Verbal agreement doesn’t stand when neighbors won’t pay up
Q:My backyard fence needed replacing so I obtained three bids for the work. I spoke with my three neighbors about paying for half of the fence expense for the portion of fence we shared. My rear neighbor declined to assist and agreed that I could make the “pretty” side of the fence face my yard. My left and right side neighbors both agreed to pay their half of the fence. I explained their portion of the expense was about $800 and $900 (left and right neighbors).
During the building process, my left-side neighbor’s wife discussed continuing the fence rebuild to include the entire shared side (originally the contractor thought only half was getting done). The contractor called me and I agreed to the additional work since the neighbor was sharing the cost. After the fence was completed, the leftside neighbor called me and told me that he had not discussed the expenditure with his wife and therefore could not pay his portion of the fence cost. Obviously she was aware of the job because she injected herself into the construction process. I gave a copy of the invoice to my right-side neighbor and he told me that he did not want to pay for the fence anymore. Do I have any recourse since agreements to pay were verbal and in excess of $500? I do not totally remember that business law course from 20 years ago.
A: Some neighbors are jerks, as you have learned. Suing them in small claims court is one way to go, but your proof will be pretty tough if your neighbors lie. If you have some emails, etc., it will be helpful. If there is no backup, the promises aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on. Let this be a lesson. It doesn’t sound neighborly, but then, neither do your neighbors. Don’t make agreements of this type until you’ve gotten their money and a written approval. This is a cheap lesson to learn. On the bright side, however, you have still got your new fence.
Q: My mother recently died and her will appointed my brother (who’s never been able to hold a job) as executor. He’s an idiot and will spend all of her money. What can I do?
A: This won’t be easy. Family relationships change, and the law generally enforces the wishes of the decedent as set out in the will. You will have to prove that he is incapable, or negligent, or both. Hire a good probate lawyer.
Q: We’re moving in from another state. I’ve carefully read the Texas contract form, but don’t understand the title insurance requirements set out in the contract. What do they mean?
A: Texas has a promulgated title insurance policy. You can’t change anything in the policy except for the additional title coverage you can get under paragraph 6(a)(8). This paragraph allows the buyer (you) to get additional coverage against enforcement of violations of building violations, encroachments and the like. We always suggest to the buyer to obtain this coverage, regardless of who pays for it. It is cheap and better coverage. The other provisions in this section only recite what the Texas Department of Insurance form requires.
Q: I moved from Houston to another city in 2004. I’ve received two promotions, am moving back to Houston and discovered that I can’t afford to buy my old house. What happened here?
A: Welcome back to Houston. You may want to go to the HAR website and see how housing prices have increased over the last few years. Depending on where you want to locate, hire a good, experienced real estate agent to help you through this process. They also can help you with new financing issues that you may not be familiar with. We are very partisan on this issue, but think Houston’s future makes home buying a very good investment.