Do any of you all have any experience with this. My son has building lot in a subdivision that on the lot next door, a contractor has moved the property line marker at the edge of the street in a ditch ( a steel rod ) about 10 feet and put in a additional length of culvert. So now his driveway goes onto our lot. I think this is easy to prove with a survey, but my question is if he doesn't want to fix this, how do you force him to fix it. We've called him and so far no response. The local zoning dept is no help. Thanks in advance.

Hate to say it. Attorney, lawsuit, court will compel him to fix it.

I'd get a survey done (will likely have to be done on your dime). Then call a layer that specializes in real estate stuff.

You have someone on your property moving survey markers and digging things up. You call him? You should be face to face dealing with this. The one thing that could be in his favor is he is working within the city, state or county utility right of way which is not your property. I know on my county road it is 33 feet from the center of the road. I would find out and then deal with it. Once past the right of way he has no business on your property.

Yes we have called him several times. We just discovered this and will give him a few days to contact us. The marker is in a utility easement, but his driveway is clearly on our property. We want to clear this up the easy way and talking to his is what we prefer. I'm just asking now, in case he doesn't cooperate.

Do you have a plat already? I’d show him and see if he will be reasonable. I’ve had it out with neighbors over such things and it can get ugly quick. You need to get a survey done it sounds since he moved the pin. I’d get that booked ASAP will trying to confront him with what you have now. If he’s a jerk, and you feel it’s on your land/survey proves it, you could escalate and take out the driveway gift he gave you just the same as he did to you putting it there. Depends on how you want to play it. I once planted a decent sized tree where a driveway was installed on my property. That got the message across on that one. Others got nasty when I got sick of the bs and put up a fence.

How long has this been going on?

Depending on your locale be mindful of adverse possession which may have well been their intent.

Often the time since he has been using it is factored into whether it now belongs to him.

Park a car at the spot on your side of the line and the bumper on the easement/right of way. Put a phone number on the window.

Another thing is to look at the covenants that this sub-division has. There could be clauses that allow this on the lot lines. This would be a shared access.

First things first, is the "property line marker" an official property survey pin that marks the lot line? If it is, get a copy of your local Planning and Zoning ordinance. Typically there is a section in most that prohibits removal of a property pin. In this case as removal would be a criminal matter, you file a complaint with the PD and the situation should be taken care of. If the "property line marker" was not an official property pin, then it gets stickier. In this case if you feel that the adjoining lot is encroaching on your lot you will have to have a survey performed to determine the lot boundaries and if the encroachment is occurring. If after a survey the encroachment is real, then unless there is a remedy in the Planning and Zoning ordinance, civil court is your only option. The reason I mention a remedy in the Planning and Zoning ordinance is that in my one horse town, if your neighbor installs a fence on your property, that is a violation of the ordinance and can be enforced by the PD as a criminal matter.

No help? You're a taxpayer, they work for you. I suggest you become a "squeaky wheel".

This all has been just discovered. We're planning building on our lot in the next month or 2. The lot in question has a modular home which has just been installed. The contractor isn't finished yet but will soon be. We just noticed what happened yesterday. The property marker (steel rod ) marks the corner of our lot and the other. Once we talk with the contractor, we should quickly find out how this will play out. I need to find out what law or county reg is being broken by moving the pin. This is in gloucester co. va We're attempting to contact the owner of the company and not whovever is working on the house.

Absolutely. You have to be on firm ground before you come out swinging.

There should be permits posted at the site. At least in Michigan you need them.

Buy a copy of the zoning ordinance. If they don't sell them, ask them to make you a copy of the original. I have had zoning office employees tell me it would be expensive. Asked how expensive, they said ten cents a page. I asked how many pages it would be. When they told me twenty pages, I told them I could afford the two dollars. Zoning boards often hate to give you information you need. Don't let them get away with it. I have gotten zoning maps and full copies of zoning ordinances everywhere I rented or owned property. They work for you, even though they think they don't.

Start taking pictures of the corner from the north, east, west and south. Pics of the marker he moved and where it was moved from. Judges like seeing lots of pictures, they can make or break the case.

have a survey company come out and mark the corners. then you can defend whats yours without any questions. they will be trespassing from that point forward. post it and enforce that.. after you do this, you can try the friendly way first.....

I would be reading the easement, too. Just in case.

The formal survey and attorney may be your only real route if the neighbor doesn't want to keep it friendly.

Go to your county's website and find the GIS (geographic information system) link. Many counties have your property lines mapped and you can see them overlaid on maps.You may be able to see your property and the state/county right of ways. There is a lot of information that is public record that you can find by doing some research.

Thanks for all the responses.

So we went out there this evening and did some measuring between the marker pins. The pin in question has definitely been moved about 19 ft. due south and by doing so, they have added about 20 ft of additional culvert. The gravel driveway, which is kind of roughly put down, goes over the property line maybe a foot. This is based on the flags around the trees and where we think the corner maker was at.
So now the issues are the marker pin for the corner of the lot has been moved about 19 ft to allow them to put in another section of culvert, and the new culvert crosses out property line by about 10 ft (this happens in the utility easement ) See the attached sketch which sounds the pin that has been moved due south, parallel to the road. While we're waiting on the contractor to respond, we're consulting with a lawyer. I can't seem to rotate the image. In what is shown the pin has been moved to the right. Our lot is #7, there's is #8