property line dispute

I have lived in my home for nearly 7 years and have decided to concentrate on my backyard this year. My neighbor told me that 6 inches (from the fence separating the properties) is his rightfully his property and he can do with it what he pleases. Over the years he has come onto my property and maintained a makeshift grapevine trellis that he built- complete with cement blocks and poles on my side of the fence. When I asked him to remove them, he refused. I am unable to fit garbage cans on the side on my garage because of it and need to know if I legally have a right to remove the concrete and/or poles that impede my way. I began to remove some of the concrete, but was told by him that I will be sued if I continue. The contraption is an eyesore and will seriously effect my property value, makes it impossible to pull my car into the garage as well as comfortably access the space on the side of my garage. Even if the surveyor's report says it is his property (doubtful), the only way he can tend to it is by coming onto my property, which is no longer an option since I realized what he was doing. (He went as far as paint the cement blocks a bright yellow color which really looks terrible.) Who has right to this small strip of land? Please help. I am at my wits end. Thanks in advance.

You can easily determine the actual property lines with your own current survey. You can check with your county for the 'current' one on record, but that could be several years (or decades old.) You might've received a copy of it at the time you purchased your home. If not, getting a new one may be expensive now, but it'll clearly delineate your lot (along with any existing easements) and if you ever plan to sell your home in the future, there's a very good chance you'll need to produce one at closing. FYI.. there's a 50/50 chance your neighbor's survey is in fact correct...you might want to take a look at it to verify the date. Yours could come back exactly the same.

You also might want to check with your city or county to see if they have arbitration available for residential boundary/lot line disputes. (Your predicament isn't as unusual as you think.) Some cases can be settled out of court, depending on the level of cooperation between the parties; others may in fact require an attorney .. it all depends on the parties involved. http://www.legalmatch.com/law-librar...e-lawyers.html may help. At the very least, you'll have exhausted all other possibilities beforehand.

I hope you and your neighbor can work something out, with or without an attorney. Personally, I'd suggest one if none of the responses help resolve your dispute. Just a licensed professional's opinion here.

Good luck.

They say experience is the best teacher, so... I will tell you what I know, not only because I've studied it in law school, but also because I have lived through just such a situation, been to court, and won----handsomely, too, I might add$$!

First of all, let me be the first to point out that it is entirely possible for there to be an easement on record without it ever appearing on a survey. In my case, a previous owner of my home sold it through a bond for title to a tenant (meaning the tenant owned the property, but seller retained deed) . When the bond for title was executed, the seller retained use of the driveway that led to two small buildings at the back of the property not visible from the road and they continued to use the driveway for 12 years to reach those two small buildings. However, about half way through those 12 years, the bond for title was superceded by the sale of the property ( the deed was transferred to the seller ).

Fast forward 12 years when my late husband purchased the property. We were moving in and were told to move our vehicles so cars can transverse our property. It was only then we realized someone else was using our small driveway to lead back to buildings we had never seen, that were not visible from our home. We immediately consulted our deed, and our closing attorney. He assured us there were no easements on the survey nor were any listed in the title search. However, there was a reference to the easement in the bond for title, but when it was superceded, the easement was not recorded in the actual deed transfer. This means that when the title search was done, it paid no regard to the bond for title document since there was no actual transfer of deed.

Shortly after I move in , a lis pendens is filed which was in my case, in layman's terms, a civil suit suing me for reformation of the deed. The crux of their case, was they MEANT to record the easement, just FORGOT. Therefore, I shouldn't mind SHARING my property, by allowing a STREET to run through it ( we screwed up, now you have to forfeit your property to fix OUR mistake). They attempted to establish an easement by necessity, or a prescriptive easement on my property---to no avail. MY position: I am a bonafied purchaser for value ( poor planing on YOUR part doesn't constitute an emergency on MINE).

We eventually filed a motion for summary judgment and won a dismissal of the suit as well as punitive damages for harassment, frivolous lawsuit, etc.

Now. I've said all of that to say you are much in the same kind of situation. If the property is indeed yours, there could be a possibility (though I doubt it) the neighbor COULD be entitled to use your property under laws pertaining to adverse possession. Adverse possession occurs when there is opened, hostile, continuous, notorious (etc) use of your property. In my case, the original seller tried to make a claim of necessity as well as adverse possession after 15 years had lapsed ( the time necessary in my state to make a case of adverse possession--most states are 12-20 years). However, a caveat of adverse possession is that the person attempting to establish adverse possession must, in fact, be the person attempting to USE the property in question. In my case, the previous seller hadn't used the property in an opened continuous, notorious, hostile manner since he had PERMISSION and an agreement to do so with the previous seller.

In your case, if the seller has used your property under the conditions necessary to establish adverse possession, and for the time stipulated by law, he is entitled to continue to do so and there is little you can do about it except sue. However, from what you said, not enough time has lapsed to affect adverse possession.

Now, he might attempt to establish a prescriptive easement of some kind, but then again, I am not sure how that would stand from a legal standpoint. Also, if, at any time, you agreed to ALLOW him to USE the property, but later changed your mind---that could affect the legality of what is happening.

So.. just because an easement is or isn't recorded on the survey doesn't necessarily mean there ISNT one---as in my case. Bottom line: TWO considerations. Where exactly DOES the property line run, and secondly, if it IS your property, is there some way for him to claim a right of use. That can only be determined by licensed professional with a LAW DEGREE well versed in areas such as adverse possession, prescriptive easements, etc.

Obviously, the city has no vested interest in property disputes, unless it pertains to eminent domain. There simply is no possible way to justify tax dollars being spent for a public entity to get involved in private property disputes over which they not only have no jurisdiction, but also, are not named as a party.

All of which is already adequately stated (yet again) on the link provided. Circumstances alter cases; he/she can read through to determine if any of these circumstances apply to the particular situation. A city or county clerk can provide additional resources, again, if available in a particular jurisdiction, as originally posted. I believe the circumstances are very familiar to those of more common fence line disputes and even though most municipalities consider this a civil matter, I hardly think this case is unique or the first of its kind. Precedents have not only been set, but are on record with a particular city or county clerk's office ... I've also found them throughout my professional career to be both a terrific starting point and reliable source of information.

To the original poster, hopefully, you've some useful information to start with, but for obvious reasons, I don't suggest you contact your mayor with this. Unless, of course, he/she is the only person answering the phones. If in fact that's the case, I can't recommend a good attorney (with a license to practice, of course) strongly enough.

Good luck.

First of all, ALL municipalities consider this CIVIL. If it weren't civil, it would be criminal.

Secondly, how exactly did you find out there is precedent setting rule of law regarding boundary disputes in the posters city? I would like to read one such case--and see how it compares to my personal lawsuit. Do share.

Thirdly, the city clerks office having RECORD of disputes is very different from them acting as an ARBITRATOR of said disputes. City record keeping entities do not set precedence, nor do they get involved in private land disputes. Period. Contacting them to ask for arbitration is an exercise in futility since the city does not get involved in private land disputes. How else can I word it?

Fence line placement INCLUDES adverse possession. And, land ownership can be both affected and altered by adverse possession--and since adverse possession is difficult to record on a deed, survey, or plat, it is entirely possible for this rule to be in effect, yet not be recorded. While this neighbor could not argue an easement by necessity ( as he would if he were using the land to access something otherwise not accessible ) he can argue it is his through adverse possession ( if he has continually used the property without the owners consent for the amount of time prescribed by law.)

A records department can provide you with plats, surveys, deeds, etc. But they cannot, however, tell you if your neighbor has a claim of adverse possession against you. Information? Sure. Determine if the property has been claimed through a right of usage, prescriptive easement, or adverse possession? No.

Circumstances alter cases, but they DON'T alter the law.