Central Ohio Real Estate Market News

• If your neighborhood is governed by a homeowner’s association, check their restrictions first, then plan on following the restrictions. Failure to do so can result in the HOA requiring you to remove the fence.
• Obtain a building permit from your city. Fence installers will often handle this step for you for a nominal fee. The city usually has restrictions on forward placement of the fence – often no further to the front than the back of your home. There are apt to be additional setback requirements if your home is on a corner.
• Hire a surveyor company to do a pin survey on your lot. They will mark your boundaries so your installer doesn’t install your fence on a neighbor’s property. Don’t rely on the survey plat you were given when you purchased the home – it’s not the same thing.

Whatever you do, don’t simply install a fence based on how you and your neighbors have been mowing your lawn. Let me tell you about what happened to a seller who did just that.

My buyer was going to write a contract on a home with a fence installed on a corner lot. The portion along the back was partial until it tied into one the adjoining neighbor’s fence to the back. Additionally, there was a shed that was placed at the back left corner with two neighbor’s fences butted up to it. While this “mish-mash” actually provided the advertised “fenced yard”, it put up a red flag for me that one or more of these fences might be encroaching on another property.

So I put into the Contract that the seller should pay to have a pin survey, and that if any portion of his fence was encroaching, then that section should be moved AND if that meant that it was no longer a fully fenced yard, then the missing portion should be added to completely fence the yard – as advertised.

Well, the pin survey showed that his portion of the back fence had to be moved to be on the subject property and the shed had to be moved as well to eliminate encroaching on the neighbor’s property, so we could have a clear title.

It cost him far more to undo-redo this mess, than it would have to have a pin survey done before the fence installation. So he was penny-wise, pound foolish and had to deal with this hassle at a time when he was trying to move and get ready to settle into a new home.

So pay to have a pin survey! It’s well worth with it.

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