Q. I live in a development with individual patio homes governed by an association -- or so they say. My next-door neighbor has lived there about eight years and is the fourth owner of that property. She has caused many problems in the neighborhood, and I was probably the only neighbor who talked to her or had anything to do with her -- which was bad judgment on my part.

When I bought the home 26 years ago there were three planters in front of my house built by another owner. I feel I bought those planters when I bought the house. The bricks were looking aged so I had them stuccoed and painted and added red brick on top. One very small planter by my driveway extended into my neighbor's front yard about 12 inches.

The owner has removed her front yard and plans to put concrete in that area. I had questioned her at least three times as to what her plans were for the design of her front yard and she never mentioned tearing down my planter facing her side.

One evening, she just took a sledge hammer and removed that side of my planter, exposing the roots of the bushes that I had planted. It has been weeks and still nothing has been done to her yard. Consequently, the bushes are dying because of the exposed roots. Do I have any rights in this matter? Is she responsible for rebuilding that side of my planter?

A. There is no question that you have rights that have been abused by your neighbor. You may have claims for adverse possession for the 1-foot area where the planter encroached into your neighbor's yard, damage to the planter and bushes after the demolition or perhaps even a dispute in the location of the lot line.

Unfortunately, the cost to pursue any of these claims far outweighs any benefit that you would derive from a legal solution. I recall one "matter of principle" dispute between two neighbors concerning the ownership and cutting down of a bush. After about $12,000 had been paid in legal and survey fees, I asked one of the parties if they were near a solution to the dispute. The response was that the parties were no closer to resolving the matter then than at the time the dispute first began.

My advice is to mitigate the damage to your planter and hope for more respectful consideration from your neighbor.

Q. My husband is 83 and I am 81. We have lived in a condo for eight years and now have decided (or, I should say, our children have decided for us) to move to a senior community. What is your opinion on land contracts, or do they even have them anymore?

A. If you wish to sell on a land contract, also called a contract for deed or installment contract, be sure to negotiate a substantial down payment from the buyer. This may be difficult to do in the current market. However, the amount of money that a buyer invests in your property reflects the likelihood that the buyer will continue to make the payments on the land contract and be in a position to place other financing on the property when the term expires.

By selling the property in this way, you will be earning regular interest payments on the outstanding principal balance of the property assuming that the land contract is amortized. Additionally, you may want to investigate renting the unit as another option for generating income. In either event, exercise due diligence in investigating the character, credit history and creditworthiness of any buyer or tenant.

Doug Oster writes a blog, "Growing With Doug," exclusively at PG+, a members-only web site of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.