Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Apr 07, 2009 9:41 am Hi guys Our neighbor has sent us a letter asking us to pay half of the fencing costs. There used to be an asbestos fence, which they agreed to pay half of the costs for. However, when it came to doing it they refused to pay their half. This was more than a year ago... We didn't care at the time... Now, they are selling the house and would like a new fence put up, which is fair enough... the only problem is... we haven't even started building and are scared that if the new fence is put up now it will get damaged in the process of building and we will then have to either put up a new one again or fix up the "existing" one. They did mention in the letter that they understand we paid for the removal of the asbestos fence and are prepared to discuss this with us. (I'm assuming they would be happy to pay 50% of the costs we paid over a year ago and for us to pay 50% of the costs for the new fence... We would be happy with this BUT don't want the fence put up now What should we do? Re: Our neighbor wants to put up a new fence ... 2Apr 07, 2009 9:47 am I would just do it. Builders build on houses with fences 90%(this figure is from observation) of the time and do not damage them. Ask you builder if you are covered for fence damage or cover up any parts of your fence that may be exposed to any concernig areas. Either way its good to get new neighbours and you have your fence up and you don't need to deal with new people in regard to the matter if they do sell. Re: Our neighbor wants to put up a new fence ... 3Apr 07, 2009 10:15 am Yeah, i agree. In any case if there is damage to the fence during the build the builder should be held responsible. I'd be settling for no less than what you have listed. Its a bit cheeky they didn't come to the party when you did the original work and now they want a new fence they expect you to chip in, but thats the way it is sometimes i guess. Re: Our neighbor wants to put up a new fence ... 5Apr 07, 2009 2:06 pm we had our house built with fencing around 3 sides, it was fine! One of the fences was falling down anyway, so we've had that replaced, but it wasn't the builder's fault. If you don't want to do it straight away though, just drag your feet with replying. Wait for them to chase you, um and ah for a while, say you want to get more quotes, etc. bit naughty but they were a bit naughty to you last year so all's fair in love and war "Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions." — Elizabeth Gilbert Living in our new house. Currently scaping the land. Re: Our neighbor wants to put up a new fence ... 6Apr 07, 2009 8:01 pm lol@ above post, i kinda agree, they are trying to sell and will be leaving, so take advantage of this and stall as long as you can, then when it comes to it, just say no you dont want to pay for it. Andrew Re: Our neighbor wants to put up a new fence ... 7Apr 08, 2009 10:48 am Hehe. We still need to be nice though because we want to make sure we get the fence and colour we like I just checked the receipt for the old fence removal and it was more than 50% of the quote they've given us for the new fence And I'm pretty sure the quote was done by a friend or something because it seems extremely high, so we will get them to give us a couple more quotes Do you think this sounds fair ? Re: Our neighbor wants to put up a new fence ... 8Apr 14, 2009 10:37 am Hi guys So we paid 2k for the removal of the old fence. Which we paid 100% 1.5 years ago. The new fence will cost 3k. So this works out to 2.5k each. Which means that we will owe them $500 Do you think this would be fair: For us to agree for her to put up the fence, (but have to agree on the colour first) and for her to pay for it. And then we will give her $500 in 1.5 years time.Do you think this would be reasonable? Re: Our neighbor wants to put up a new fence ... 10Apr 14, 2009 11:59 am You are entitled to get your own quotes. Make sure you do just to make sure that the quotes they have got are honest quotes and not inflated so that you end up paying a large share of their costs. The other thing is that you should pay the fencing contractor and not your neighbour. All legitimate companies I have dealt with bill each neighbour separately and each neighbour signs an acceptance form with that company. Once you have the quotes and you and your neighbour have decided on the fence, I would produce a copy (keep the original paperwork), of the invoices for having the old fence removed and say that of course their half of that cost will be coming off the share that you have to pay for the new fence. If they argue about this then just politely say that you are quite happy for the matter to be arbitrated on by the relevant authority in your state. Remember you have the letter from them now stating that they are willing to discuss the matter of the old fence being removed at your cost and this could be produced at any arbitration meeting. I guess you would prefer not to end up at arbitration but unless they are willing to accept the costs as above then they have taken advantage of you and you will be needing every cent you can save for all the little costs that add up after your house is complete building wise. As to worrying about the new fence getting damaged, your builder will be liable if it was to get damaged in the building process and would repair/replace it for you. Good luck and hopefully it will just be a case of them agreeing and you ending up with a nice new fence!! Re: Our neighbor wants to put up a new fence ... 11Apr 14, 2009 12:19 pm klscomps You are entitled to get your own quotes. Make sure you do just to make sure that the quotes they have got are honest quotes and not inflated so that you end up paying a large share of their costs. The other thing is that you should pay the fencing contractor and not your neighbour. All legitimate companies I have dealt with bill each neighbour separately and each neighbour signs an acceptance form with that company. Once you have the quotes and you and your neighbour have decided on the fence, I would produce a copy (keep the original paperwork), of the invoices for having the old fence removed and say that of course their half of that cost will be coming off the share that you have to pay for the new fence. If they argue about this then just politely say that you are quite happy for the matter to be arbitrated on by the relevant authority in your state. Remember you have the letter from them now stating that they are willing to discuss the matter of the old fence being removed at your cost and this could be produced at any arbitration meeting. I guess you would prefer not to end up at arbitration but unless they are willing to accept the costs as above then they have taken advantage of you and you will be needing every cent you can save for all the little costs that add up after your house is complete building wise. As to worrying about the new fence getting damaged, your builder will be liable if it was to get damaged in the building process and would repair/replace it for you. Good luck and hopefully it will just be a case of them agreeing and you ending up with a nice new fence!! Thanks for your advice klscomps. We are however not going through a building company. Instead, we are getting contractors to do various parts of the job. Does that mean that we are responsible for any fence damages? Re: Our neighbor wants to put up a new fence ... 12May 14, 2009 12:27 pm Gaaaaah. Spoke to our neighbor and she said that if the house sells she will negotiate with the buyer... (she will probably try and get away without having to pay us half for the removal of the fence) If it doesn't sell they will rent the place out and will have to put the fence up. So now, we are just waiting to see what happens Re: Our neighbor wants to put up a new fence ... 13May 14, 2009 1:00 pm Ask for their share of the asbestos removal anyway, regardless of what they intend to do now. Hold them to what they said to you recently in that they agreed they owed you money for the job 1.5 years ago. If they agree they owe you money, then what's the problem with paying up???? Re: Our neighbor wants to put up a new fence ... 14May 14, 2009 1:15 pm A bit of a predicament your in. It would seem a good idea to get the fence up soon but with my experience with a new building going up next door I can see why you would want to wait. The building slab has subsided the fence and all we hear all day is the builders hitting the colourbond fence. Had a look at the other side a few days ago and the brickies have splashed cement all over it. I'm now expecting the owners to want a new fence after the money there spending on the house. The current fence is only 5 years old but is not looking the best due to the building going on. Just reread my reply and it would seem I have been no help to you at all. Best of luck. Re: Our neighbor wants to put up a new fence ... 15May 16, 2009 3:07 pm Mel&Em Ask for their share of the asbestos removal anyway, regardless of what they intend to do now. Hold them to what they said to you recently in that they agreed they owed you money for the job 1.5 years ago. If they agree they owe you money, then what's the problem with paying up???? I know. But it's not as easy as it seems Do you think we should just send her the receipt and ask to pay for 50% of it? Re: Our neighbor wants to put up a new fence ... 16May 16, 2009 6:22 pm Getting There There is an old saying “good fences make great neighbours". That aside, look at it this way. You neighbour stiffed you once on the fence (asbestos removal) and now do you believe they will pay 50% for the new fence. Mate, their moving the place is for sale. You don’t want to have to put a cavi out on their place if they don’t pay. (Again) What ever you do, let them organise it, and arrange payment and let them pay their 50% first minus the other money they owe you. Also make sure you surveyors pegs are in the right position. Good luck and don’t let them stiff you on this one. KW............ “It's just as unpleasant to get more than you bargain for as to get less” George Bernard Shaw. Re: Our neighbor wants to put up a new fence ... 17May 17, 2009 10:52 am King willy Getting There There is an old saying “good fences make great neighbours". That aside, look at it this way. You neighbour stiffed you once on the fence (asbestos removal) and now do you believe they will pay 50% for the new fence. Mate, their moving the place is for sale. You don’t want to have to put a cavi out on their place if they don’t pay. (Again) What ever you do, let them organise it, and arrange payment and let them pay their 50% first minus the other money they owe you. Also make sure you surveyors pegs are in the right position. Good luck and don’t let them stiff you on this one. KW............ Thanks for your advice. It's much appreciated. We will be getting a surveyor to mark the boundaries for footings purposes. I just hope it all fits in with the fence timing so that there is less chance of pegs being moved... Re: Our neighbor wants to put up a new fence ... 18May 17, 2009 12:19 pm ask them, in a show of good faith, to pay you the outstanding 50% they owe from the previous work. Get that first! ’’Quondo Omni Flunkus Mortati ’’ If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy. Stila BK1 Build Thread The best place to talk about sport Re: Our neighbor wants to put up a new fence ... 19May 17, 2009 12:29 pm serge44 ask them, in a show of good faith, to pay you the outstanding 50% they owe from the previous work. Get that first! I am definitivelly considering waiting 1.5 years before making the outstanding payment. However, I'm thinkint it might be better for the fence to go up and then let them know that because we want her to organise the fence and pay for it initially. We'd hate for her to put the colour we don't want :S Can she do that? I mean purposelly to p|ss us off? Re: Our neighbor wants to put up a new fence ... 20May 17, 2009 5:09 pm If they sell their house, then they're no longer your neighbours. They didn't pay the 50% of the fence removal last time, so why should you do them any favors? You're not in a hurry to get the fence up as you're not living there. I would get them to pay the 50% of the fence from last time, and then you can stall until you're ready. Again, you're not in a hurry and chances are, with them not paying from last time, you already dislike them! Good luck. Sounds like fun! Our house thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=18335 I’m loving the potential versatility and practicality of a bench seat in a shower. Anyone had one of these done recently? Not sure if they are straight forward and easy… 0 776 0 9828 Building Standards; Getting It Right! Hi everyone, My lot has just been titled and during the settlement we found that the rear pegs were not visible. 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