Phone call, and i am dreading it...1/2 way update post 16

[lovin diz]

We just bought a lot, and absolutly love it...We went to get it measured for a boat slip, and the man said before he would do it, he wanted us to get the lot surveyed..(In the parish i am in, a survey is not required at closing, unless the bank issuing the loan requires it)

When the man starting measuring, he asked how much water front property we had....We told him 80ft...Well he told us from our neighbors pier to the other neighbors pier is 77ft....

This weekend we got the surveyor out and part of both neighbors pier is ours

Now why didnt the person who did their pier just guess where the property line was??

Now because of the liablily issues, i have to ask each neighbor to tear down part of thier pier...I dread it...

 

[SAHDad]

Could you not just deed (or sell) the amount of land needed to avoid having the pier torn out?

 

[lovin diz]

We thought about it, but in our neighborhood restrictions it is not allowed....Then we thought about tieing on to the pier, but if one of their friends gets hurt on the pier, they could sue us....If one of our friends gets hurt on the pier, they could sue them...If there is a boat accident, we would have to discuss who needs to pay what % to fix...

I dont want to start off bad....

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

Oh boy, I don't know what to say except I feel for you, and good luck!

 

[daughtersrus]

I agree about the liability issues.

It's not a phone call that I'd want to make and you have to make two!

I wish you luck! Please let us know what happens.

 

[tiggger1]

can you have a lawyer write up a letter stating that they have to tear down the pier? That way you dont have to do it? It might go over better than your doing it?

 

[4nana]

Oh dear, wishing you lots of luck . We have a family member in a very similar situation. Had the survey done, politely contacted their neighbor, who claim to be grandfathered in and now are suing our family member over a couple of feet discrepancy. Who knew it couldn't be settled peaceful and intelligently out of common courtsey, rather than causing such a war. So sad to start out this way with new neighbors, however unfortunatley this is a way of life for some people.

We have almost 4 acres we live on. Our neighbor's fence is encroaching on 6 ft of the back of our land - ask us if we care.

 

[sbell111]

Depending on how old their pier is, you may not be able to force them to remove it.

(Local laws apply.)

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

can you have a lawyer write up a letter stating that they have to tear down the pier? That way you dont have to do it? It might go over better than your doing it?

Depending on how old their pier is, you may not be able to force them to remove it.

(Local laws apply.)

You might want to check your local laws with a local attorney.
My dsis found out that a piece of her property has been used for years by the neighbor across the street, long before she purchased the property. She was initially told it wasn't her's. So once a year, under advice of counsel, she sends him a letter stating that it is her property and she is permitting him to use it for another year to store his personal property. It has something to do with once he passes his family is aware that it is not their property but my sisters.

 

[DVCLiz]

Oh dear, wishing you lots of luck . We have a family member in a very similar situation. Had the survey done, politely contacted their neighbor, who claim to be grandfathered in and now are suing our family member over a couple of feet discrepancy. Who knew it couldn't be settled peaceful and intelligently out of common courtsey, rather than causing such a war. So sad to start out this way with new neighbors, however unfortunatley this is a way of life for some people.

We have almost 4 acres we live on. Our neighbor's fence is encroaching on 6 ft of the back of our land - ask us if we care.

On the other hand, I have a fence across the back of my property and it slants inward from one end to the other so that on the "left side" of my property my fence comes in about 3 - 4 feet from the property line. It's a mess back there because it's behind my garage and it's also the meeting place for two neighbors' yards. I replaced the fence this month and this time I "tidied up" the property line by putting the new fence about 6 inches inside my line and straight all the way across the back. If you have 4 acres it wouldn't matter much but I have now been through two sets of neighbors in this house and I wanted to take my chance to clear it up before it sold a third time to someone who might decide to put a new fence up themselves and take some of my property.

It's just easier all the way around when things are on the surveyed line.

OP, I feel your pain - hope it is resolved easily.

 

[John VN]

Research the Adverse Possession laws in your area.

 

[dislaney]

Those are two phone calls I wouldn't want to make! I hope everything works out for you.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

You need a lawyer. If they have been maintaining it as their property, they have claim to it. In other words if you ask them to tear it down and they say no, we have claim to this, then may be you can say well, let's make it official then. You lose the property but you will save face with the neighbors so to speak.

So, I might go in with the info you found and then see what they say.

 

[Rainwater]

I feel for you, but it's better to get it over quickly. Meet with both of them at the same time, and present them with letters of evictions. Tell them they have thirty days to remove the piers from your property or you will have to have it done yourself. This is a liability issue. If someone did get hurt, and the person who was hurt knew that the property was yours, they would file suit against you in a heart beat. Don't be mean, just be firm.

 

[CandyMandy]

Research the Adverse Possession laws in your area.

The real key element there is the statute of limitations in the domicle and whether it extends beyond the age of those intruding piers. I'd also throw in the local laws regarding building permits (more on that below).

For the OP, that means they really need (in advance of contacting the neighbors with the existing piers) to (a) find out what the relevant possessions statute of limitations is in their parish and (b) should try to get evidence of how long those intruding piers have been in existence.

For item (a), I'd contact a local attorney who deals in real estate. For item (b), do piers require a permit? (I know where I live they do). If so, those are public record and the town or parish must keep copies of them as well as the completion certification (confirmation the piers were built in accordance with the permit).

If permits/approvals are located and show the piers were bulit within the statute of limitations, the neighbors are going to find it virtually impossible to win any litigation over adverse possession. Ergo, the intruding sections of the piers come down.

If the latter show the piers are outside the statute of limitations, the legal challenge to the OP (to in essence avoid losing ownership of what sounds like around three feet of shoreline) becomes more difficult (not impossible, but much harder).

If permits/approvals are required and none are found for those piers, how old they are becomes moot - they were built illegally, which right off the bat makes the whole situation easier (the local municipality and/or parish can become the "heavy" here, in terms of telling the owners that their illegal piers have to be removed).

If permits aren't required, then some detective work may be required. As example, if dated photographs of the waterfront area can be located they can be used as evidence of when those piers did or didn't exist.

 

[lovin diz]

I have been on the phone since 9:15 this morning. I spoke with the lady first ( i had her phone number). I kept apologizing about it...THen she would apologize back. I feel horrible...I have a headache

I have learned about that law. Here in our state if the person has taken over the property for 10 years, it is legally theirs...This is a new development so it did have to be done...Again she was so nice, then i spoke with her husband...He was very upset and sort of ugly, but i bit my tongue, because i know if it were me, i would have been upset about the whole thing...

THey called the man who builds the pier and the boat slip and he is going to come fix it next week....

Now, i have to tell the other neighbor the same thing...So i am only 1/2 way done...

Please, note to self, if i ever buy property again...I will get it surveyed before i sign the papers...

What bothers me is they were going to put up a fence, but when you ask where the property line was they would shrug their shoulders and say they dont know??

When dh and i bought the house we live in now..we put up a fence and had it surveyed before we did it...we wanted to know the property line...I thought everyone did this...I guess i was wrong...and now feelings are getting hurt...

 

[sbell111]

... Please, note to self, if i ever buy property again...I will get it surveyed before i sign the papers...

That is the lesson that everyone should be getting from this thread. Just because your local government doesn't require you to have a survey done (or a home inspection) doesn't mean that it should be skipped.

 

[DVCLiz]

I had a survey done when I bought my house so I knew where the property line was. When my contractor contacted my neighbor she seemed shocked and said she would have to check her survey but she never followed through. Actually, she and her husband are separated and I think she just didn't want to get into the hassle. I called her several times and left messages (we all have dogs so it was very inconvenient to have to walk them on leashes for 3 days) but she never got back in touch.

When I finally saw her outside she was as nice as could be and told me how attractive the new fence was!!! Go figure...

Oh, and I put the "pretty" side of the fence on my side, too!

 

[manning]

You need a lawyer. If they have been maintaining it as their property, they have claim to it. In other words if you ask them to tear it down and they say no, we have claim to this, then may be you can say well, let's make it official then. You lose the property but you will save face with the neighbors so to speak.

So, I might go in with the info you found and then see what they say.

Yes and no. They have to maintain/use it for a certain number of years in order to claim it.

 

[BelleRocks]

Where I live (a rural area) almost no one does surveys as well. This was shocking to me! But then, when we wanted to put a fence up and called a surveyor, we found out why.

The backside of our property goes straight downhill and can't be seen. It probably COULD be reached, but not by us anyway! The surveyor quoted us a starting price of $4000, and said he couldn't guarantee that price wouldn't go up. We talked to our neighbors, and they said they went through the same thing when they bought their property. So, in the end, we both took our house plots and agreed on a spot between which we would call the property line.

This was scary to me, but...better than $4000. I figure if I have to take down the fence later, it still won't cost me that much.