Would You Take Down The Sign?

Question

My husband & I have lived here for 2 years and since then the house next door has been an eyesore as it has been abandoned for that whole time. Now the town tells the owner to display signs that it's a dangerous property with "No Trespassing" signs. Well, today I find a sign in my back yard! It is his fence I guess but we have been maintaining it over the past 2 years...it fell apart a few times so we bought new lumber and fixed it up. I called the police to see if I can remove the sign from our back yard and they said "it's their fence so he can do whatever he wants". So, we are STUCK with this awful "No Trespassing" sign directly in our nice and tidy back yard. We can put up another fence but it will cost us $ we don't have. The worst part is that we are selling our house and potential buyers see this ugly sign. Argh it's frustrating! Husband says he's taking it down. I said we can't since I called the police and they said no. Would you take it down or relax about it?

Answer 1

Since it's abandoned go ahead and remove it. Who will know? Just say a strong wind must have come and blew it away.

Answer 2

Reading your statement as to what the police said to you. They merely said "He could do what he wants" Did they actually tell you not to remove the sign? Perhaps you could talk with the owner and ask him where you might move the sign to. You might also advise potential buyers that the sign goes with the neighbors yard and not yours. You are worrying over something that may be of little importance in the long run. Just relax.

Answer 3

If the fence is on the property line, he must have entered your property and placed the sign on your side of the property line. Remove and toss over the fence. The police are not going to tell you to do anything, they will not get involved if they can help it. Sounds like you need to go to the city council and ask that the property be demolished, and take your neighbors with you.

Answer 4

Obviously your neighbor is so concerned about people trespassing on his property that he feel it is necessary to have this "ugly and awful" sign in your yard.

I would say that if the sign is in your yard and the fence was one that is on both yours and his property line that you are in the right to take it down if you want.

I would check with regulations in your state, but I know in Oregon that if someone builds a fence that back onto your property, that side of that fence is yours to do with as you please. But as I said I would check out the regulations in your state by contacting the local offices for the city to find out.

Good luck....I will hope that you win!!

Answer 5

You've already been told you cannot remove the sign. Doing so could result in a heafty fine or maybe worse.

Just hang something over the sign when you know your home is going to be viewed by a potential buyer. But you can't remove it.

Answer 6

Even though the fence is a mutual property line, that person owns it and if the sign is on his fence you can't touch it, it's not yours. Most likely it is there with the other signs for insurance purposes.
If someone trespasses and gets hurt, the one that trespasses can't sue him.

Answer 7

I heard about a terrible storm late last night that blew out the part of the fence with the sign on it.

Answer 8

Yes, you can take it down. Even tough it is on "his" fence it is on your side. If it is insightly for you to look at, you can remove it. Calling the police didn't do any good. They have no idea about residental zoning. The city does however. You can remove it.

Answer 9

I would take the sign down and put it in another place so that it's not in your back yard. Somewhere on the other property.

Answer 10

Is it possible to temporarily cover it up with something interesting - a pretty banner of your own, for instance, that looks like it is an addition to your back yard? - or plonk a plant in front of it or something??