Neighbor thinks he owns my land?

[sixdogs]

Sticking with a low common denomnator and addressing as a black and white issue will solve more problams than a series of grey area issues. Black or whiite, yes or no, deed or not. And you have a deed and there are pins in the ground. A person that is someone you shouldn't deal with from a trust standpoint is one who will try to divide and muddy the issues to throw you off task. Don't take the bait. Black and white, yes or no, your way since you have the deed. Don't try to be nice but don't try to be mean. Simple conversation and since he knows he loses that way, subterfuge will be the issue of the day. Grey areas only escalate and you need to de-escalate in every sentence.

Having been where you are, that's what I learned. Black and white, zero grey issues and no back and forth words that escalate. WWAGD? (What would Andy Griffith do?) As well, try to walk in his shoes. Why would he act this way? He might know the ropes but is trying to save face with the girlfriend. Find an out where he can save face or don't force an issue where he can lose face with the woman. That coud be more of an issue than the "legal" one. Foist the risk of proof onto him and walk away. Just my long-winded two cents.


EDIT---In first para I meant to say "survey" rather than "deed".

 

[MotorSeven]

I thought this would be an easy job for a surveyor. It is a single straight line with an iron pin at each end. The distance between the two is 351 feet. I already checked the bearing with my lensatic compass, just like the Army taught me. Everything checks out except the neighbor's junk. Lol.

I am confused, do you have a deed or a survey(or both) on the part in question? If you already have a survey, why bother with another one? Like SixDog said, pin to pin is YOUR line, so go talk it over and point it out to the neighbor.

Something is not right. Is this surveyor a local guy? If so it sounds like he has a conflict of interest he is not telling you about. Get another surveyor out there(from another County), show him you deed and get an estimate from him.

I used to think that a survey was the last word and final. Not true, and surveyors have clause that says they are not responsible for inaccuracy's, nor are they liable. This is because deeds are subject to interpretation, and were/are based on movable objects(trees, rocks, barns, etc). Sometimes a survey is just an educated guess and if it gets contested, then it goes to court and a judge will rule one way or the other.

My wife owns a real estate company. More than once I have seen the exact same property surveyed by two different surveyor's and the results were different.

 

[lilranch2001]

I already got all the records, found the stakes and took the measurements. I dont even know why I am having it surveyed, really. They have less than 2 acres, but are taking over almost that much of mine. Having my whole property surveyed would cost a lot more than I would like to spend, especially because I know where all the lines are. My origonal plan was to have the surveyor mark the line on that end really good and hope the neighbors get the hint. Do I need to go farther and post it or actually confront them about using my property?

1. I dont want to have the properly taken from me.

2. I dont want to make enemies with any neighbors.

They just need to stop blocking my paths and maybe clean up some garbage and I would be satisfied.

You do not want them squatting on your property, they could take control of it in 7 years

I do not think you have mentioned, how long has this been going on?
How long have you owned the property?

 

[strum456]

You do not want them squatting on your property, they could take control of it in 7 years

I do not think you have mentioned, how long has this been going on?
How long have you owned the property?

I have owned the land for about 2 years. Adverse posession is 21 years in PA. They have been there since 1995. I can see some of their stuff and what they cleared on the county tax map aerial view from 2009. The 2003 version does not show them encroaching onto the property.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

I bought this section a couple years ago. It boarders our farm and was origonally part of our farm back when my grandfather bought it. I was fortunate enough to buy it back from who my grandmother sold it to.

The problem: A neighbor has been using a wooded acre or so as if it is theirs for some time now. They have a camp fire, a couple tree stands, and other stuff on what is now my propertly. The previous owner was older and likley not aware of any of this. I dont really even have a problem with these people using my property, even though I have never even talked to them before. If any of my neighbors want to use our property, they are welcome to use it as long as they dont run the hay down, steal, litter, etc.. Anyway, today is now the second time that they have blocked my quad trails with brush and debris. I also had a couple cooking grates stolen just recently. It seems as if these people are trying to keep me out of my own land. I found the corner stakes, and had my dad confirm that they were correct. I just dont understand why they are choosing to block my trails rather than asking me if it would be ok if they continue to hunt and camp. I am concerned that if I approach them, this will turn into a property line dispute or they will try squatting on me. Thoughts?

Other than your fear of the unknown what is your problem at this point 175 posts down the road?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-michelle-callahan/work-bullies_b_833977.html

 

[strum456]

Other than your fear of the unknown what is your problem at this point 175 posts down the road?

I am surprised at how much attention this thread has gotten. I really appreciate the knowledge and experiences that have been shared. I am going to talk to them as soon as my dad gets home from work. We'll see if there is a problem after that.

 

[MotorSeven]

I am going to talk to them as soon as my dad gets home from work. We'll see if there is a problem after that.

Excellent....and that will put all speculation to rest.:thumbsup:

 

[lilranch2001]

I had a similar problem with people driving their ATV's and hunting without permission. I've even had them pull out property markers after I had it surveyed. I solved my problem by giving the exclusive rights to hunt on my property to a Deputy Sheriff who was looking for a place to hunt. For the right to hunt he keeps trespassers off. I also posted no trespassing signs.

Now that is a hellafa novel way to take care of a problem

 

[FinMod]

It is good that you are taking care of it. When I bought my 5 acres it looked like the adjacent property was creeping over a fair bit. I had no proof so I had the property surveyed. Well, my neighbor was mowing a diagonal into my property at least 60 feet had planted three trees parallel with his house (he is is in a 3 house subdivision not aligned with the main road). After the survey, they called me all wigged out and said they were going to hire their own survey. I agreed this was prudent as even I was surprised at the distance they were over. After that, I never heard another peep about it. Looking back at aerial photos, I can see that the developer had clearly crosses over the line and was at least partly responsible for the confusion. So I will side with all that say a survey is needed if only to prove what you think is the line. Then, a chat may or may not eve be required...

Good luck! Ray

 

[dodge man]

Strum, this thread has gotten pretty big and probably a little confusing to you, you are getting a lot of advice.

You asked how surveying works. That is kind of like asking how does a diesel engine work. You could describe that in one sentence, or write a 500 page book about it. A short summary is that we look for evidence. This evidence could be fence, an iron rod, a stone wall, a old surveyors rock etc. We try to match all the angles and distances up and make it fit the persons deed as best as possible. Its like so many other things, its not always black and white and is often a lot of judgement on the surveyors part.

At one time, we used to try to set up on the corners and measure the angles and distance between them. We don't do that very often anymore. You can imagine all the problems with things on line, such as trees and other things that get in the way. Instead we run what is called a random traverse. This is points we set in the ground, set our equipment up on, and measure the angles and distances between these points and then the property corners. We often run this traverse and make a closed loop to check the math for errors. Computers have really helped out and make the computations much simpler.

As far as a surveyor making a bad measurment? A good surveyor does good self checking techniques. I measure the angles more than once as a check, and I write the distances down in two different ways as a check. A lot of surveyors use data collectors, which record the data in an electronic manner. Mistakes can get made, but a good surveyor will minimize the chance of this.

What kind of equipment can we use? That is up to the surveyor. If I think a yardstick is the correct equipment, I can use that, but of course I don't. As far as I know, no state tells the surveyor what equipment they can use. GPS works well, we have a system. It doesn't work well in trees. It also doesn't work well for shorter distances, such as lot surveys.

The equipment I use on a regular basis is a total station, which measures angles and distances, and GPS. Often the most important tool is a spade and a locator and tile probe. This is how we look for evidence, which is really the important thing.

Strum, as far as your exact situation and your surveyor, its tough for me to say. I'd have to see the picture of your property, which is called a plat. It sounds like your surveyor has only surveyed part of your property in the past. That is not that uncommon, and sometimes we will draw up parts of the property, or adjoiners property even though we didn't measure everything. A plat can be complicated to read if you don't have any experience in it. What often seems simple to a layman, is often complicated and takes a lot of work on the surveyors part.

I have phone converstations several times a week with the public on potential surveys. Your problems and questions, and the response of others on this forum are very common, I see it all the time.

I hope this response helps, and if you have a good feeling about your surveyor, trust his judgement and follow his direction. If he is like so many other surveyors, he is hard working and has the best intersest of the public in his heart.