Video není dostupné.
Omlouváme se.
Territory Disputes?! ► What To Do When Customers Argue About Boundary Lines!
Vložit
- čas přidán 4. 10. 2018
- Had to share another story with you guys from an email I received just a few weeks ago asking for my .02 when it came to customers and boundary line disputes! We've all dealt with it and see them, but sometimes customers get even a little crazy for my liking when they want that land grab back!
I wanted to weigh in and give my opinion on what I think is the most conservative approach to tackling this potentially volatile situation with clients. You see, when dealing with boundary disputes, it always seems like a zero sum game. Someone is going to lose, and you don't want to be associated with that result.
I try to communicate to my customers that the extra 4 ft land grab isn't worth it for me to participate in their little turf battle. I try to stay out of it and just go with the flow how we've always mowed the lawn.
But everyone once in a while, we all know that those customers in subdivisions want that extra 5 feet, and want us to do "one more pass". That's when it gets a little awkward, and I just tell customers politely that I'm out, and don't want to get in the middle of it!
It's a tough one though because, one side of me wants to keep my customer happy and do what they "hired" me for, but the other side of me says I don't want to get stuck in the middle of the dispute! Especially when the neighbor just may in fact be another customer of yours!
What do yo guys do in this predicament and scenario? Do you do what the customer asks, or kind of like myself, play the conservative approach and let the neighbors figure it / talk it out? Let me know with a comment down below!
Keep Up With Us!
► Subscribe To Our Channel: tinyurl.com/jjt...
► Smash The Bell To Be Part Of Notification Squad!
► Follow Us on Instagram: tinyurl.com/jbf...
Want To Send Us A Product Or Piece Of Equipment To Review?
Email Us: BriansLawnMaintenance2007@gmail.com
*Brian's Lawn Maintenance is powered by Yardbook.com*
Check out these other favorite videos from Brian’s Lawn Maintenance!
Brand New! Stihl BR800-C Backpack Blower Unveil At The STIHL Summit!
• STIHL BR800 Backpack B...
The Customer Cancellation Conundrum! What to do when customers cancel you!
• The Customer Cancellat...
Stand On Vs Sit Down Lawn Mowers ► Which Is Better?! ► Pros and Cons
• Stand On Vs Sit Down L...
*Check Out Our Second Channel! Our Daily-ish Behind The Scenes Vlog Channel! Fullerton Party Of Two!*
tinyurl.com/yb...
________________________________________________________
Hope you guys are enjoying the videos and the channel. It’s awesome getting to create content for you guys. I truly hope our videos entertain and provide benefit to you guys with your businesses. If you’d like to support our channel, the best way to help us monetarily is by using our affiliates links and purchasing your gear online with us through our online partners. Don’t forget to save money with our promo codes down below as well! Thank you again in advance for the support.
**Visit Our New Amazon Affiliate Store!**
www.amazon.com...
Our Affiliate Partners:
www.EquipmentDefender.com (Brians10 Save 10%)
www.KujoYardwear.com (Brians10 Save 10%+Free Shipping!)
Audible Free Trial+2 Free Audiobooks: amzn.to/2vWNxFU
ISOTunes Pro: amzn.to/2mkw1Ft
www.ISOTunesaudio.com (Brians10 Save 10%)
www.Sprayers-Plus.com (BriansLawn3Ship) (Free Shipping)
www.VoltHeat.com (Brians10 Save 10%)
www.ProvenLocks.com (Brians10 Save 10%)
www.FenceArmor.com (Brians10 Save 10%)
**NEW MERCH!** Lawntrepreneur T-Shirt and More!
teespring.com/...
Our Other Favorite Brands:
www.Exmark.com
www.Sure-Trac.com
www.DeWalt.com
www.MilwaukeeTool.com
www.Redmax.com
www.Echo-USA.com
www.Husqvarna.com/US/
www.SureCanUSA.com
www.Mechanix.com
www.RedMagicPerformance.com
www.TieDownStore.com
www.STA-BIL.com
www.Sprayers-Plus.com
www.KujoYardwear.com
Our Video/CZcams Equipment We Use:
www.tubebuddy.... (To Manage Our Channel!)
Our Official DJI.com Affiliate Link: tinyurl.com/ya...
Macbook Pro 15” 2.6ghz (we use iMovie) amzn.to/2t5Rget
Main DSLR Camera: Canon T6i: amzn.to/2mVOnhE
New Canon 80D DSLR Vlog Camera: amzn.to/2vN3fRY
Canon 10-18 Wide Angle Lens: amzn.to/2ncCGiD
Vlogging Joby Gorilla Pod: amzn.to/2ncFVq9
Expensive Microphone: amzn.to/2H6KPQO
Vlog Camera Canon G7x Mark ii: amzn.to/2EGqlvZ
Vlog Mic for DSLR: amzn.to/2JbzMXl
Go Pro 3+: amzn.to/2mVP1vr
Saramonic GoPro Stereo Mic: amzn.to/2mh79wQ
______________________________________________
Thank you for watching! If you enjoyed this video, please shoot it a big Thumbs UP and LIKE! If you haven’t done it already, make sure you SUBSCRIBE! That way you can get the latest and greatest when our newest videos release!
So when a customer asks you guys to regain their lost property, do you help with the land grab or try to stay neutral like me? Comment down below!
Been in business for 10+ years. Never had this problem. Sounds like silly drama id have to stomp out quickly.
It is, 100%. But it was strange that not only did it happen to me like 6 weeks ago but I had a few others email in and ask about the same topic. Ludicrous but hey people are just strange sometimes!
It's just going to cost him.
I vote for going to the county's GIS workshop website and pull it up on the spot to verify, and there has to be an easement to get access to your property, and I think there's sposed to be survey stakes buried flush with the dirt in the corners of a lot, there is in my house
Chris Rowlison here in Louisiana the drive metal stakes in the corners of the property. I have a metal detector that I use to find the property lines. I never take the customers word.
You won't get the neighbor anyways, they already are mowing the lawn without you. I'd just mow it until the neighbor says something. Sometimes people don't realize where the line is and just go where you left off.
I give out the local surveyors card when stuff likes this comes up
I have a customer where I’m able to use my Scag Vride on his backyard but only if I access through the neighbors yard. I told the neighbor I would cut his backyard (it’s pretty small) for him if I could pass through. He agreed and it’s pretty conscientious.
Josh Cole That’s perfect
Smart move.
The other way I've dealt with these things is have my Uncle Vincent talk to the neighbor , and the result is usually I get them as a new client or they sell their house and move.! He's a Great Negotiator....LOL!!!!
My sister had this issue with her neighbor. Not angry but both adamant they were right. So they got the blueprints out of the development and pulled out tape measures. Turns out her house was BUILT IN THE WRONG SPOT. I kid you not, the developer had to MOVE A ROAD because they put it on her property as a result of the mix up.
Holy cow lol
name the road after her then 😂
Grass Daddy Funny seeing you here because I’m actually subscribed to your channel.
@@mahidikarif2123 awesome! Im behind on watching videos but when I do Brian's are first ;)
I'm one of those "petty" guys who cares about boundaries. The property where I currently live is little bigger than than those lots your referring to. I hate when the guy who mows the yards on each side of mine cuts 5' into my property line at 2" tall,especially since I keep my lawn at 4"-6" tall.He doesn't even cut a straight line.😶😞😖The line is clearly marked with post on all 4 corners....Oh! and I love when he side discharges clippings into my yard the day after I mow mine.
Lol I have a customer just like you! They don’t like me and my guys much :( go figure ha
😅 exactly. they must like short brown weedy lawns that only need to be cut once a month.
J's Crazy Cuts, I'm in a similar situation as you so don't feel bad. It's just business for most of these "lawn cut" guys and they only "care" about being paid by the customer who hired them but the h*'ll with the neighbors. My neighbors "lawn cut" person does the same thing and denies it until my Ring cameras caught him on video side discharging and blowing leaves into my yard. I cut my yard at 4 inches, he cuts at 2 and doesn't even do a straight line. My yard is 98% tall fescue with very little weeds, my neighbor is 70% weeds and with the remainder being a mixture of other grasses. I truly care about my lawn, my neighbor only cares that his lawn is cut.
Maybe plant bushes, shrubs or trees with a mulch bed at the borders. If you need help, hire Brian. It doesn't have to run the whole length. Do a couple areas to disrupt the intrusion. Maybe a mulch bed island in the middle and one on each corner?
Hi Brian, I have been contracting for 30 plus years now, both installation and maintenance. I agree with you in that we need to let the home owners battle out the property line issue. This high density housing suck, but it is becoming the norm. We never use the neighbor’s property to gain access into the back of the property we are working on. Yes the owner needs to talk to his neighbor and get an ok, but we also need to talk to the neighbor. I never really trust the fact that the owner I am working for says it is ok, and the neighbor will feel better talking to the person that needs the access. That way you can assure them that if you cause any harm to the area you are going through, you will make it right. You may even get another costumer in the process. I would never reclaim property for an owner. That can get extremely ugly and end up in Court. You do not want to be any part of that. I would be chill like you said, and unfortunately if it means loosing a costumer, that is to bad. Not worth getting in the middle of it. Good topic my friend.
Totally buddy well said
Usually the neighbors where I cut dont care unless you put a rut in it if it was wet. As long as you ask most people dont mind. But ask first!
Jonny G dealing with the rut now 😤
If they ask me todo that i ask to get all three together and let us discuss it. And then we will go from there
I had a customer this happened with and I asked him to have his property surveyed and new markers installed, then to share that info with the other neighbor. I mowed up to the new boundary markers. It cost the client 350.00 to have the markers put in and survey done. Round concrete pylons with steel pins below ground level slightly. Neighbor didn't like it... but he had to go with it.
SuperDave21 Yup and these customers want that dang 3 feet. It’s bizarre.
@Brian's Lawn Maintenance If it was your 3 feet you might be protective of it as well.
@@xephael3485 lol what're you gonna do on those 3 feet...
@@Chris-bz9pg bang your mom of course! 😛 In all honesty, in housing developments 3'x100 is 300sq feet of property loss. Fairly substantial if your lot costs $80,000 and is 0.5 acres of land. That's ~$1,102 of property you're giving up.
From an article I read many years ago in a Mother Eart. News Magazine, some states have some really old laws on the books about property lines. You maintain a partial of land for a designated period of time, and you could claim you didn't know it was not your land and still be able to win it in a dispute. I know that shouldn't work in a city with subdivisions and people moving in and out so often. Life is too short. If it becomes a really big issue, wish the customer well and move on. When I was your age, I just could not fathom being 69. Now that I am, I sometimes think back about some things I could have done differently for more peace in my life. Good video Brian. Keep up the good work.
Do what the customer wants period. If the neighbor has an issue then your customer needs to work it out. If there is a unresolved issue the dump the customer. You don't need that crap.
Rick Rossetti I see your side. But who’s to say your customer is right? Do they have lot plans or survey markers?
Just something to keep in mind. I worked for a company that did electric utility tree clearance and pre planning. One of the employees spoke with a owner in his fenced back yard about removing the tree under the power line, and the customer agreed. Unknown at the time was the guys fence was 6 feet on the neighbors property, which means the tree was on the neighbors property, and that tree cost the company I worked for $22,000.
Wow that's crazy
Had a lady drop me for mowing after her seeing me doing the hated neighbor's yard... oh the horror! 😄
Turns out he was far more reasonable to work with anyway lol.
I have been approached several times by her , while working on the adjacent property. Accused of blowing leaves over the undefined line etc.
She was actually screaming at one of my guys , and I told him to work on the far side of the yard to defuse the situation.
The actual owner of the property we work at told me it's an ongoing thing with her, and to just be polite and leave if necessary , and let him know.
Was nice to have the homeowner's support and understanding.
I was approached last week by her while putting plow markers along the driveway, I wanted to tell her she was trespassing, though opted for the customary, "Have a good day" ignoring her outright , and walking away 😋
Was extremely gratifying!!
I had a customer that wanted me and my brother to cut an additional line into her neighbor's side even though my customer had a fence dividing the 2 lawns. She basically wanted an additional line for an outline because the neighbor always neglects his lawn. She said she would pay more but I told her it didn't work like that because like you said I've seen many petty things happen between neighbors. It's not about grass it's a respect and territory thing. I told her to ask the neighbor first. The neighbor never answered so the customer grabbed the mower away from my brother and she cut the additional line....we were in shock lol. Next time I went to her house to cut the grass we saw that the neighbor scalped and made very obvious crooked lines in her side of the lawn out of retaliation.....we took off and stopped doing that lawn because we didn't need that drama in our lives and I desperately tried to avoid that situation lol.
I always make it the clients responsibility to resolve and property line disputes.
"See that rock there?" This is MY YARD.
A few years ago I was mowing, and the neighbor came over and I thought he was going to complain about the property lines. It ends up that he wanted to hire me because his lawn service was retiring. 🙌
The only way to legally take care of this is to ask them to have a property survey done. See in some states if a neighbor takes care of some property for a length of time say 7 years then it becomes their own property if they can show they have been taking care of it.
I have had issues with my neighbor next door, however it has been resolved by a quick conversation and a handshake. I would always mow to the edge of my property line and so would he, and there would be a skinny quarter inch line down the property line of grass growth and he would ask me to take my trimmer and clean it up(we always mowed on Saturdays so it was consistent) now he is an older gentleman and very nice to me, and this is just a minor thing we weren’t at a turf war, in fact me and him are good friends. Our solution was one week he mows one mower width over and the other week I would mow over on to his (we mowed at the same height also) it was a simple solution to a simple problem. Ex: when it’s his turn to mow over into my property I still mow to my property line so that the line isn’t there, and vice versa
I’ve never really had an issue like this. Almost everyone I’m my area uses a lawn service so if there is a boundary issue I find out who the company that mows the neighbor is and I talk to them about it. They are always cool about it. A lot of the properties that I do have an electrical box that separates the yards. Every other week we switch off who trims around the electrical box. Works out great for me
You're making the right decision. Simply tell them "I cannot alter previously undisputed boundaries without a recent survey and certified boundary markers.".
If it matters that much to them, they'll do it. Even if you lose a customer, they're not going to complain or hurt your reputation over good business practices.
I do what my customer tell me to do and only if it is on his property, I don't worry about what the neighbour thinks, as a matter of fact I have deal with two customers neighbors that way, because the customer requested it, the neighbor is not paying the bill
I have one customer whose neighbor used to get on my case about doing snow in the early hours. Even called the police when I was doing a leaf clean up and started at 7am. Some people can be nasty. The cops luckily were on my side but was almost an hour dealing with them
My one customer has a nut job neighbor that comes out and says I cut too close to the property line. She says I cut it too short. I cut at 3-3.5” with the push mower. She’s cutting at 2.5”. I love to play mental games with her.
Lol
Had the “reclaiming” issue with a customer after years of mowing the property on the already established “line” but instead of mowing this new line they wanted me to create a flower bed right on where they felt the property line was to create a more “permanent” line then just having me mow on the new line. I told them I would do this but only if they had a survey done first. They did this and it turned out they actually had more property then they thought where she wanted me to put the flower bed and on the OTHER side of property the neighbor had a fence with a beautifully landscaped back yard with a pool and all kinds of hardscape which turned out was almost 14 feet on their property as well. Needless to say the customer lost their mind when they found this out about the 14’. I did the flower bed for them but wanted nothing to do with the 14’ debacle on the other side. Flower bed turned out beautiful but just another bed I have to keep grass from being thrown into so slows cutting down a little but nothing major.
Good topic In the state I live in if you mow 5 feet in on the neighbor lawn and maintain it after 7 years you can claim that land, and depending what your zoning is you might come up short and have to get a variance to sell the house fences make good neighbors
Whoa! What state is that? Not arguing, just asking, but all it really takes is mowing & maintaining 5 feet of lawn for 7 years to be able to legally claim it as your own?
It's called adverse possession, even a squatter can claim land if done wright, then you have eminent domain where a city ,town , state , or Feds can take your land at a fair price the state in ny
Good point, Brian. I have not had this problem myself but if it came up my suggestion would be that "Good fences make good neighbors". If they want to install one, I would be happy to cut up to the new line.
We have a couple lawns that we have to go a bit onto the neighbors lawn to get to the back. No problems yet. One lawn we drive along a fence line to get to the back property behind our clients fenced in backyard. I had asked our customer to get the okay before when we first took on the lawn a couple years ago.
Nice video Brian! Always great to watch some stories and gain more knowledge about the industry.
In some states, the rule of “Adverse Possession” comes into play - if there is a history of a neighbor maintaining a portion of another lot/property, even if it is legally owned by a different person/entity, then after X# of years, said maintenance neighbor maybe able to legally petition the local governing body to obtain legal ownership of that parcel/portion.
The homeowner requesting expansion of contracted maintenance, should have a deed and survey that clearly denotes the property lines. Furthermore, there should be survey pins that clearly denote the property dimensions.
Fences, landscaping beds etc should not be on the actual property line, but rather, they should approach and be located WITHIN their property line.
If said client/homeowner has a landscaping feature that impedes egress to another portion of their same property, such that access can only be gained via crossing/accessing the property of another person, I would expect the client to remove whatever obstacles that currently impedes free movement within the confines of their defined property.
It is not within the purview of a 3rd party contractor to remediate a property line dispute. IMHO of course
J PR, most people don't know about this law but we do. Here in Maryland we have "adverse possession" and I guess I'm one of the petty ones about enforcing property lines.
In my state it is 20 years, and is decided in civil court,. I was involved in a case in 2015-2017 where I took 70 acres by adverse possession.
I'm so glad I mostly mow cabins in the hills or out in the country so I don't have to deal with that headache. But I did experience something like while doing spring maintenance once. The neighbor came out and yelled at me for being on his property for no reason. I only had a tire of my mower on the lawn! Most people would be happy if you didn't hit the boundary right and aerated part of their lawn at the neighbors expense!
The spray paint marking is a good one.
Our neighbors realize I am nuts about the lawn. Do we have disputes about property lines? Hell no. If the mowing service hired by a neighbor cuts wide into our yard I can clean it up in a couple of days. No big deal. The lawn grows back! Sweet lawn stripes and tight edging is a great eye catcher. Other imperfects are overlooked as a result.
Our county has a program called Beacon. This program uses google maps and overlays the property map lines. This makes it easy to show someone their property lines if they have a question why you mow where you mow.
I hate it when this happens, it’s almost hard to get someone’s neighbors business if they have their own turf war going on, almost makes the neighbor look down on you because you mow the other persons lawn, doesn’t make sense.
Yeap you said it
Nice video Brian, most of the clients that I have are not fenced in which are nice, but the 20 that are gated for my landscaping business they wanted me to put the fence in so I thought ahead and put a 5 1/2 foot gate in so I can fit through it with no problem and I don't have to worry about that.
Never had a issue with boundary lines this summer. Thank goodness.
I’ve had the same thing happen to me I have a 52” walk behind and I have to go around there flower bed and she came out yelling at me and my partner and was saying that we can not take that mowing in the back yard because we are “killing her grass” so I chose the best option to push mow it with a 30” mower was that a good choice to do that or should I talk to the customer about that so they can talk to them about it. It’s a pretty decent size back yard as well
I think the best thing you can do is try to get both people mowing customers. However that’s not always possible, I have one customer who I’ve been mowing since the beginning of this year and about halfway through the summer she actually asked me to stop mowing one side of her house because her neighbor didn’t like that I had to go on her property. So the agreement they came to on their own was that the neighbor was going to mow that side of my customers yard. I have approached the other gal about mowing for her but at this point she is not interested. So in this case everybody’s happy and my customer is still willing to pay the same price as I quoted her originally. No complaints on my end
Elliot Miller sounds like an amicable agreement!
here in Maine, u can usually see a property pin, thick rebar pounded into the ground, sometimes sticks up, sometimes flush almost. ive run over them before with mower, no good, but takes away a lot of questions.
Thanks for sharing about this! It’s never fun to deal with!
It is easy to get copies of deeds to determine property lines. I found my property pins and flagged them, one was over a foot below grade and was able to reclaim a portion of my lawn that was previously mowed by my neighbor. I showed my neighbors the pins and left the flags up so everyone would know where the property corners are located. I took them down after mowing season and the next spring everyone returned to the old ways. This past summer I placed longer stakes, flagged and painted them and left them up all summer. What made me mad was the neighbor mows low like Conner Ward and does no fertilizing to sustain the low height while I mow tall like Pete from GCI. My back yard neighbor is the local school and everyone would mow a few stripes into the school yard, myself included. The school recently hired a surveyor and a property a few lots down has a rather large shrubbery area that is 80% on the school yard. Funny thing is, the owner is a school employee.
Ive got a client and their neighbor insists that his property line goes 2 feet into my client's driveway. The neighbor gets mad if i plow it (if i don't he doesn't either), but if i don't my client gets mad at me. The neighbor also won't let me push snow onto any property towards his side of the driveway
Nope unless they get a survey and I know for sure. I’ve had lots of clients get surveys for fences and had the neighbor scream at me and even get the police out. Each time the cop tells them it’s not your property with the survey in hand
Staying out of the battle is the way to go. I have never had to deal with that specific issue, but I would side with the way you have handled it.
I am not a landscaper, but a homeowner. While there are no fences between our properties, and the lines are DEFINITELY not obvious, I would share the official property survey with a landscaper if I wanted them to cover "my" property. My recommendation to you, especially if you don't wan to get involved in"turf wars" (LOL), would be to mow to official surveys/deeds. I know that some jurisdictions have weird laws regarding maintaining others properties and ownership, but you can't (?) go o wrong if you maintain to official lines.
If they own the property, they own it and you should mow it. Owner should provide markings. If they don't, they don't and you shouldn't. Property is fairly regulated. Access to mow the property is also up to the owner to provide.
In my sub division a pair of neighbors hired a surveyor and they put stakes down. And then tied bright red string from each stake.
Subdivisions create all these types of issues... I live in one and have a lawn care business. Every time I pull my open trailer into and out my garage I get the stink eye from the older people... I just smile and wave.
Awesome picture quality in this video. What kind of camera do you use ?
Canon 80D
Awesome video, i was just thinking about this topic the other day. The neighbor of my customer would get angry when i mow bc he said it was too short and was doing a bit of his yard by like only one foot in. Since then i make sure i stay within the line, but everytime i mow he comes out to watch. 🤔
These could turn into job leads. You pitch sell them mulch beds, bush, shrub, small tree installs near the border to deter or distinguish the border. Think outside the box and make a sale. Maybe a tree at the corner with small mulch bed and an mulch bed island in the middle.
So I’ve got this issue with a neighbor, his landscaper is cutting my grass. I don’t care at all, less work for me, but he doesn’t do a straight line. So the side yard in parts is 12 feet onto my property some parts like 0 feet. You can imagine it looks like shit to have a zig zag property line. I’ve talked to the landscaper. But it’s a huge company and it’s always a different crew, and somehow they always seem to not be able to keep the property line straight. Drives me crazy.
Haha yeap
I remember reading somewhere that a kid was mowing a customer's lawn and had mowed a few feet into the neighbors yard who then called the cops and had him trespassed
Guess he didn't get trespassed. czcams.com/video/hVV1Deabj0M/video.html
The way I see it if someone is going to cut into your property a little bit, just let it go. If they wanna mow an extra few passes that's on them. It's just not worth it. We do most of our business cutting common space. What we deal with more is non-customers telling us where the property line is for there lawn/common area. 90% of the time they say this because a certain area of their lawn is hard to mow so if they can get us to maintain an extra few feet they win.
Hi, I think we all been there, I personally stay in the boundaries after I explain that my job is limited to my customer property line.
I want to show the community this productly stand on leave bagger
My early years i had neighbors get mad a me for cutting a little more. I picked up a new client this year because i told them i could mow the side strip with out going into the neighbors yard like the previous company. I hate it when houses are like 15 feet part and then mulch beds and then grass. Its still hard keep grass out of either much beds even with a grass flap
Had this same situation happen last week. Neighbor told me I couldn’t use the easement to get in back gate of customer. I just told him he needed to call the police if he had an issue and went back to work. I really deal with dip shit neighbors all the time. I’ve had a few try and whip my ass over stuff like this. I just stare at them like they are nuts and don’t say anything
Sam K. Lol
One thing you could do for new customers is to have someone from the state auditors office come out and mark it as it is on the filed documents.
Haven't had that issue, hope I don't. I like to mow across the boundary especially when the grass runs to neighbors driveway, and not edge (ho pes of gaining a customer). It seems to give my work more curbappeal when I finish it out. I always think the worst of what a neighbor could say when they come out talking. Have been chewed out by them and offered work.
just about every house that is built in a development will have a sidewalk, the cement contractor will have a break in sidewalk between property's, not every case but any house built since the 90s was probably built with sidewalk. My issue with the lawn guy that cuts neighbors is he does not do a trim pass and routinely cuts my lawn when he turns to back the other way. (shorter than I cut) I put up flags for a while, he apparently did not get the hint. Not too mention his mower is quite a bit heavier than a 21 inch, leaving tire marks in my lawn.
Turn on the irrigation the next time that they mow....that'll send the message.
Great video brother keep up the awesome work
Man, I'm glad i never ran into that before. What I would do, if i can, is get them both together and try to get them to mutually agree and make peace with both sides... Maybe also get it on paper signed by both parties. That way if there is a future debate that contract may help.
i wasn't really paying attention because i'm watching _dexter_ 😂 but if i find a way to get a big machine from one part of a customer's property to another by way of a neighbor's property, i'll consult with the neighbor myself. usually they're understanding, though the need doesn't arise often.
but what really bothers me, is when i cut my lawns at a nice lush healthy green height, and an adjoining neighbor comes along and scalps the hell out of the edge of the lawn, because they don't care how their patch of weeds and grass looks. talk about a difference in heights 🤦🏽♂️🤦🏼♂️🤦🏾♂️
Scenario 1 Easiest way is to knock on neighbors door and address the situation.
Scenario 2 easiest way is to knock on the door and request permission to gain access to your customer.
Both have worked out in my favor. Neighbors don’t like people doing stuff without permission or an understanding.
The lowest mower setting sets the boundary line. I mow at 4in...my neighbors mow at 2.5. Impossible for me to set the property line.
Ryan Dauterman Yep great example
We service our clients with lawn services. We aren't mediators. I explain to the client what we are there to do and what we need to do but never get between neighbor wars or disputes.
I live in the country and my neighbors are well armed. Around here you stay off other people’s property unless you are related to them. A trespasser could end up in a hole and never heard from again. Hell, most of us already have a hole dug. Excavators sure are handy.
So you have subdivisions in America if I take it here in the UK we have hedges and I've have had nothing but constant hassle for years when my gardener comes round to cut the Hedges the only saying where the head is getting caught but when they get in court they expect every single inch of their side to be done as well ends up costing me a lot of money it's just not worth the hassle
Yeah haha same thing!
If I need to enter another property to get to a backyard I ask permission from that property owner. Any property disputes I speak with both owners myself. When speaking with them I try to be extremely positive being the middle man and on no ones side. Most of the time I can see the property lines and thats only what I will mow to. If someone asks me to mow over what I think is the line I would ask the other homeowner what do you know about the line. This way I get to meet the neighbor and maybe even get some work out of the deal.
If it is surveyed with pins that is the line
Hey Brian greetings from Novi I'm glad you brought this video up when I was married I had a house at 10 Mile and Beck area and Novi in 2003 4 5 6 around there and I had a neighbor that claim they own like 6ft over and they said that my kids trampoline was on her yard and threatened to sue me and cussing at my door and going crazy so I told them to go get a survey and they said will you need to go get a survey so I did I paid the $780 for a survey and come to find out not only did I own the line where I thought but I own four feet over and of the yard so needless to say we were ripping up Landscape bushes the next week after that and I never heard a word after that but you're right people try to claim every square inch they can
Lol that’s awesome! You know the area I’m in then!! People are nuts sometimes!
I haven't really been in that situation but I'm always thinking about it. If fact sometimes I walk the property with them so I don't screw up and go where I'm not suppose too
I think if you have a flower bed to mow around and it goes into the neighbors yard. You should push mow that section to keep the grass line. And just using big mower in front and behind
I've had neighbors put down 20 marking flags on the "line" so I can't fit my mower between the flower bed and his yard. Also had neighbors yell at me saying that "they mow that part of the yard" I just respond by saying thats fine, i'll get paid the same anyway, less for me to mow.
One way to deal with your customer is to have them produce the survey they were given, 2 No neighbor can stop you from accessing property of your client because as with any property line there is left at the very least a certain amount of egress allowed,usually up to 3 feet for this express purpose..... If you try to put a fence directly on your property line or build to thee exact limits of a property line you will quickly find out from your township or municipality that this will not be allowed, hence permits for fences, concrete work or any land additions....Even a shed! Hope this helps everyone understand Brian, Hi to Liz!
Easements in different states are very different - especially when the properties are HOA villages with neighbors' front doors literally within spitting distance from each other. In Maine you cannot put up a fence on your property without a permit and you need to place it so many feet from the road and adjacent properties. ("easement")
Sara Llewellyn You are correct and that's why homeowners need to check NOT Landscapers.... Also most if not all HOA's award contracts for landscaping and Waste management.... A word to the wise- don't buy a home where HOA's are , as you have little to no rights at all.....If you're a conformist you'll have no issues at all....LOL!!!!!
I agree with you on the no living in a subdivision.
my customers all live in the country so i have never come across this issue,but i think most people in my area(Cork)would be fine with it.
I have employee who is getting way to cozy talking to my customers. I've had old employees try to steal my lawns in the past using their relationship with my clients to advance their cause. I brought it up letting him know I dont care for it. Was wondering what your thoughts on this was.
Make your employees sign the ugliest non compete form you can draft up.
oh man I hate some of the neighbors of my clients. crazy folks for sure
Maybe people in the West just more easy going but in 5 years commercial work I have never run into this. When I mow the parking strip (parkway) I generally just mow it all, my customer and the neighbor and no one ever says a word.
Swimbait1 same! Here in SoCal we do the same thing all the time. It’s actually really nice, here in our area we have a metal rod in the sidewalk placed by the city exactly where the property line is.
people in the west are generally easygoing about some things.
If it's needing to take a machine behind your customer's house maybe go knock on that neighbor's door or if you see the neighbor outside take that moment to introduce yourself. Maybe show them where you are needing to be on their property and the reason behind it. Most will be understanding, and baring that you aren't tearing up their lawn, won't have an issue with it. Be friendly and use that opportunity to possibly gain extra business. Yes in the long run it should be your customer's responsibility to talk to their neighbor, but this also allows you that time to meet the neighbor and show that they can trust you to not damage their property ill intently. If it's for trying to "take back" someone's extra 5', I would not get in the middle of that one, leave that for them to sort out.
You just follow the law, if a new survey shows that your customer has gained ground and there are no legal preceding's underway (such as the person who lost said land, now pursuing adverse land possession to get it back) then go ahead and cut it, it is now your customers land.
We had a neighbor who wanted to add an extra 1/4" strip of concrete onto his driveway because that was technically where his property line ended.
If the customer wants to mow to his line that is his right, but request the day before you mow the next time for him to go out and flag his sprinklers as if they need repair and mow to the flags. After two weeks the other person will get the hint and not blame you.
Just tell the customer, " I'm not a Surveyor ". Get it surveyed and you will mow that boundary line. I'm not concerned about the neighbors that I Don't have a contact with but I DO Respect them and their property.
Establish the actual property line before you ever cut their grass, if possible. Obviously not possible with current customers and new neighbors.
Heck I remember as a kid (lived on a 4 acre lot) we got new neighbors on one side, and they planted a tree 4-5ft inside of our property line. And being a kid I went climbing this new tree in my yard. Lady came out screaming at me to get off her new tree! I told her to beat it, as it was our tree since it was on our property. And there was a very obvious property line where a fence has previously been, so entirely her fault. And oddly enough two days later that tree was dug up and moved by her landscaping company and placed ever so gently just a hair inside her property... the branches still over hang into my parents yard to this day.
Have the customer present a survey that defines boundaries. In this state, survey pins should be present and it is illegal to remove them. Subdivisions probably are different as someone got permitted to develop a large tract of land. Somewhere there has to be a record of boundary lines. I, too, would never live in a subdivision. Might be as well live in an apartment
Have another bit regarding driving mower on neighbors properties, have 3 accounts right next each other and they back up to a main road and all of them have fences about 15’ from the main road and grass is between the fences and the road. I believe technically it’s actually the townships property and their responsibility to mow this strip but the neighborhood consensus is that those backed up to the main road maintain the strip between their fences and the road. Well of course the main road is about a 1.5’ lower then the strip so the curb is MASSIVE and I can’t crawl up curb with machine and my 3 accounts are the last 3 on the main road so I have to use the sidewalk ramp at the entrance to the development off this main road to get on the strip and cut across 10 people’s properties just to get to mine. Still no complaints from anyone though. Probably because nobody really cares all that much about this strip as you only really see it from the main road.
Some people get crazy about there property lines. I'd tell them to get the land surveyed if they have problems.
Its not only the subdivisions. my dad owns a 20 arce property that I mow and the neighbor came out and started yelling at me for mowing her property it was a 5ft strip of land that was an easement through my dads property.
Tell her to get @#%^... easement is not owned by the other person, it only allows them access.
Tell them you stay the way you have been mowing till the surveyer comes. Be present too so a flag is not moved. I have iron rods sunk in my property that mark the corners and even the city setback lines. Placed by surveyers before hand.I Cant dispute as all i need to do is get my metal detector to locate my corners.
I remain neutral in all issues with customers. I let the homeowners deal with each other.
Yeah its inevitable in the lawn care industry!! We just got 1.43acres I can't be in a subdivision because of that reason also!!
If your clients irrigation system is plumbed into & covering questionable ground, & there are not any surveyor stakes, then the burden of proof is on the neighbor to prove otherwise. In my experience, its better to put the instructions of the man who hired you 1st. However, Common sense is critical, if they ask you to mow five feet over because the neighbors grass looks like Shit you have to decline. I tell them my insurance won't allow me to go on someone else's property
Heck yeah, are you kidding? When you pay the property taxes and the liability insurance. You're damn right you want to know where all four corners of your property are. Myself as an owner I made it my first Job "top priority" to obtain the most recent survey and the location of all four corner pegs. I would consider it irresponsible to do anything else. I would however "not ever" leave that responsibility up to my lawn care personnel.
I worked for an Survey Company in the past . I have seen ppl pulled gun's out in the past . Over 3"in"s of where the pin goes . one homeowner had a another Survey Company an the over homeowner had us do there's also . in a weeks time apart . an the pin was right .. boy an there still at it . someppl
Oh man that’s nuts
Hey Brian!! I have a question about hitting winter and dealing with monthly accounts. Do you cut the price in half if you go bi-weekly or does it stay the same and you do other services to make up for that lost-to-consumer money? I don't want to lose the money from them but if I have nothing to do, I have nothing to do!
We go weekly our whole season. I don’t offer biweekly, sorry!
I think you have to stay out of it but the customer is always right. You need to be diplomatic. I used to live on lots like these and I’m not petty IMO but 4 feet is a lot to lose. I’m on an acre now and we cross each other’s lots and its not an issue.