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Thread: Neighbor posted my property.

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Yorktown, VA
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    422
    I believe a lot of these issues are with surveyors and some are people just don't care. People are being sold land and being told where their lines are, when if fact they are not.

    When they built the housing project behind our property 30 years ago the realty company told them the 20' wide permanent easement road running the full length was actually theirs, but it was not reflected in the surveyors plot in the deed book. A few people started to fence across the easement and they were told it is not their land. It is the realty companies land that was by deeded a permanent easement as long as it was regularly traveled. (It is travelled across daily.) Everyone on both sides of the easement know they don't own the land but still some use to dump trash/branches and some have put up fences along the back of their properties extending 2' into the easement, reducing it to 18' in some areas. Trying to get along, nobody has said anything.

    A old farmer in NC was putting up part of his land for sale. He create two adjacent 40 acre lots. The surveyor came out and marked them out but miss-labeled the parcels. So for 6 years my brother was working one lot and another family was working the other parcel. Then the family decided to sale the land and a new surveyor came out and marked and did a title searched and found they were trying to sale the land belong to my brother and the land my brother was on was owned by the other family. It could have gotten ugly but both had level heads and just did the paperwork to correct the land ownership issue.

    The second issue my brother had was his 6500 sf house on lake gaston they bought. The surveyor showed the property line 20' from the side of the house when they went to put a MIL apartment and ramp leaving 5' to the property line. When the Doctor next door went to put his house up for sale a new surveyor found the property line had actually only been only 4' from the house and the MIL addition was 9' onto the Doctors property. In this case also level heads prevailed and the Doctor just sold the strip of land to my brother, before putting the house up for final sale.

    So there are still some decent level head people out there.

  2. #17
    A realtor up our way sold some houses on a school district border area and listed them as part of the more desirable district. I think they ended up getting away with it when sued.

  3. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Rob Damon View Post

    So there are still some decent level head people out there.
    I think most people are decent and level headed. I've been blessed with great neighbors. I know some friends who have not been so lucky!
    Last edited by Jim Becker; 01-26-2021 at 7:30 PM. Reason: fixed quote tagging

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
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    Okotoks AB
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    I agree that the cost of installing a perimeter fence around the whole property would be money well spent. I do most anything to keep relations with the neighbors good, and they seem to do the same.

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Somewhere in the Land of Lincoln
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    2,546
    Like has already been mentioned. Fences make good neighbors. It doesn't even have to be substantial. Just something to show the property line. Having no definitive clear line leads to boundaries being "fudged" sometimes accidentally.
    When we bought the property we now live on the sellers had it surveyed and to their surprise the boundaries they had always been told were incorrect. It was off about 15 feet. This property had been in the family for over 100 years. The line they had always been told was wrong. It didn't matter to us. We own most of the tree line now. The acreage size didn't change only the positioning of it. When we sold the farm we gained acreage because the tracts were larger than they were always assumed to be after surveying. When selling by the acre this lead to a sizeable chunk of cash.

  6. #21
    The way to stop Adverse Possession is, with white flag in hand, to approach offending party, and give them permission to be there. They are no longer in adverse possession, as they have your permission to be there. Later you can tell them to get the heck off your land. Tom likes state roads as boundries, but this doesn't always work. Many deeds, including ours, say to the center line of the road. Often when roads are maintained, or paved, the center line moves. Also owning to the center line means for every 1200 feet of road frontage, there is almost an acre of land under the road which owner of record pays taxes on. Friend, when they paved, straightened road, wound up with one foot on other side of road from his house. In 1986, we found out we didn't own most of our front lot as it belonged to the church next door. Surveyor and attorney had made a small two acre error. Graveyard at church was on adjoining farm, and had been since 1952. Talk about adverse possession. All parties signed a boundry agreement to keep what they had been using, so things worked out well. In Oregon, they built an interstate across a logging easement. Owner of easement waited to grand opening , and then parked his logging equipment across the roadway. Had copy of recorded easement in hand when the officials drove down the interstate, Settled for a price which included improvements (section of interstate highway.)

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Mt Pleasant SC
    Posts
    721
    No offense Perry, this is about a lawyer. I had 7 acres with a driveway with two 90 deg turns. The gravel driveway was built by the guy that had property next to the driveway. I told him to keep it away from his property but it was one foot over. The 3 acre property got sold twice after that. I came home from work one day and the new lawyer owner had hired some guy’s to dig post holes for a fence. Somehow they managed to dig the holes right on the line along a 50 ft section. We had an RV that would probably not get past a fence due to a drainage ditch on the inside of the turn. These properties are in part of a regular development. The young lawyer and I ended up on the phone and he just said that his wife wants the fence there. I said that common sense would indicate that there is no need to cause me problems. He went ballistic. Common sense is not evidently taught in the law school he attended. I said keep the damn fences where it is! Then hung up. I was thinking I would just build a small bridge over that low area for the RV rear tires. Then a little while later he calls back. I don’t answer. I’m thinking there is some reason he wants to work this out. He kept calling and I didn’t answer until the fourth call. He said he didn’t want to start out on the wrong foot and he would have the holes moved if I would pay the $200 they quoted. So it’s worked out and then I find out why. The county only allows one horse per acre and his wife had three horses plus a donkey she rescued.
    Last edited by Bruce King; 01-26-2021 at 11:30 PM.

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    NW Indiana
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    3,078
    A good survey is your friend. I had a problem with a neighbor and he had pulled some survey pins. I paid for a new stake survey and he was out arguing with my survey guy. I made the neighbor move the building that was partially built on my property and put a fence just off the property line.

  9. #24
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
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    Doylestown, PA
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    7,551
    Quote Originally Posted by Ed Aumiller View Post
    BEWARE... do not know your location... in Virginia if you use without explicit permission land for 15 years, you can claim ownership of the land under "adverse possession"...
    Had a neighbor lose a former store/house because of this. The property adjoining mine (40 acres) was very close to being taken from them under similar conditions...

    Get a lawyer to protect your interests.....

    Do not know laws in other states, but probably similar....

    Know in Pennsylvania when I was in high school (early -1960's) a path across a field next to the school
    was being closed to build a house, but because it had been in use for over 20 years,
    they could not close it or build the house...

    Look up the laws in your state....

    In Virginia, if someone cuts trees on your property (for firewood or lumber) they have to pay SEVERE damages to replace them..
    .so you could get paid for the firewood they cut...
    SWMBO was a Realtor in New Hope, PA. some years ago. A nice but naive lady thought another adjoining Real Estate office was cutting the grass on a portion of her property. She thought they were being nice. They weren't, they gained possession through adverse possession.

  10. #25
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Minneapolis, MN
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    5,427
    Quote Originally Posted by Ron Citerone View Post
    A realtor up our way sold some houses on a school district border area and listed them as part of the more desirable district. I think they ended up getting away with it when sued.
    How would a court not rule in favor of the homeowner if the realtor intentionally misrepresented what school district the property is in? Houses in desirable school districts can sell for tens of thousands more.

    My previous house was built across two lots. One lot was in a very desirable school district and the other in a good school district, but just not as desirable. It turns out because the master bedroom was in the less desirable district any kids would go to the less desirable schools. I talked to the desirable school district multiples times about any way to be in their school district. I thought about moving my bedroom to the back of the house to qualify for the other district, but that would have been questionable as any buyer would want to use the master bedroom as intended thus losing out on the desirable school district.

    My house would have sold in weeks instead of several months if in the other school district. It also would have sold for probably 10% more money. My realtor got a number of inquiries who were not longer interested when they heard what school district it was in.

  11. #26
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Highland MI
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    My dad was a licensed surveyor/engineer. He actually worked for the Michigan Highway Department as a survey crew chief before founding his own company. Before WWII he worked on alternate routes across the Mackinac Straights jumping island to island. After working three summers in HS on a survey team I went to school and ended up as a licensed engineer myself. I bought a lot in a fairly new sub. There was a 20' wide drainage easement and pipe fully on my lot. My dad and I recovered all of the property irons right where they should be. My new neighbor was convinced he owned to the middle of the easement because the realtor told him so. When my newest neighbor moved in I made it clear where the property line was and that his boat hoist was encroaching on my property only at my permission. I always mow to the property line.
    NOW you tell me...

  12. #27
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    65,685
    Quote Originally Posted by Curt Harms View Post
    SWMBO was a Realtor in New Hope, PA. some years ago. A nice but naive lady thought another adjoining Real Estate office was cutting the grass on a portion of her property. She thought they were being nice. They weren't, they gained possession through adverse possession.
    That's exactly why I immediately addressed the fence issue on the south side of our property when the tenant put it up to contain their (cute) dog...and I mow to the line even though it's on the other side of a tree line. Property is owned by a township commissioner...tenant is a relative.
    Last edited by Jim Becker; 01-27-2021 at 9:24 AM.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  13. #28
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Modesto, CA, USA
    Posts
    9,885
    UC Berkeley closes off the city street that passes through the main campus near the top. They do it for 24 hours once a year. Normally new years day or around then with little traffic. They do this so it is not a public road that can not be closed.
    Bil lD

  14. #29
    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Elfert View Post
    How would a court not rule in favor of the homeowner if the realtor intentionally misrepresented what school district the property is in? Houses in desirable school districts can sell for tens of thousands more.

    My previous house was built across two lots. One lot was in a very desirable school district and the other in a good school district, but just not as desirable. It turns out because the master bedroom was in the less desirable district any kids would go to the less desirable schools. I talked to the desirable school district multiples times about any way to be in their school district. I thought about moving my bedroom to the back of the house to qualify for the other district, but that would have been questionable as any buyer would want to use the master bedroom as intended thus losing out on the desirable school district.

    My house would have sold in weeks instead of several months if in the other school district. It also would have sold for probably 10% more money. My realtor got a number of inquiries who were not longer interested when they heard what school district it was in.
    Not sure about the intentional part. I was teaching in one of the districts at the time and their was a lot of discussion about the whole thing. The end result was the kids had to go to their legal district and the buyers were unable to recover anything legally. We were all amazed that the whole thing happened.

  15. #30
    Funny thing is, in the law school I went to, one professor did spend some time covering the subject of "pick your battles", zero sum gains, negotiation skills, etc. There are times when it cost nothing to be magnanimous, times when being right is less important than keeping lines open, times to stand for principle, etc. Many local legal organizations are very concerned about the the curtesy and ethics of many newer members of the bar. Some appear to have been taught that giving up a millimeter is fatal illness. I was taught to be tenacious. The first place I practiced was in Suburban Maryland just outside DC. Despite their burdgeoning urban character, both counties retained their old southern gentility in the practice of law. It was an unexpected pleasure. Then my second or third year, I ran into a lawyer from a slightly more northern city who would argue tooth and nail over what day of the week it really was. When I got to trial, I found that he had sent subpeonas to all my witnesses and then called them the morning of trial to tell them they were not needed and could go to work. I was looking at losing the case and the judge, from the same city refused to do anything. My first witness was a police chaplain by occupation, took the stand and apologized for being late for court. The judge is nodding so nice and then the witness said I can't imagine why Mr. Defense lawyer told me I wasn't needed and not to come to court unless there was some shady thing he was pulling. The judge looked at the witness and demanded to know who told him to say that. The witness looked at the jury and said "my conscience and the Lord Almighty told me to say it". For some reason the judge changed tune and denied all the opposing lawyers motions for mistrial etc. settled the case 30 minutes into the trial. As I walked to my car at noon time, I saw the judge and lawyer sitting in a bar near the court house laughing up a storm. I realized that by changing tunes, the judge was still covering for the lawyer. He forced a settlement. Had he granted the mistrial, I would have appealed and the appeals court could have suspended the lawyer's license. By forcing a settlement the matter might still still be swept under the table. I ran into that lawyer's partner in another case a year later. Similar nonsense, but this time I had called friends for the low down and could anticipate the crap. I learned that litigation cases go on through so many different layers, it is just so much easier to be a straight shooter and not play games.. You can't get caught in any problems of your own making.

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