Need to chat with an attorney re: real estate, adverse possession

[TFOGGER]

Potential issues brewing with neighbors over property lines, want to get ahead of this before it comes to a head. Looking for a referral for a property lawyer that potentially has experience litigating adverse possession claims. It would appear that the builders of our subdivision may have not placed fences where they should have, in 1986. Please PM me if you have a recommendation.




Jim

[Great-Kazoo]

Get a survey done, easiest way to find where property lines are. Which is what lawyers i've spoken with have said to do first.

[eddiememphis]

Reminds me of the time Dad and the neighbor agreed to split the price on a new fence. Dad had the fence built and went to get his money from the guy and the guy refused to pay him. They went back-and-forth for a week until one night we hear screaming and banging outside. The neighbor had a few cocktails decided to settle the matter.

With a sledgehammer.

He was able to knock down "his half" of the fence before the cops arrived.

[mb504]

Get a survey done, easiest way to find where property lines are. Which is what lawyers i've spoken with have said to do first.

This is the way.

We had a new neighbor move next door to a piece of vacation property. They thought a row of trees were on their side of the line, based on what the realtor had sold them. The trees blocked some of their view. They cut them down. We had the property surveyed. They had to replace all the trees with semi-mature trees. I'm sure that wasn't cheap!

[TFOGGER]

Get a survey done, easiest way to find where property lines are. Which is what lawyers i've spoken with have said to do first.

Already in process. It appears the builders put fences that made incursions on both sides of the lines, at different points. Neighbor wants to build a new fence that would remove access to our back yard, based on a survey they had done, but is unwilling to give up the portion of our land that ended up on their side of the fence. The existing fence has been in place since 1986, we've been in the property since 1997, the neighbors moved in in 2019, hence some questions about easements, adverse possession, etc.

[HBARleatherneck]

Due to the fact that my home and or land purchases are the most expensive things I will ever own or maintain... I ALWAYS get a survey done immediately. Too much at stake. Our old neighbors had 7 acres or more on their side of the fence that belong to us. I brought it up to them and they said they just paid to have the fence put up. I said "well, Im moving to the legal property lines", that was the end of that. I did reuse the materials.

[MED]

Already in process. It appears the builders put fences that made incursions on both sides of the lines, at different points. Neighbor wants to build a new fence that would remove access to our back yard, based on a survey they had done, but is unwilling to give up the portion of our land that ended up on their side of the fence. The existing fence has been in place since 1986, we've been in the property since 1997, the neighbors moved in in 2019, hence some questions about easements, adverse possession, etc.

You mentioned adverse possession. Property can definitely be lost by the legal owner if it is in use for certain purposes over a period of time, and it will have to go through a court motion to get it done. The county road splits off a chunk of my property. I make it very well known that my neighbor bordering this chunk of property can't use it to access the road unless they make a request to me in writing. I've kept up on it during my years here so I don't lose it. Sorry, I don't know a good land use attorney in this state, but you will definitely need one. If the new property line cuts off access to your back yard, you will definitely need to file a motion and the time you have in its current configuration will definitely be on your side.

[bryjcom]

Adverse property claims can start after 18 years. All it takes is continuous possession of the property and it has to be “open and notorious”. In other words it has to be made known that they are “possessing” the property. From what I understand though is if a new person moves in the time starts over again.

I had a similar problem with a neighbor adjacent to our HOA property. Nobody did anything about it for 18 years and I gave her a no trespass order along with the sheriff before she could file a motion with a court.

In other words, I never talked to an attorney about it but I did a fair amount of research about it


Also, CO tightened the rules some time ago over adverse property possession, so from what I understand it’s rather difficult to get a successful claim on someone else’s property

[bryjcom]

Already in process. It appears the builders put fences that made incursions on both sides of the lines, at different points. Neighbor wants to build a new fence that would remove access to our back yard, based on a survey they had done, but is unwilling to give up the portion of our land that ended up on their side of the fence. The existing fence has been in place since 1986, we've been in the property since 1997, the neighbors moved in in 2019, hence some questions about easements, adverse possession, etc.

I think you'll be able to force them to vacate the property on 2 points.

1. They moved in in 2019 thus their "continuous possession" has only be for a period of 4 years.

2. They only found out about it recently, along with you, thus the "Open and Notorious" claim has now just been started and thus isn't even close to 18 years.

If attempting to settle this as civilized neighbors fails, then I think having an attorney draft a certified letter to them giving them a set amount of time to vacate the property is in order.

Edit to add:

If anything you have more of a legitimate adverse property claim, because you have been in possession of their land for over 18 years. It would still be tough but its more in your favor than their favor.