Neighbor thinks he owns my land?

[mbrun]

This has been a great thread to read. I can relate to a lot of what has been said. Thanks to all of you for sharing.

 

[Ron JD670]

Yeah, it sounds like a non-issue to me, I wouldn't worry about it any further.

The company I work for actually drew up the tax maps for our Assesor's Office. They are not based on any surveys usually, and are often just a pretty picture. It doesn't suprise me in the least that the assesors maps are off 25 feet.

Our county accessors maps are pretty good, but their web site allows you to overlay the on satellite photos. They are close but not spot on. For example my line goes through my garage so it's off by about ten feet. When you add the topo feature it really is useful for finding corner markers. When you enter the site and when you print they tell you it is not for legal or survey purposes.

 

[strum456]

Our county accessors maps are pretty good, but their web site allows you to overlay the on satellite photos. They are close but not spot on. For example my line goes through my garage so it's off by about ten feet. When you add the topo feature it really is useful for finding corner markers. When you enter the site and when you print they tell you it is not for legal or survey purposes.

Exactly. I never suggested that I was using the county tax map application as any type of legal doccument. But it is close enough to show the neighbors the general shape of their property (2 acres, not 4 acres). I went by the stakes in the ground, and the legal description when I actually marked the line. So far, so good.

 

[sfloggie]

Bob HA,

Glad to hear this as many people now hit others with Adverse Possession to claim a neighbor's land.

I lost land in Arcadia, OK because a neighbor had been pushing the fence line North. I brought the 80 acres, had it surveyed, saw the South fence was 30' further North on my land than it should be.

I called the lady who owned the land south of me, explained, noted I would pay for the new fence, asked if she had horses or cows so I would install the right wire (for her) and I discussed environmental work at the creek. No problem.

We put in the new fence after doing site work. Next I receive a call from her lawyer and was sued as she owned the land by Adverse Possession. A year later I had to tear down the fence and pay her a sum of money although she stole the land.

So we sold the land and departed OK for good. Only explaining and not complaining. We ended up buying a great piece of land in Virginia where we live, and great neighbors with no property issues!

So I am very glad things worked for you. Have a good week Bob.

Jim

 

[GGB]

This and similar threads are a good reminder to have a survey of any property you are considering buying. It's better to know what you are dealing with on the front end when you've got negotiation leverage with the seller, who may or may not even know where the property boundaries are located.

Your realtor may not like this, as it may create a situation that can't be resolved, and they loose a sale when you decide not to buy that property. But that is far better than you having to resolve a situation with a new neighbor who has little or no incentive to fix any issues.

I've learned this lesson the hard way-I paid for a survey after purchasing the property, only to learn that the property boundaries weren't where I was told. The other neighbors didn't know where the boundaries where either. At some point, it will have to be fixed by swapping land to straighten it out. And it won't be cheap. Guess who gets to pay for it now? Hint-it's not the people we bought the property from!

 

[forgeblast]

I had some of the gas company people come to the house on sunday. They were doing gps surveys of all of our boundrys/pin locations to establish a production unit that will be going in 2013.
I knew where two of my pins are so I took them up to them to make sure they were marked correctly. When kicking through the brush we actually found my missing pin poking out of a stone wall(i walked past it a few times). I was really happy to find it.

 

[Dr_Zinj]

Adverse Possession.

The "legal" way to steal land.

It sure as heck isn't ethical or moral.

 

[RoyJackson]

Adverse Possession.

The "legal" way to steal land.

It sure as heck isn't ethical or moral.

Well, I disagree with you to an extent.
I suggest you read about the history of Adverse Possession and why it came about.

 

[dodge man]

Keep in mind, sometimes adverse possession is often used to "correct" land boundaries. Sometimes a fence has been in place for many years. The surveyor comes out, surveys the ground, and the fence doesn't hit the theoretical location according to the deeds. As a surveyor, you can't go out and work and just use everybody's occupation and say that is the boundary. On the other hand, you can't just go out and ignore occupation and do it on theory alone. Often times a judge will rule the fence is the boundary and adverse possession is the law that used.

 

[IronHog]

Adverse Possession.

The "legal" way to steal land.

It sure as heck isn't ethical or moral.

People that don't deal with land very often think they can have a survey done and just move lines at will........ don't work that way.


If I buy 40 acres with an old, established fence line or common corners I bought to that boundary......... your "new" survey is basically stealing land/timber that I paid for based on something that a survey crew may or may not have laid out correctly......


Survey is cool...... but understand that clear, maintained boundaries mean more in the real world........ most states ain't gonna make you move a fence grandpa put there.....

 

[mjw357]

People that don't deal with land very often think they can have a survey done and just move lines at will........ don't work that way.


If I buy 40 acres with an old, established fence line or common corners I bought to that boundary......... your "new" survey is basically stealing land/timber that I paid for based on something that a survey crew may or may not have laid out correctly......


Survey is cool...... but understand that clear, maintained boundaries mean more in the real world........ most states ain't gonna make you move a fence grandpa put there.....

What you own is described in the deed, not in a survey. A deed description may be based on a survey, but a survey alone does not change anything. It's just an opinion.

If your deed calls out 'along a fence north of the stream' and that's the fence that grandpa put up, that's the boundary. If grandpa put up a fence where he thought it should go, that's a different matter.

 

[IronHog]

What you own is described in the deed, not in a survey. A deed description may be based on a survey, but a survey alone does not change anything. It's just an opinion.

If your deed calls out 'along a fence north of the stream' and that's the fence that grandpa put up, that's the boundary. If grandpa put up a fence where he thought it should go, that's a different matter.

Deeds.... around here anyway.... have legal descriptions.


That legal description will get a set of survey lines..... but it will be secondary to any clear lines that have been there for years or a fence that has been there for 100 years.

You can't just move a 40 corner because you had a survey done....... in Arkansas anyway. We've had people try to do it to us before.... their new paint ended up at the mill with the trees they were on.....

 

[dodge man]

People that don't deal with land very often think they can have a survey done and just move lines at will........ don't work that way.


If I buy 40 acres with an old, established fence line or common corners I bought to that boundary......... your "new" survey is basically stealing land/timber that I paid for based on something that a survey crew may or may not have laid out correctly......


Survey is cool...... but understand that clear, maintained boundaries mean more in the real world........ most states ain't gonna make you move a fence grandpa put there.....

Thats a pretty accurate statement.

 

[riptides]

What you own is described in the deed, not in a survey. A deed description may be based on a survey, but a survey alone does not change anything. It's just an opinion.

If your deed calls out 'along a fence north of the stream' and that's the fence that grandpa put up, that's the boundary. If grandpa put up a fence where he thought it should go, that's a different matter.

And when the stream moves, as nature wills, your deed has issues.

 

[Pirate]

Deeds.... around here anyway.... have legal descriptions.


That legal description will get a set of survey lines..... but it will be secondary to any clear lines that have been there for years or a fence that has been there for 100 years.

You can't just move a 40 corner because you had a survey done....... in Arkansas anyway. We've had people try to do it to us before.... their new paint ended up at the mill with the trees they were on.....

So the proper solution is to insist on a survey before purchase to ensure you know what you are buying. If I moved in and had a survey and found someone cut my trees, I would hire a lawyer and make their life miserable.

 

[IronHog]

So the proper solution is to insist on a survey before purchase to ensure you know what you are buying. If I moved in and had a survey and found someone cut my trees, I would hire a lawyer and make their life miserable.

And you'd have a hard time doing anything if the previous owners had been honoring that line for the past 80 years.... besides, our feller-buncher just took all the psuedo-line trees down anyway.

If you want to get a survey to confirm acreage.... that can be smart....may go your way one way or another. Plenty of 40's are 36-44 acres in the real world.


I can show you land my family holds a deed to...... but that fence and the last 20 years of crops the farmer next door has put down means he owns the land if it ever get to court.


Moral of the story:

1. Know your lines before you buy

2. Know your acreage before you buy


Trying to move old lines after a land buy will get you some angry neighbors and not much legal standing.....in Arkansas anyway.

 

[chucko]

Surveys are not always right. Had one done one time that come out 15 foot off. They started at the Arlington section pin thinking it was at the center of some road. The true pin was at the roads edge

 

[newbury]

What you own is described in the deed, not in a survey. A deed description may be based on a survey, but a survey alone does not change anything. It's just an opinion.

If your deed calls out 'along a fence north of the stream' and that's the fence that grandpa put up, that's the boundary. If grandpa put up a fence where he thought it should go, that's a different matter.

And when the stream moves, as nature wills, your deed has issues.

There are special rules regarding waterways. The way I met SWMBO was based on a boundary dispute in Mississippi. The W lumber company was claiming they owned a bunch of land because it was east of the stream. Well a lot of it was west of the stream before the lumber company ditched all the oxbows on the west side of the valley. So you had a curvy river straightened out on the west side of the valley.

Judge didn't like it.

Now when the river NATURALLY cuts off an oxbow ownership often changes hands.