The Problem Next Door

Walsh took his own advice after buying a house in Falls Church many years ago. The routine house survey found that his neighbor's fence encroached on his yard. Walsh spoke to his neighbor, then drafted a letter detailing the situation.

In the letter, he granted permission for the fence to remain in place "because it was the neighborly thing to do," he said. But he also made clear that he was not giving up any legal right to the property encumbered by the fence.

He was concerned about the legal doctrine of adverse possession, which can formalize informal land grabs. "If someone has a fence for an extended period of time on your property, the property becomes theirs if they meet certain criteria and you never took action," Walsh said.

But when evidence suggests that somebody is violating your property rights and that person won't do anything about it, then it may be time to contact a lawyer, your title company or both, said Peter Drymalski, an investigator at the Office of Consumer Protection in Montgomery County. Title insurance companies guarantee the accuracy of lot surveys and have an interest in resolving property-line disputes.

Whatever agreement is reached, it should be put in writing, using the necessary legal language, and added to the public record at the county's land records office, said Martin J. Hutt, a real estate lawyer in Bethesda. In the case of allowing a fence to remain on the wrong side of a property line, he suggested a formal grant of an easement, an agreement that would entail drawings of where the fence, shed or deck is located and how much of an encroachment it is.

"The easement document is another level of detail that might not be done in a letter between neighbors," he said. "It's much more definitive."

Whatever the conflict, if it can't be resolved other than by litigation, keep in mind that you may lose, even if you win in court.

"The thing people have to keep in mind is that when the dispute is over, the other person is still going to be a neighbor," said Burk, the mediator in Great Falls. "In this housing market, your neighbor might even be your neighbor for many more years."