How do I know who owns the fence if it was there before I moved in?

Question: Many homes in the area are separated from their neighbors by a fence. I have two questions: How do I know who owns the fence if it was there before I moved in? And secondly, who paints the fence? Does the owner have to paint both sides? Or does each landowner take care of their side?” – Frank B.

Answer: “The best answer would be that it should have been determined in the covenants that were executed by the neighbors at the time the partition fence was erected,”Mike Colwell, Owner of M.C. Fence and Deck . “In other words, in a perfect world, the two neighbors should have made an agreement (and recorded it) stating who has the duty to repair, paint, which sides, etc. “But the world is not perfect, and that matter may not have been resolved or, at least, any document containing the agreement was not recorded. Indeed, the problems may be worse. A landowner may have unilaterally erected a fence and may not have put it on the correct boundary line. This may result in one of the two neighbors adversely possessing the land of the other,” Gaudio said. Even if the fence is on the true boundary line, Colwell said it can be difficult for one owner to paint or repair the other side without trespassing on the neighbor’s land. 1-571-436-0498 www.mcfenceanddeck.com “My recommendation would be for the inquiring neighbor to approach the other neighbor politely and ask whether the other neighbor or the neighbor’s predecessors had erected the fence and whether there are any agreements regarding painting, repair, etc., whether recorded or not,” he said. “Maybe the neighbors can politely come to some agreement regarding the duty to paint/repair. If that doesn’t work, then maybe it’s time to get a surveyor to see where the fence lies, and that may ultimately lead to hiring legal counsel to provide assistance,” he said.