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We just closed on our house and have met the new neighbors (very nice). We didn't get a survey done prior to closing, but we have an existing survey that was done roughly 20 years ago by the prior owners.
Well, now that we've had the closing, we've finally had a chance to be on the property for more than an hour or two (and without snow on the ground). I've compared the existing survey to aerial photos, and it seems like our neighbor's lawn might actually cross into our property and that they might be using part of our property as a recreational trail. They might even have some children's play equipment that bleeds onto part of our yard.
Part of the issue is that our land is like a trapazoid, and their house is built angled on a plot, but they're treating our boundaries as rectangular.
We want to be good neighbors and we're not looking to make a big stink over this, but I'm wondering if anyone's got advice on how best to proceed? Does a trail and some recreational yard equipment consitute an encroachment that we need to worry about in the future?
I know another survey might be in order, but I don't want to drop $900 (the local rate) if this is much ado about nothing.
Encroachments can be a big deal because adverse possession laws have a statute of limitations. Also, if they are encroaching on your land, understand that you are paying property taxes on that land and they get to use it for free.
You need to understand that aerial photos don't always align correctly with property lines. If it is important to you, then you need to get a survey done.
Many times there are iron markers in the ground where each property lies. If they have been there for many years, they could be covered by soil/grass-usually they protrude a few inches and are hard to see. I'd check that first - Otherwise I'd casually bring it up in conversation when doing yard work outside to the neighbors and say something like - I'm not sure where are property lies and I think I'm going to get a survey.. gives them a head's up in a friendly way.
The only way to clear this up is to get a current survey. Aerial photos tend to be off quite a bit. It is hard to make good decisions without accurate information and bringing it up with the neighbor would only be a bad thing if you were wrong. What Silverfall said about adverse posession is quite true, but there can also be liability issues involved as well as things like where do your utilities run and will you have to dif that part of the property if maintenance is needed, etc. Once you know for sure where the lines are, you can either ask that the encroachments be removed or you can draft a permissive use agreement.
In some states when one has "used" property for a certain number of years it becomes harder and harder to prove that it is yours. I would spend that $900 and get it done. It can save you major headaches down the road. What if their kid got hurt on that equipment and it turns out it's on your property? Or someone else's kid who's visiting them? Also, the trail, do a lot of people use it? Is it an easement for the town, or just something that they use?
I agree you don't want to get off on the wrong foot with these neighbors, but you also don't want liability headaches either. Probably just approach them and let them know your concerns and that you're going to get a survey and why would be the best bet. You could even tell then you're considering fencing in your yard and you're going to get estimates and need to know exactly where the boundaries are so as not to encroach on their property.
Why did you not get a survey? Would have been MUCH easier to have the departing sellers clear up any issues it revealed. Now if the survey reveals that the swing set is on your yard you are going to really get off on the wrong foot..
Why did you not get a survey? Would have been MUCH easier to have the departing sellers clear up any issues it revealed. Now if the survey reveals that the swing set is on your yard you are going to really get off on the wrong foot..
Years ago (in Missouri) I used to wonder why a dang survey was done every time a property sold. "For heaven's sake, (says I) the lines haven't moved since this house sold 6 years ago......." was a valid rant, (thought I). Well, sure lines don't move but people put things on a property, build fences, "use" land for something just because no one ever said not to! Lots of time, no harm done. Big deal the kids swing is 1 inch over the line but it could be worse.
Hence the wisdom of having a survey done even in urban neighborhoods where a reasonable person could assume "everything is fine".
We were never really opposed to a survey - honestly, the lawyer brought it up in the inital coversation with us as "something you could do" and I thought we'd revisit it, but it was never brought up again.
The other thing is that our land is sloped - basically, their lawn starts at the edge of a steep embankment, and I think we own the embankment. The other disputed portion was (seemingly unused) woods and we started this process in the winter, when everything was covered over. It wasn't until we just closed that I saw that they had created a trail through the woods.
A storm felled some trees on my neighbor's property, near mine. I enlisted some neighborhood help to get the trees righted (they survived). Later I found out they were my trees.
I think the first thing to do is find out how many years the neighbor has lived there. If the adverse possession time is 10 years, say, and the neighbor's been there 5 years, I think you have 5 years to figure out where the property lines are, and with time you might find a cheaper survey method (like finding the stakes, as someone else mentioned). My understanding is that you have a certain number of years following enroachment to notify the neighbor that you know about the enroachment and do not intend to lose your property. After that, the enroachment could continue if you permitted but you'd not lose the property.
An acquaintance sued her new neighbor to try to get him to stop using a road across her land. But he had been using the road long enough, said the judge, so he not only gets to keep using it, but also she cannot use it (she can't impede his use in any way) and she still gets to pay the property taxes on it.
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