We live in Central PA in the heart of Amish country. Recently, the property beside us was up for sale and was snatched up by our Amish neighbors before it even went on the market. They have been arrogant and rude to us since this purchase. They informed us that, "They were having the land surveyed and using every square inch of their property for their business", which happens to be logging. So they will be bringing in their loud machines, using our driveway for logging trucks and other vehicles to travel on, and putting potentially dangerous machines very close to our property line.
I have a few problems with this whole ordeal, and I am just fuming mad. They had a surveyor come and stake out their land, and when this happened, the surveyor moved OUR pin 5ft, so we have lost 5ft of our land. On a little less than an acre, that's a big deal. There was an old shed on the property line that they surveyor didn't feel like arguing over, so instead of declaring the line down the middle of the shed, he moved our pin so that it was totally on the other property. When my husband measured our land and found it to be 5ft short, he called the surveying company whose response was, "Are you a certified surveyor? No? Then tough. I am, and what I say goes. Sorry about your luck." They are totally unwilling to come and fix the pin since we "don't know what we are talking about," and "we can't use a regular measuring tape because surveyor measurements are different." Rude! I'm sure if THEY were losing acreage, they would be a little concerned, too!
There is also an open well on the recently purchased land that is currently illegal - it is not posted, and it is not covered. I have two young children, and according to the law, since they cannot read, if they fell in the well and hurt themselves we could technically sue and the other property owners would be liable. They have shown little concern about this issue and nothing has been done about it yet.
Here is the icing on the cake: When I got home today, there was a bulldozer on their land, and it had leveled everything, including the little shed that should technically be on OUR property. And when I mean leveled everything, I mean to the INCH. They went directly down the marked land and dozed it. They are doing all of this without checking with us or even letting us know that this was happening. As a common courtesy, a little heads up would have been nice. Not to mention that this will decrease our property value being this close to a loud, dirty sawmill.
So here's my questions: Do I have a right to be angry about all of this? Do any of you have legal advice for me about zoning laws, like can they legally come into a residential area and put up a sawmill that will cause a disturbance? What about the safety of my children? Who can I contact about finding all of this out?
Thanks y'all for letting me vent! I welcome any suggestions.
I have a few problems with this whole ordeal, and I am just fuming mad. They had a surveyor come and stake out their land, and when this happened, the surveyor moved OUR pin 5ft, so we have lost 5ft of our land. On a little less than an acre, that's a big deal. There was an old shed on the property line that they surveyor didn't feel like arguing over, so instead of declaring the line down the middle of the shed, he moved our pin so that it was totally on the other property. When my husband measured our land and found it to be 5ft short, he called the surveying company whose response was, "Are you a certified surveyor? No? Then tough. I am, and what I say goes. Sorry about your luck." They are totally unwilling to come and fix the pin since we "don't know what we are talking about," and "we can't use a regular measuring tape because surveyor measurements are different." Rude! I'm sure if THEY were losing acreage, they would be a little concerned, too!
There is also an open well on the recently purchased land that is currently illegal - it is not posted, and it is not covered. I have two young children, and according to the law, since they cannot read, if they fell in the well and hurt themselves we could technically sue and the other property owners would be liable. They have shown little concern about this issue and nothing has been done about it yet.
Here is the icing on the cake: When I got home today, there was a bulldozer on their land, and it had leveled everything, including the little shed that should technically be on OUR property. And when I mean leveled everything, I mean to the INCH. They went directly down the marked land and dozed it. They are doing all of this without checking with us or even letting us know that this was happening. As a common courtesy, a little heads up would have been nice. Not to mention that this will decrease our property value being this close to a loud, dirty sawmill.
So here's my questions: Do I have a right to be angry about all of this? Do any of you have legal advice for me about zoning laws, like can they legally come into a residential area and put up a sawmill that will cause a disturbance? What about the safety of my children? Who can I contact about finding all of this out?
Thanks y'all for letting me vent! I welcome any suggestions.
