Neighbor removed my property line pin

[dmccarty]

...

Last of all, you are correct, don't mess with lawyers yet. You can't prove he pulled the pin, and if you get a lawyer involved, things have a way of escalating in a hurry.

I don't think he needs a lawyer to go after the neighbor. He can't prove who pulled the pin, and in any case, messing with the pin is likely criminal. He could sue to pay for the replacement of the pin but that would be a waste of time, money, and angst. Simply not worth it for so many reasons. What bothers me is the neighbor has utilities on the TBNers property. THAT bothers me and I would ask a lawyer if the utilities were a problem.

Later,
Dan

 

[MarkV]

Personally I would not worry about it. You have documentation, as Dodge Man said there isn't any worries about adverse possession, it is much harder than some seem to believe, your trees are up and it is going to cost to replace the pin. If you aren't selling and he isn't trying to claim what is yours leave it alone, why make waves. If it becomes a problem then have it resurveyed. Just my 2 cents.

MarkV

 

[riptides]

Don't know if was mentioned. On a past property after it was surveyed, the pins were replaced with rebar. I then took a post hole digger and cleared out over and around the rebar, in went a half-bag of cement. Made for a nice, clean visual location point.

 

[JerryK]

Don't know if was mentioned. On a past property after it was surveyed, the pins were replaced with rebar. I then took a post hole digger and cleared out over and around the rebar, in went a half-bag of cement. Made for a nice, clean visual location point.

Trouble with this method is that you have to get the permission of all parties... Most corner pins, you only really own a 1/4 slice of the marker/cap'd rebar/etc..... If it is a road easement corner, the road commision owns the road half of the pin, you and your neighbor each own one of the other two corner slices.. With the center of the pin exactly on the dividing point...

 

[sdkubota]

Don't know if was mentioned. On a past property after it was surveyed, the pins were replaced with rebar. I then took a post hole digger and cleared out over and around the rebar, in went a half-bag of cement. Made for a nice, clean visual location point.

Many times the actual survey pin is a piece of rebar with a surveyor cap. The cap can easily come off which leaves a piece of rebar. Do not pound rebar alongside or do anything that could be misinterpreted as the actual survey pin.

 

[dmccarty]

Many times the actual survey pin is a piece of rebar with a surveyor cap. The cap can easily come off which leaves a piece of rebar. Do not pound rebar alongside or do anything that could be misinterpreted as the actual survey pin.

All of the pins in my area are pipes about 18 inches long with one exception. The exception is a 1-2 acre corner cut out of our property. One day, I am doing to the court house and research that danged corner. :laughing::laughing::laughing: One of the corners is marked by a pile of rocks and what looks like the spring off an old car. :shocked:

Even our city house used pipe sections.

Later,
Dan

 

[aczlan]

Many times the actual survey pin is a piece of rebar with a surveyor cap. The cap can easily come off which leaves a piece of rebar. Do not pound rebar alongside or do anything that could be misinterpreted as the actual survey pin.

I agree. I also would not dig around it to pour concrete unless the surveyor was present to confirm that it was correctly placed afterward.
Probably some of this comes from the summer I spent as a "intern" (aka unpaid runner, gofer, etc for a field crew) at a surveyors office.

Aaron Z

 

[radioman]

I am a land surveyor, and I've read some ideas in this post that are both good and bad. My opinion is I wouldn't worry to much about adverse possession in this case. He saw the survey marker, you talked to him about it, and this puts him on notice that you know where the line is.

I wouldn't drive anything near the corner yourself. You might know roughly where the corner is, but not exactly. Don't offset the corner either. There is always a chance someone might think its the real corner.

Talk to your surveyor, he will probably reset the corner at a fair price since the original survey isn't that old. If I think there is a problem with someone removing one of my pins, I drive a corner down deeper, say about 12", then set another one on top of it. The person will pull the top pin, but not know the lower one is there.

I really like that idea about driving a second pin over the first. I am surprised that not all surveyor aren't required to do this. This would resolvee many, many of the issues we see on propety lines. If anyone has any questions, they can just rent a metal detector for less then surveyor. ( I know I am not helping you dodgeman in terms of employment- but it would leave out any question marks for property issues quickly.)

 

[sdkubota]

All of the pins in my area are pipes about 18 inches long with one exception. The exception is a 1-2 acre corner cut out of our property. One day, I am doing to the court house and research that danged corner. :laughing::laughing::laughing: One of the corners is marked by a pile of rocks and what looks like the spring off an old car. :shocked:

Even our city house used pipe sections.

Later,
Dan

Pipes used to be widely used but rebar with plastic caps are becoming the norm. The caps give the Surveyors License # and abreviated name. Many original survey corners were marked with stones, pits, blazed trees, charred wooden stakes, and almost anything imaginable. Modern plats normally state what is marking the corner, ie: 5/8 rebar found.

 

[sdkubota]

I really like that idea about driving a second pin over the first. I am surprised that not all surveyor aren't required to do this. This would resolvee many, many of the issues we see on propety lines. If anyone has any questions, they can just rent a metal detector for less then surveyor. ( I know I am not helping you dodgeman in terms of employment- but it would leave out any question marks for property issues quickly.)

It is difficult to ensure the pin is driven perfectly plumb. With todays survey equipment, accuracy is very exact. The top of the pin is the proper delineation of the corner...the bottom of the pin may not accurately describe the corner.