet.
How about a little civility and not acting like a fifteen year old juvenile. How about a friendly conversation with the neighbor first. Maybe the neighbor didn’t realize he was not on his property. Maybe it was a court yard or patio villa. We don’t know. All as I can say is Florida’s Friendliest Home Town.

[meridian5850]

Small drill and some copper sulfate will do the trick

I did not know that would make a tree vanish.

[retiredguy123]

It allows each courtyard villa owner to have a private, fenced in back yard. The easements are an alternative to "lot line" building or townhouse construction, which can create a different set of issues. And, it allows more houses to be built on less land. In most cases, the easements work out fine, and there is no problem. I think courtyard villas are very popular in The Villages.
Personally, I would not remove the tree without first addressing the issue with the neighbor. The fact that the house is for sale almost guarantees that the issue will be resolved if it is presented to the real estate agency. They don't want to allow anything to disrupt a potential sale or create an issue at the closing.

[retiredguy123]

How about a little civility and not acting like a fifteen year old juvenile. How about a friendly conversation with the neighbor first. Maybe the neighbor didn’t realize he was not on his property. Maybe it was a court yard or patio villa. We don’t know. All as I can say is Florida’s Friendliest Home Town.
I agree. It is also possible that the neighbor doesn't know that the sprinkler systems are individually owned. In some communities, the sprinkler systems are owned and operated by the developer.

[necur]

Cut down the tree

[stan the man]

soon to be a rental

[jmpate]

Disconnect your irrigation system. It's his tree and should water it with his resources!

[jrzeis@tampabay.rr.com]

If it truly is on your property then you are within your rights to remove the portion that is on your property. Example: You do not need permission to trim plants or tree limbs that are hanging over your property line. As for` the sprinkler issue that is absolutely against the law (this is the same law that does not allow your neighbor to hook up to your electric service). If you had not resolved the issue yourself you could have called law enforcement.

[Sherry8bal]

Report them immediately - they can't do that on your property and it says a lot about what a creep said neighbor really is that he would do such a thing. Make him take it all out and fix it at his expense.

[DAVES]

My neighbor, whom I never met, planted a tree partially on my property and disconnected his water nozzle (from his irrigation system) and connected my irrigation system to that nozzle that is watering his tree.
He is now selling his house and is not living there.
What would you do?
Is there a local (the Villages) agency or community complaint center that would handle this?
Thank you. Westy

Contact the Villages offices they are helpful and will advise you. My opinion, you will be better off doing it now. Thus, assuming there is ill will it will be with the neighbor that is leaving rather than with the new neighbor.

I sounds like a good thing. You are getting rid of a neighbor that you will be better of without.

[New Englander]

Yes, but how would he be able to connect to the neighbor's sprinkler system? There's a house wall and a garden wall running all along that strip.

That area is connected to his sprinkler system.

[CynthiaAnn]

Even so, he doesn't have the right to connect YOUR water to HIS tree!

[Stu from NYC]

Even so, he doesn't have the right to connect YOUR water to HIS tree!

Possible he didnt realize that was happening

[Pairadocs]

I would disconnect your sprinkler system from your neighbor's nozzle. No permission needed to do that. For the tree, I would send a letter asking him to remove the tree from your property. And, if there is a real estate agent, I would also send them a letter. You also need to verify that the neighbor doesn't have an easement in your deed restriction document that allows them to plant things on your property.

Excellent advice, sure hope you follow it. Had similar in our family with relatives in S.S. area of villages. You do NOT want to let this "slide", take care of it now while you have an opportunity. Also correct that you need NO permission to change sprinkler part so neighbor is not able to run his/her water through your meter, but DO check, could have an easement to have the tree, but water needs to be changed (yesterday !) not legal to tap into neighbor's water.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Another option, perhaps, is to bring it up with the seller's realty agent, and ask them to communicate with the property owner your concern.

If the property owner's response is either a) none at all or b) refusal to do anything about it then...

present him with a deed option to take legal possession of that strip of property, including the tree and sprinkler, so that as of that moment, it will be YOUR property and not his.

This type of situation actually happened to us in our last house in Connecticut. A low-income senior housing apartment complex went up behind our house, and the road leading off the main street to that complex cut between my property and the next door neighbor's property.

Everything was hunky dory for years before we moved in. And then, one day, we got a notice from HUD Housing demanding a quit-claim on the 100-foot long, 1.5-foot wide strip of land that was part of their sidewalk. Turns out their surveyor screwed up by a degree or two.

We ended up selling HUD that strip of land for around $4000, and that in turn obligated them to maintain the sidewalk and the frontage of our driveway in perpetuity. We no longer owned it, but we had the right-of-way on it.

It was a good deal.

[Jean G]

I can tell you this could be a big problem for closing trying to sell his house. Our fence was 3 inches over the line in the neighbors property. We took down the fence to sell the house!

[Westy]

thank you---will call them.

I would call community standards 352-751-3912 and ask them the question. The notification to the realtor sounds like an excellent idea so future buyers are aware there may be a problem. Good luck.
VILLAGETINKER: thank you, called Community Standards and they sent an inspector out, who reviewed the situation, informed me I was correct as far as the wrongful planting (there is a 3' rule from property line). They will call owner and let them know plant must be removed or moved and that they should have filed an application for planting and landscape around tree.
Thanks,
Westy

[Rose Ann Vinci Igoe]

My neighbor, whom I never met, planted a tree partially on my property and disconnected his water nozzle (from his irrigation system) and connected my irrigation system to that nozzle that is watering his tree.
He is now selling his house and is not living there.
What would you do?
Is there a local (the Villages) agency or community complaint center that would handle this?
Thank you. Westy

Get that side of your yard surveyed, so its the True Lot Line. Also, get a record of YOUR sprinkler system on that side. this way, you BOTH will have the correct information and no one is guessing. Also, unless they changed the rules, a few years back, I was told, when landscaping, you had to be 2' in back of Your Lot Line, ... Legally, he needed to get approval from The Villages, for THE PLANTING OF THAT TREE AND CHANGING THE SPRINKLER SYSTEM...he may not of done that. Either way, you both will have the correct information, and it won't be here say. It sounds like miss information from the beginning.

[Bogie Shooter]

Get that side of your yard surveyed, so its the True Lot Line. Also, get a record of YOUR sprinkler system on that side. this way, you BOTH will have the correct information and no one is guessing. Also, unless they changed the rules, a few years back, I was told, when landscaping, you had to be 2' in back of Your Lot Line, ... Legally, he needed to get approval from The Villages, for THE PLANTING OF THAT TREE AND CHANGING THE SPRINKLER SYSTEM...he may not of done that. Either way, you both will have the correct information, and it won't be here say. It sounds like miss information from the beginning.

My bet is since it has been 3 months it is resolved.............