Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
Bilateral fence that i made an oral agreement on.
I made an oral agreement with my neighbor, for a number of years she had asked me to cut down the tree, because she said that leaves that fell over her yard made it very hard not just on her, but on her finances. I cut the tree thinking that this would solve the problem. What the deal was that I cut down the tree completely and she would rebuild the bilateral fence. I gave her about three month's and then asked when she was going to start the building the fence, and what she told me just made me almost freakedout. She said that the man that had given her the estimate that was reasonable at that time had gone away and she could no longer find him. I told her that, that was not my problem, because I had kept my end of the deal and not asked her for a dime. To make long story short, I wrote her an intention on what I had planned to to. I'm really confused because My wife kept telling me to write it down but because she seemed so sincere, I told my wife not to worry. But now I'm the one who is worrying about the whole matter, because of not having a written contract. Please try and explain it in layman's terms so that I can understand. Thank you very much Mr. Camacho
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Bilateral fence that i made an oral agreement on.
On LawGuru we often see, A case or two about a tree.
This neighbor dispute arose whence, You thought she would rebuild the fence. But you forgot to go and make her, Write the deal down on paper. There's no agreement you can prove, So any case you'd bring you'd lose. And though I mourn for your lost tree, Your neighbor's obligation-free.
Re: Bilateral fence that i made an oral agreement on.
An oral agreement is as binding as a written one. The difference is that something in writing is clearly easier to prove then something said. You have also acted to your detriment based upon the agreement in that you have lost that tree and incurred expenses to remove it [you could claim reasonable compensation for our own time involved in removing the tree]. It would be best if you could now get the agreement in writing; you can allow her to put down why she has not yet done her part of the obligation. Get an estimate from several people for the cost of rebuilding the fence [the cost of lumber has gone up a lot] and pass it on to her. Get a mutually agreeable time deadline from her. If she does not do the work, you can sue her in Small Claims Court [verdicts can be up to $7,500] and then try to get the money from her [probably put a lien on her house].
Contact me if you need any more information.
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