Originally posted by llebrekniT
I've been sitting here trying to come up with the proper term for what I wanted to tell you. It escapes me, so here goes. I doubt the old bird would know this and I don't know if it law in your state but there is law pertaining to property ownership that would actually give you rights to that strip of land if you continued to do this for a certain number of years consistently. This is driving me crazy, I'll have to look up what it's called. Again, doubt she even knows this. If it were me, I'd take nice cold drink to your lawn dude and thank him for shortening my mowing time.
There's a couple things similar....adverse possession is where you're actually trying to claim title to that land...
adverse possession info
and prescriptive easements where you're not trying to take title to the land, but to continue to use it in a way you have for some time.
prescriptive easements info
With adverse possession, you have to be paying the taxes on the land or property in addition to open, notorious use hostile to the owner. With prescriptive easments, you don't. A prescriptive easement is like if you had been crossing another person's property to get to your own for so many year....basically using their land as a driveway.....if you've been doing it the required amount of time and the use was open, notoriuos, hostile to the owner, etc. they can't just one day decide you can't use it any more. If you've met the time requirement, you have the right to continue using their land as a driveway.
If you're the property owner, the way to avoid a prescriptive easement is to write a permission letter to the person crossing your land. By giving them permission, it's not hostile to you so it doesn't meet that requirement. Also, the letters usually state that permission may be revoked at any time....
The way to avoid an adverse possession is to always pay your property taxes
This, my friends, is what reading Bob Bruss' real estate columns for 8 years will get you! Lots of boring but helpful facts
