Easements question
 

Hi, I have a large tree on the side of my property. After the tree I have about 2 feet of grass before the neighbors property begins. I use a lawn service and when come through they circle around the tree so go onto the neighbors property about 2 feet just to get around and cut the rest of my grass. Is that acceptable under easement rules? Just looking to get that answer for sure.

There are no easement rules except what is shown on your official plat and stated in your deed restriction documents. I would suggest that you carefully read these documents to see what they say about easements. If they don't show an easement, then you don't have one. These documents may address encroachments, but the ones I have read usually only allow a 12-inch encroachment in some situations.

You could talk to the neighbor of course, and that is a good idea in general. I can't imagine anybody is worried about you cutting 2 feet of their grass going around a tree, but you never know.

If for some reason its an issue, then one simple solution would be to hire the neighbor's lawn service, then they are cutting both sides anyway.

I see, and thanks. Good suggestions.

I agree. I can't believe that anyone would complain about you cutting part of their lawn. I wish that my neighbor would do my entire lawn!

I wouldn’t want my neighbors lawn service cutting any part of my lawn. They cut his to short and half the time they use a string trimmer not a mower for cutting the lawn. Yes I am OCD when it comes to my lawn and landscaping

Neighbors lawn guy to clear their rock border and AC, has to cut about 12-18” of our side lawn or unload walk behind. On return swipe cut the other 18” of balance to our rock border. Their time 2 minutes.

That way I don’t have to trim or mow side of house. Grass is always uniform and saves me 15 minutes of trim and mowing. I mow at a higher inch, so it always looked weird, unless they hand mowed.

I would definitely ask neighbors, maybe they don’t mow the same height, or just added fertilizer, or their sprinkler gets run over.

Absolutely talk to your neighbor. Some folks are picky when it comes to their lawn. (Length of cut, how often, etc) best both parties are on the same page regarding lawns.

LOL, my neighbor three doors down was cutting his yard and mowed one swath into his neighbor's yard. That neighbor went to the store and bought those solar powered lights and put a row down the property line so my friend would know where his yard ended. Not sure if the HOA has noticed the lights or not.

I run into the same problem between property lines. I do not like them coming on my grass and cutting it so short that it burns besides that that side of the yard has more weeds from the grass cuts ( from other property)that they bring to the yard when they cut. The side of the yard looks like crap after they are done. So I don’t believe they should have the mower on your side of the property. As Petty as it might seem I like my grass at a certain height which it is supposed to grow.

Words
 

Great. Now I have to stop thinking about how similar "metes and bounds" sounds like "leaps and bounds". But, happy to have learnt the difference between easement and encroachment. :-)

I belong to the same club.

No HOA.

to funny! :1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

I agree that weed seeds travel on the underside of the professional mowers, who do NOT hose down their equipment between yards.

I would not want someone cutting two feet into my lawn. They need to use a push mower around the tree as to not cut your neighbors lawn.

Extreme OCD here regarding my lawn and landscaping.

NO ! You are inconsiderate towards your neighbor , your neighbor should put pieces of re bar to keep your lawn service off of their property!

If I was your neighbor, I would have your mowing service to stay off my property

Be a considerate neighbor
 

Always take in consideration how your neighbor feels about your lawn company coming onto their property. Also, it is best practice to have open communication with them. Property lines are just that between homes. It is their property and not yours. Your lawn company, if they use the large heavy equipment, could be making deep tire ruts in their lawn on days that the ground is wet due to rain or overwatering, damaging the grass. And when that continues the landscaping company and ultimately you (if you do nothing about it) are damaging their property. Just have open conversation with your neighbor, be willing to listen with an open mind and proceed accordingly as a considerate neighbor.

This isn’t an easement issue. Your landscaper is encroaching on your neighbor’s property, and you have no rights to do so.

easement
 

An easement is granted for a specific purpose and is spelled out in detail on plat of the property you are concerned with. They are granted for things like utility access, drainage pipe access, common wall access etc. An easement to cross a property line to mow grass would not be assigned to the plat by the developer. That is something you would need to be granted by the owner and have recorded on his plat.

Just because they may have a utilities or drainage easement that does not give anyone else the right to enter or use that property except for the exact purpose claimed in the easement. Same as easement at curb. Just because we all an easement for possible sidewalks or utilities next to the street it does not transfer to someone walking a dog and allow them to use it as they please (but I personally do not care if you let your dog walk on my lawn....)

Talk with your neighbor vs. asking here.

Solution might be to have his lawn service (or him) cut the grass on your lot around the tree so it is exactly the same height as his lawn (but on your property). They may not care and let you continue to cut it. In either case, you have no right to enter his property and cut his grass due to any easement that is on your original plat.

After reading these responses, I am so happy that the next-door neighbors on both sides of me use the same lawn service as I do. I never could have imagined there would be an issue with a lawn service going a couple feet onto a neighbor's property to cut around a tree. Boy, was I wrong. Silly me.

,your land is your land and your neighbor has his. I do not think that is acceptable . Ask you neighbor !

One other alternative, use the same landscaping company (if the works for you), the one i had was not working for me, so I changed to the same company the neighbor is using, works great for all involved.

Should be OK as long as your neighbor does not object(actualy your lawn guy is cutting his grass) Per your post, neighbor should be happy

2 feet away from a tree is probably mostly roots.

Another good reason why I feel that neighborhoods should hire 1 company to do the entire neighborhood. No longer have lawn companies in the road 6 days a week(and sometimes on Sunday) uniform cutting height, lower costs etc

I would be fine with the developer or The Villages doing it, but not "neighborhoods".

Agreed, I have never had to think about it very much with our homes, now our in the past.
However, there are very valid points about issues of ruts, weeds and height.
We take pride in how our yard looks, and we work hard to maintain it esthetically for OUR enjoyment.
Our neighbors all cut their own lawns and don't encroach which is appreciated.

That is likely incorrect.

Very few homes in The Villages have easements for sidewalks or utilities, next to the street. People often use the wrong terminology, when talking about the "non-travelled part (non-paved) of the way".

In the olden days, folks often owned to the centerline of a street/road and the roadway was located on an easement. That is no longer the case, particularly if the road was layed out in the last 50 years. These days, a road "taking" or a road "layout", is usually 40%-100% wider than the proposed travelled way (paved portion). The standard "taking" or "road layout" for a residential street, is typically 40' to 60', with the travelled way, occupying from about 24' to 30'.

The reason it's done this way, is to allow room for the municipality to: work on/repair the road, install utilities and to account for minor variances in the exact location of the road, when it's actually constructed.

The easement part is NOT the municipality being granted an easement for the road, it's the other way around. Abutting owner and drivers on the road are granted an easement to use the travelled way and the area immediately adjoining it. So in most cases, folks walking along the side of a road that doesn't have a sidewalk, are walking on municipally owned land and the homeowner has nothing to say about it.

If a city or state decides to built a major road or interstate, they may do a "taking" that could be 100's of feet wide, even though the actually roadway is only going to be 100' in width. Unless there are unusual constraints, it will normally be a "fee simple taking", rather than an easement.


Just a guess, but parts of the historic district might be different.

To clarify, the section of land adjacent to the street is not an easement. It is a "right-of-way" and it is owned by the county, city, or The Villages. The homeowner's property starts at the front lot line, which is usually about 5 to 10 feet back from the curb or the paved street. You can see exactly where your property is located by looking at your official plat. It shows the front, sides, and rear property lines. Many homeowners think that they own the property all the way to the curb, but they do not. Although, in most cases, they are required to mow the grass in that area. The official survey plat shows exactly where your property lines are located.

Fascinating to read all the responses. When I read the post, I was thinking who would care about somebody mowing two feet onto their property to go around a tree? But evidently upon reading the responses, a lot of people would care.

The Villages is made up of a lot of caring folks.

& I have the opposite take. Who would just mow grass on someone else's yard and think that's ok?

My lawn service uses a push mower. When I had a service with the large zero turn riding mowers, they were leaving a 'track' in my yard. My neighbor's lawn service uses the riding mowers. The situation was similar to yours, with neighbor's trees along the property line. Their service was coming into my yard and created a depression where water was accumulating. It killed my lawn in that area. I asked the neighbor to tell her service to not come into my yard. It was hit and miss. I eventually put some large planters along the area where they were entering my yard. That solved the problem.

Also, who would let their dog play, poop and pee and scratch up someone else's yard and think that's OK.
Reality is this. You own the landscape to the road or sidewalk or the wall or your neighbors landscape. You bought it. You maintain it. It is yours. Regardless of "easement's", only authorized utility, maintenance or safety personnel may trespass for the appropriate purposes. All others are trespassers and should keep to the road or sidewalk provided! And, NO! Asking forgiveness after the fact is NOT acceptable.

Have you thought about having the tree on the property line removed?

Landscaping is not allowed in easement/right of way.
Look it up

If you were to do some research, I think you'll find that your assumptions and conclusions are incorrect. Please read my post #31.

Attached is a Screen Shot of the Sumter County GIS system, of a typical area in The Villages. Please note, "property lines" do not extend to the paved portion of the road. Property lines are typically at least 10' from the actual paved portion of the roadway and that land does not belong to the homeowner (I'm getting conflicting stories, whether it belongs to TV or the County ... my guess is that TV owns it) Whoever owns it, it is part of the road layout (taking) and the public has the right to use it.

Per Sumter County regulations, most Roadways in the county are now a minimum of 50' in width, with 24'-26' being paved. TV is a little different, as it's permitted as a planned community.

You can look up your address, here: ArcGIS Web Application

Lawn is part of your landscaping, sprinklersystem also. It was there when I purchased new. Guess there should be lots and lots of bare ground running around throughout all of TV since that is where our utilities all run. So that is where the easement normally run. No permanent structures of any kind that could bar access for maintenance, repair or emergency. No out buildings (sheds), hardscape, rockwalls, trees, etc, obstructing access.