Claiming Part of Property Used for 50 Years

[ductape48]

My question involves real estate located in the State of: Ohio

I’m trying to determine what my options are regarding my property line.

We purchased the property 8 years ago and consists of 7 acres in the country. The area behind the house is a grass lawn bordered by woods.

We installed a fence along the edge of the woods. I found some old fence posts just inside the edge of the woods and assumed that it was on or near the property line.

I have since found out, after looking at a satellite photo with the property lines overlaid that the woods actually runs on an angle and the property line is about 50’ into to center of the fenced in area, creating a pie shaped section.

This area has always been a part of this yard for about 50 years, planted and maintained by the previous owner who built the house in 1960.

We have maintained and improved the area since we bought the property. It has never been a problem with the owner of other property, because with the woods separating the two areas acts as a barrier.

The owner is now in a nursing home and her family is selling the house. The house has a sale pending. I don’t anticipate a problem, but you never know.

Is there anything we can do to protect that small section of property so a new owner can’t just arbitrarily tell us to move the fence off their property?

[jk]

Is there anything we can do to protect that small section of property so a new owner can’t just arbitrarily tell us to move the fence off their property?

the only thing you can do if they do tell you to get off their land is to sue to quiet title under either an adverse possession claim (where you would end up owning the land if you won) or under a claim of prescriptive easement (where you would be allowed to continue to use the property in the manner which you have been but you could not exclude the true owner from using the property).

It isn't normally cheap to fight such a claim and if the owner has title insurance, you would be facing their legal department.

You can file such a suit proactively or reactively.

I have not researched the time requirements to be able to make such a claim. It may or may not be a possibility in your sitaution based on time. If the requisite time period has not passed or any other element of such a claim has not been met, you simply would have no defense to their demands for you to remove your property and self from their property.

[LandSurveyor]

I have since found out, after looking at a satellite photo with the property lines overlaid that the woods actually runs on an angle and the property line is about 50’ into to center of the fenced in area, creating a pie shaped section.

This doesn't really mean anything. Auditor's GIS parcel maps do not represent an actual survey, and they can be wildly inaccurate.

I'm assuming from your comments that you have not had an actual survey of your property done. As jk says, you will need to go to court to get the property if you do not already have title to it. But you don't know that until you get a survey. If you do go to court, nothing will really happen until a valid survey is produced, and someone will have to pay for it.

Here in Ohio the statutory period for adverse possession is 21 years, and Ohio is one of the more difficult states to prove AP.

[ductape48]

I have located all four pins from a previous survey or maybe they are the original pins. I don't know if they will suffice.

[LandSurveyor]

I have located all four pins from a previous survey or maybe they are the original pins. I don't know if they will suffice.

That's good. Do they have caps with a four digit number and a name?

Since the fence you have installed is eight or less years old, it is not going to be a factor in an AP claim any time soon.

As I have said, AP in Ohio is not easy.

The best recent article I have seen on Ohio AP law is here:

http://www.ohiopracticalbusinesslaw....ood-neighbors/

This article is written by an experienced Ohio real estate attorney and provides links to the excellent summaries of AP cases by the Ohio Supreme Court, written by the justices themselves. It's the best free advice you are likely to get anywhere on your subject and I would recommend that you read it carefully.