Crane from the neighbor on my property

.. and those who have no intention of later backtracking or failing to keep what they promise in return generally have no problem putting the most important sentences of such a conversation down on a piece of paper. My experience also ensures that clear rules are set right away and shows that one does not want to be fooled. Also my experience, those who do not take what they say seriously generally have problems making verifiable commitments.

"That's not even my crane" won't help much there.

Nevertheless: the crane is causally related to the construction project, so the neighbor's crane is also on my property for the neighbor's construction project, my construction doesn't start to "count" with his crane. But even there, for final clarity, the mentioned note or coaster helps, as long as it's signed.

Also my experience, those who don't take what they say very seriously usually have problems making something verifiably binding.

Mind you: here I am only talking about the just minimal bureaucratic solution, without blanket accusations of trickery. But also by my experience, those who later said "I never said that" were previously the biggest "everything's easy, no notes needed" types.

that you set clear rules right away and show that you don’t want to be fooled.

ops:

Why is one immediately in the fooled situation when approving something by handshake or verbally? I see that somewhat differently!

Why is one immediately in the "being fooled" situation when approving something by handshake or verbally?

I didn't write that this is an automatism, but I mean that people who like to be a bit careless verbally are immediately put in their place when they have to commit in writing. And I am not then in the stupid situation of having to prove a handshake agreement.

However, it is pointless to keep writing how everyone would handle something here. The OP has probably received enough opinions and must now determine his course of action for himself.

I would say that 95% of the time, everything probably goes well without written fixation, but I can already hear everyone here, when the 5% happens and someone asks how to behave, that then the question will arise again from all sides about what can be proven, that is, what one has in writing. See also what is additionally commissioned informally on the construction site.

The question for me is always what I ultimately want to achieve.
Whether orally or in writing, I want the crane and excavation to be gone on time. Excavation is easy anyway. The small wheel loader is borrowed and pushed back. What can the neighbor do?
With the crane, I approach the company and, if necessary, demand action. They don’t want any trouble either.

Of course, this can also be resolved the long way, through the courts. A written contract always helps in that case. But who does that just for excavation?
If time gets tight for me, I’m the one who can help himself fastest anyway. See above.

Even if he assures me in writing that I can use his garden then... In the end, he simply says no. And then? Sue for the right? Start a dispute? Nobody does that either. If I notice he doesn’t stand by his word, or gets cheeky, then it doesn’t matter whether it’s oral or written. Only a long legal process would help there. With costs and delays.

I would say that in 95% of cases, probably everything goes well without written confirmation, but, I can already hear everyone here saying that when the 5% occur and someone asks how they should behave, then from all sides comes the question of what can be proven, what one therefore has in writing. See also what one additionally commissions between the door and the hinge during construction.

After all, we are all reasonably intelligent Central Europeans... Then the first thing to do is to talk to the neighbor. There have already been many topics here where people have complained but never sought conversation with the person concerned.