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Here are two situations where it’s important to know your rights as a homeowner: Situation #1: Eroding Ditch You have a piece of property with a trailer on it, and alongside the property is a county ditch that leads into a small pond or lake about a block and a half away. There is erosion along that ditch, and it’s getting seriously close to the trailer. To renew your insurance, the insurance company insists that you shore up that ditch to prevent further erosion. So you call the county to report an erosion problem. The county comes out and put some kind of asphalt material down on one part of the erosion, but there are two other places they haven’t patched that are eroded just as much. Unfortunately, it’s not going to be sufficient for the insurance company. What can you do, as a landowner, to get the job finished and appease your insurance company? First of all, you have a right to protect your own property. It might be a good idea to seek the advice of an attorney. But just talking about general construction issues, you have a right and a responsibility to protect your home and your property from further damage. So if the county is not doing proper maintenance to make sure that the water is not coming on your property, you should have the right to be able to change things on your own property to be able to protect your property from further damage. However, you must consider the easement area. The first several feet of the property are really not your property. It actually belongs to the county, the city or the municipality that you live in. If the first call to the county resulted in an unsatisfactory solution, take pictures of the erosion and include as much detail of how it is affecting your property. Go down to the county office and actually talk to a person. Show them the pictures and say, “Here’s what’s going on, and I have a concern that this water is going to come onto my property and cause water damage to my home.” Describe what the problem is and what the insurance company is saying. Situation #2: Neighbor’s Trees on Your Side Your next-door neighbor has several pine trees in a row growing on the property line, and some of the branches are coming over on your side and hanging over the roof. As a homeowner, how do you properly (and legally) maintain trees like that? If the branches are actually coming over to your side of the property then you are allowed, as the homeowner, to protect your house and cut any branches that are coming over on your side of the property line. You should be also concerned if they are pine trees; they are known as one of the most damaging trees because they grow so tall and are not very strong. But nothing beats a good neighborly relationship. It wouldn’t hurt to go over to them and say, “Listen, is there a way we could work at some sort of partnership agreement where we split the cost of trimming these trees back, so they don’t land on my house?” Have a tree service come out to take a look at it. They can tell you what kind of condition the trees are in – if they just need to be trimmed or rather cut down. It used to be that if anything from the neighbor’s property fell and landed on your property, then your insurance company was responsible. However, there have been changes in those rules over the last few years. Anything that comes over to your side of the property, you are allowed to go ahead and trim back. Then it is your responsibility to trim it as well to protect your house from damage. Consider giving the other owner a written notice about the possibility of damage due to the trees. If something were to happen, it would be more likely that she would be held responsible. Most tree-cutting laws are governed by city ordinances which can vary from city to city, so make sure to check with your city hall for details in your area before you act. If the tree were to be cut down, they may have you plant another one, somewhere else on the property. For home improvement advice and service, visit the Universal Roof & Contracting website. Jared Mellick and his father Ken Mellick are the owners of Central Florida’s premier construction company Universal Roof & Contracting, a family-run business which has been serving homeowners in the Greater Orlando area for nearly 20 years. Together they host a local radio home improvement and construction talk show called “In The House with Ken & Jared”. Contact Universal Roof & Contracting for any issues involving Related Articles -
property protection, homeowner rights, county laws, municipality laws,
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