Neighbor thinks he owns my land?

[strum456]

The only thing that concerns me is that the stump she is referring to is about 100 yards off. I encouraged her to look at the county website so she can view the same info I am using.

 

[lockhaven]

how long ago was the property surveyed, there is the possibility that your survey and the neighbors overlap. In older surveys this is common.

 

[MarkV]

Strum I would bet she has a better idea of her line than she is admitting. The stump is just a way of saving face because she has never been called on it before. I am betting you are OK.

MarkV

 

[EddieWalker]

The only thing that concerns me is that the stump she is referring to is about 100 yards off. I encouraged her to look at the county website so she can view the same info I am using.

Here, the county website is extremely inaccurate in their plat drawings. I'm told it's because the information is entered into a computer from the tax office and then it gets transfered to a computer in the land office that draws the plat maps. To make sure there are not gaps or open areas, it moves the lines to fit.

The most obvious errors are in the smaller parcels next to bigger. My neighbor had his land printed up on a big 3 foot sheet of paper and it shows a one acre parcel that is larger thena 12 acre parcel. The lines are crazy, but the acreage listed is correct.

The reason he showed me the map is that it shows our mutual boundry to be in the middle of my lake. The pin is clearly a hundred feet to the west of my shoreline and I dug the lake after the pin was place and I sold him the land, so there isn't any dispute where the boundry is.

Some of the lines are correct, others are wrong.

NEVER TRUST a plat or map that does not have a surveyors stamp on it. Consider those to be sketches, rough estimates and starting points. Otherwise, they are meaningless.

Good luck, but from what she said, there is still some dispute and until those corners are identified and boundry line marked, you are still just guessing.

Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

The only thing that concerns me is that the stump she is referring to is about 100 yards off. I encouraged her to look at the county website so she can view the same info I am using.

Here, the county website is extremely inaccurate in their plat drawings. I'm told it's because the information is entered into a computer from the tax office and then it gets transfered to a computer in the land office that draws the plat maps. To make sure there are not gaps or open areas, it moves the lines to fit.

The most obvious errors are in the smaller parcels next to bigger. My neighbor had his land printed up on a big 3 foot sheet of paper and it shows a one acre parcel that is larger thena 12 acre parcel. The lines are crazy, but the acreage listed is correct.

The reason he showed me the map is that it shows our mutual boundry to be in the middle of my lake. The pin is clearly a hundred feet to the west of my shoreline and I dug the lake after the pin was place and I sold him the land, so there isn't any dispute where the boundry is.

Some of the lines are correct, others are wrong.

NEVER TRUST a plat or map that does not have a surveyors stamp on it. Consider those to be sketches, rough estimates and starting points. Otherwise, they are meaningless.

Good luck, but from what she said, there is still some dispute and until those corners are identified and boundry line marked, you are still just guessing.

Eddie

 

[two_bit_score]

Not only are you wrong, you're dead wrong. I own several rent houses as well as as my own business.

Plus I'm betting that the amount that I pay in property taxes is far greater than what is paid in Ga, since Tx does not have a personal income tax. I have looked at property in other states and I was shocked at how cheap the taxes were compared to the value of the land. Here in Tx we may not have the state income tax but they make up for it with property tax and sales tax.

Of course just because we have differing opinions you have to toss some insults my way and make unfair judgements. I have also faced the problem with the huge apartment complexes etc but I usually have no problem with renting my places out. I keep them clean and efficient, and I rent a house for what someone else rents an apartment for. Some people would rather have their own place, I don't do duplexes etc.

I do all my own maintenance and very rarely do I hire anything out. I can't tell you the amount of times I have had to replace things like toilets (it just broke!), doors (kicked in), etc. I deal with the ups and downs. Rent business is not for the faint of heart.

When the county increases my taxes I look at the big picture and sometimes pass it on to the renters. When a house becomes vacant I scope out the market to see what comparable houses are bringing and I price accordingly.

I just don't see the validity in saying that renters don't pay property tax.

I've been in the rental property business for over 30 years. The only way renters pay property tax is as part of the overall overhead burden that the owner bears. While a property owner may be able to increase rents at times to recover some tax increases and cover future tax expenses you don't have the ability in residential property rental to immediately pass on tax increases like you might in a commercial situation where it is covered in the lease.

We've switched gradually over years to commercial and away from residential for a lot if reasons but mainly due to competition from the government.

Right now the best thing to do with residential that you get a good buy on is to resell it. YMMV, of course.



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[Ron JD670]

We went over and knocked on the door yesterday. It seemed like the boyfried all of a suden got really quiet as soon as he knew why were were there. The woman that owns the property seems really nice and admits that she doesnt know where the line is. She said that the previous owner told her the line ran through a big old stump, and that she always went by that. It was very windy, cold and snowing, so we didnt really get into the details yet. I showed her the map, and she didnt think it looked right from what she remembered the previous owner telling her. I think my dad and I are going to go mark the correct line this afternoon, then I'll call her to let her know after it is done. Hopefully that will settle everything.

Strum
Sounds like a good first step and things were not to tense. I think your in the a great position Once you mark the line if you want to increase your confidence about the points you could measure from the other known points. Especially if you area dealing with rectangle lots, relatively flat, and the lines are parallel you can run a string or rope of known length. I cleared line of sight paths perpendicular to the established line (wish I had the rotary cutter when I did that) took a100' rope and started at the known line and stretched the rope and placed a stake clipped the rope to it then went back and picked up the other end went another hundred feet etc etc used a 100' tape measure for the last bit. I used the dimensions from my deed. Keep in mind slopes of any significants will change the true distance as a survey is a two dimensional planer image of a three dimensional world. If you know the slope angle you can resolve the true distance Note if you use string you could stretch it more than a foot and introduce an error. With your dad helping move the rope it could pretty quick.
This exercise might let you sleep better at night and you will know the stump is not in the picture. I did this so I could rent the basic surveying system and simplify the traverse or number of angles I needed to shot. And make it easier on the surveyor if I went that way.
I laid this out on a copy of my lot map so I could visualize what I was going to do on the ground and have some checks and balances.
If you want to consider mending fences with the neighbor maybe the boy friend can help you put up a fence for some agreed hunting access. When my neighbor agreed to let me moving his fence off my property he wanted it done right and provided new t-posts because some of the old posts were not suitable for reuse. He also came back and helped me tighten it up and hang his small gate to make it easier to get his cattle back on his property if or when the calfs get out. And I had already agreed to let he and his wife ride across my property. It became a win win.
Again good luck and best wishes.
Ron

 

[sixdogs]

I'd mark the lines, flag the posts and not bring it up again unless the owner does or you are forced to--and I woulkd highly doubt that. My guess is it's a done deal. Gentlemen, our work here is (probably) done.

 

[JB4310]

I would want to mark the boundaries, but don't just go by your own description, use the neighbors as well to confirm the marks. if they all match it will be much easier to convince her. If they don't match then nothing you tell her is gonna make a difference, it would be like her telling you that she owns part of what you thought you owned. Then you've got a legitimate dispute.

If you can clearly show her her own described property line, especially the one between you in question, there would be nothing for her to dispute.

Good luck!

JB.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Sounds like it went well. Boyfriend isn't being aggressive and landowner says she doesn't know the exact line. You mark it and it will most likely be a done deal. If not it is on her to survey and find the line.

MarkV

2x plus Roy Jackson AND get it recorded at the courthouse.

Dad almost lost his life after getting a survey done with the other party. After it changed hands twice the third owner crossed the line with his FEL one day threating to kill him and when dad came to he was lying in the dirt face down with his glasses broken. The new owner had left him in the dirt after knocking him with the FEL. That was a life changing experience that dad never really recovered from in many ways at his age.

Get it in Black and White and recorded. It could save your life or that of a family member some day.