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New House Purchase With A Potential Boundary Dispute

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  • 06-26-2007, 08:40 AM
    Aretelio
    New House Purchase With A Potential Boundary Dispute
    I already created another thread about my house in another forum, but this is for a different matter.

    We're buying a house! Closing at the end of July.

    When the current owner of the house moved, the house we're buying was left vacant for a couple years. While it was vacant the neighbor behind this house decided to cut down the evergreens that created a natural privacy fence. However, the trees were actually on what will be our property.

    His house is pretty ugly and I'd rather not have to look at it while I'm enjoying a beer on my deck. I'm going to play arborvitae to re-create the natural privacy fence.

    Now, either he thinks the land is his or just didn't care and cut the trees down anyway.

    People tell me a survey is pretty expensive and I had been talking with a friend who told me that I could have the county come and place a "corner-pin" (???) to mark my property and using the deed could measure approximately where the poperty line is.

    Is that true?
  • 06-26-2007, 08:45 AM
    seniorjudge
    Re: New house, boundaries abound! PA
    Q: People tell me a survey is pretty expensive and I had been talking with a friend who told me that I could have the county come and place a "corner-pin" (???) to mark my property and using the deed could measure approximately where the poperty line is.

    A: I have never heard of the government pay for a private survey.
  • 06-26-2007, 08:51 AM
    Aretelio
    Re: New house, boundaries abound! PA
    Quote:

    Quoting seniorjudge
    View Post
    Q: People tell me a survey is pretty expensive and I had been talking with a friend who told me that I could have the county come and place a "corner-pin" (???) to mark my property and using the deed could measure approximately where the poperty line is.

    A: I have never heard of the government pay for a private survey.

    I guess the way he explained it to me was that it wasn't an actual survey. It's possible that I misunderstood him.

    Anyway then, how am I supposed to tell where my property lines are? Would there be documentation of previous surveys and, if so, how long do results from previous surveys last as far as accuracy goes? And, if I find previous survey results and they are still legal, can I use them to define the boundaries of my property?
  • 06-26-2007, 09:08 AM
    aaron
    Re: New house, boundaries abound! PA
    You can try calling your county to see what they will do. If they will look for or replace a missing boundary marker, and that's enough to resolve the problem (is your neighbor reasonable?), it would save you the cost of a formal survey.

    Is this a house in the country? A platted subdivision? Something else?
  • 06-26-2007, 09:33 AM
    Aretelio
    Re: New house, boundaries abound! PA
    Quote:

    Quoting aaron
    View Post
    You can try calling your county to see what they will do. If they will look for or replace a missing boundary marker, and that's enough to resolve the problem (is your neighbor reasonable?), it would save you the cost of a formal survey.

    Is this a house in the country? A platted subdivision? Something else?

    The bold portion is what my friend explained to me.

    Though I don't really know how you'd classify the land, it's most likely a platted subdivision. All the houses in the area are on one street that connects to a township( or state?) road on both ends, like a horseshoe. They're all around the same age which leads me to believe the neighborhood was a development back in the 50's.

    Does that mean that, assuming it was a development that the developers would have records of the property lines and whatnot?

    I'm told the guy isn't going to be a problem. I just don't want issues to rear their ugly heads after I replant shrubs and bushes down the property line.

    Though, the seller has confirmed that the trees that the neighbor cut down were most assuredly on the seller's (our new) property.

    Sorry for being confusing, this is all very new to me!
  • 06-26-2007, 09:37 AM
    seniorjudge
    Re: New House Purchase With A Potential Boundary Dispute
    Q: Does that mean that, assuming it was a development that the developers would have records of the property lines and whatnot?

    A: Yes, if it is a platted subdivision, then there will have been all kinds of survey work. Whether you can find it is another question.
  • 06-26-2007, 09:43 AM
    Aretelio
    Re: New House Purchase With A Potential Boundary Dispute
    Quote:

    Quoting seniorjudge
    View Post
    Q: Does that mean that, assuming it was a development that the developers would have records of the property lines and whatnot?

    A: Yes, if it is a platted subdivision, then there will have been all kinds of survey work. Whether you can find it is another question.

    Then, theoretically, the township or county would have records as well?
  • 06-26-2007, 09:52 AM
    jk
    Re: New House Purchase With A Potential Boundary Dispute
    a boundary marker is not a pin placed for an individual survey.

    around my area a boundary marker is generally only found in a units of division no smaller than a quarter section (160 acres).

    These are used by surveyors for starting points in locating a particular plat of land. To the average person, they are basically useless in determining property lines.

    Sometimes boundary markers are things such as trees and piles of rocks so they do get displaced occassionally and need to be reset.
  • 06-26-2007, 09:58 AM
    Aretelio
    Re: New House Purchase With A Potential Boundary Dispute
    Ok, interesting.

    Well, let's take this theoretical situation into consideration:

    I have a survey completed and know where my lines are. I start to plant my awesome new shrubbery and out comes the neighbor screaming about property lines. If he disputes the validity of my survey, what happens then?

    Would he need to have, and pay, for his own private survey?
  • 06-26-2007, 10:12 AM
    seniorjudge
    Re: New House Purchase With A Potential Boundary Dispute
    Q: I have a survey completed and know where my lines are. I start to plant my awesome new shrubbery and out comes the neighbor screaming about property lines. If he disputes the validity of my survey, what happens then?

    A: He gets his own survey at his own cost. If it is different than your survey, then each party brings his own survey into court and there is a battle of the surveyors.
  • 06-26-2007, 10:40 AM
    Aretelio
    Re: New House Purchase With A Potential Boundary Dispute
    Quote:

    Quoting seniorjudge
    View Post
    Q: I have a survey completed and know where my lines are. I start to plant my awesome new shrubbery and out comes the neighbor screaming about property lines. If he disputes the validity of my survey, what happens then?

    A: He gets his own survey at his own cost. If it is different than your survey, then each party brings his own survey into court and there is a battle of the surveyors.

    That'd be fun to watch. Will there be popcorn?

    Heh.

    Thanks for the help!
  • 06-26-2007, 10:45 AM
    seniorjudge
    Re: New House Purchase With A Potential Boundary Dispute
    Quote:

    Quoting Aretelio
    View Post
    That'd be fun to watch. Will there be popcorn?

    Heh.

    Thanks for the help!

    I've never seen popcorn in such cases.

    But I have seen fireworks!:D
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