Yard boundary dispute.

[itbrokeagain]

The people 2 houses down want to put up a fence. My neighbor is fighting with them over the boundary line. He had the auditor county auditor measure the lines today and my fence goes onto my neighbors property 10 feet. He says he won't do anything about it.

I have been in my house 8 years and the fence was here then. I was told the fence was put up soon after the house was built 14 years ago. So I have 2 questions.
If I remember correctly, doesn't the property technically become mine after a certain period of time?
I want to replace the fence maybe this summer. Is this a bad idea? I don't want him to tell me I have to move the fence.

[67fastback]

Originally Posted by itbrokeagain

The people 2 houses down want to put up a fence. My neighbor is fighting with them over the boundary line. He had the auditor county auditor measure the lines today and my fence goes onto my neighbors property 10 feet. He says he won't do anything about it.

I have been in my house 8 years and the fence was here then. I was told the fence was put up soon after the house was built 14 years ago. So I have 2 questions.
If I remember correctly, doesn't the property technically become mine after a certain period of time?
I want to replace the fence maybe this summer. Is this a bad idea? I don't want him to tell me I have to move the fence.

no the line is the line...move the fence save yourself the trouble...

[yellowjacket]

tony my folks went to court over something simular. the property line wasbetween their place and neighbors. they built a fence .before doing so they asked his permision since fence was right on the line. he squabbled about weedeating his side and so forth so they said fine we will build it back from the line about 10 feet. so my dad could go mow and weedeat the neigbors side.
fast forward to recently when the fence needed to come down.the neighbor states that he now owns the extra ten feet. they went to court and neighbor actually won. some law about if u build a fence but not on the line u are essentially giving up that propertyto next land owner. it sucked for them especially cause he been maintaining the other side of it..

yours is differentsituation i know because u would be getting the extra space and it was there before u were.

if it was me id probly make the property line the way it should beaccording to the surveyer

[solar1]

I am going through a similar problem now. Been in my house 5 years. Had the property surveyed and marked but had a couple of acres to clear before the property line. Now neighbor is threatining to sue me for mowing my yard since he thinks he owns 90 feet of my propert and has been maintaining it for 10 years. 5 of which was before I lived here.

[tbshakie]

the concept is called adverse possession. in Ohio, you must "adversely" hold and control the property as your own for twenty years (the possession has to be open and obvious). so if the fence has been there over 20 years and ALL the property (you AND the owner before you) owners have acted and controlled the fence line as the property line, its yours.

IF you haven't met the 20 year mark and the neighbor now gives you permission (he said he didn't care), it is no longer "adverse possession." and you have to possess it again adversely for another 20 years. the burden is on you to show that you have adversely possessed the property when he tries to remove you.

My advice, if you want the extra ten feet. don't touch that fence. replace it in a couple years when he forgets about the conversation or when he moves away.

TO SOLAR: Survey that property now! once he hits 20 years, he owns it. PS- since you are in KY, this is in no way legal advise of any kind nor an offer for representation. Please see a licensed attorney in your state.

[comanchedude]

What I don't understand is how you buy a property and its not surveyed and verified.? that was done when I bought...thought that was standard? how do you get a bank loan without then verifying the property boundary?... as for trying to take someones property...that's obamay!

[tbshakie]

They don't do a full blown survey when you buy the property. through the sale, they send two guys out with big tape measures to verify the rough boundaries of the property (and charge you $400 for the 30 minutes it takes). they do look for the boundary pins if they exist.

Adverse possession is a centuries old concept. As much as I like blaming the president, this is a state thing, so blame Kasich.

Originally Posted by comanchedude

What I don't understand is how you buy a property and its not surveyed and verified.? that was done when I bought...thought that was standard? how do you get a bank loan without then verifying the property boundary?... as for trying to take someones property...that's obamay!

[GPER]

My house is about 70 years old and there are property pins in each corner. Don't they use property pins down there??? My fence is 7 inches in on my property and I bet the bank will stick to the original lot dimensions.

[itbrokeagain]

My neighbor.gave permission when the fence was built. He told me that. The front is good and then it goes back at an angle. The rear is off by 10 feet. Apparently they want off the original stakes

[blazerbrad]

Surprised to hear about the 20 year period. A few years ago my parents were involved in a land ownership issue that affected 5 different people. Basically the state had rerouted a road 30+ years prior. There were three houses in which the road was moved further away and thus made the front yards bigger. These people had mowed and maintained this area since the work was done and all people were under the impression the lands were surveyed and officially transferred between the different properties. This area of the front yards used to be adjoining land to the farm across the street. The farm had been owned by the same people for 50 years, including when the road work was performed, but when sold it was surveyed. This is when they found that the land had never been officially/legally transferred therefore part of these house's front yards were owned by the farm across the street.

There was never any legal action taken regarding the 20 year rule...but that may also be just because nobody knew about it. Fortunately everything was settled with minimal issues. The farm owner agreed to give the land back to the home owner's as long as they paid to have the parcels surveyed and officially tranferred.