Last evening the neighbors were at their house, and so we decided to go down and talk to them about the fence.
We told them that the longer we had thought about planting trees the more we just didn't feel like that was going to work out for us. "We think that a fence would actually be best. That way, each of us would have better privacy, we could each decorate our own sides of the fence, and your children wouldn't get in our poison ivy".
They thought about it briefly and then the wife said, "...But we have rules about putting up fences in this neighborhood".
I said, "But we are not a part of your home-owner's association. Their rules don't apply to us and our property. We're putting up a fence".
We told them that we expected them to at least pay for the section of fence that they destroyed, but that they could pick out whatever fence they wanted. They agreed to that arrangement without too much resistance. I think they realized that they didn't have much choice.
I'm guessing that the fence they choose (or are allowed to use) will probably be quite pricey, possibly $100+ per 8ft of fence... The fence we've been looking at is only $32 per 8 feet. Maybe our cheap little fence will make the developer want to plant more trees and bushes on the other side of our fence to hide it! :) Perhaps one day it will look like a forest again...
