Neighbor Claims Our Fence is on His Land
My question involves real estate located in the State of: Washington, Snohomish county. We purchased house with chain link fence 20 years ago, now our neighbor has said our fence is 5 ft over the property line and wants to tear it down for new developement. What legal rights do we have?
Re: Property Line Dispute
Quote:
Quoting
cindyraub@aol.com
My question involves real estate located in the State of: Washington, Snohomish county. We purchased house with chain link fence 20 years ago, now our neighbor has said our fence is 5 ft over the property line and wants to tear it down for new developement. What legal rights do we have?
Well he may be right but then again he may be wrong.
If you do not have a survey of your property you can go to the county recorder and get a copy of the land plat. If you are still not able to distinguish exactly where your property lines are then you may have to get a real survey done.
Do you have a title policy from when you bought your property? You should have one, 20 years ago it was common practice. That policy will show the fence in question and exactly whos property it is on.
Re: Property Line Dispute
You may have some rights based on occupation to the fence line for that many years. Then again, you may not. Consult with a competent real estate attorney in your state.
BEWARE THE MORTGAGE SURVEY. If you have not had an ACTUAL boundary survey of your property made by a licensed professional land surveyor in your state, then that will probably be something you want to have done to verify property lines and fence location. Most "surveys" or inspections done for mortgage purposes are NOT accurate boundary surveys.
An actual boundary survey should show:
- Description of markers found or set at each property corner.
- Measured distances and bearings (or angles at corners) along the lines.
- Certification statement by a Licensed Professional Land Surveyor.
An actual boundary survey is something of value. A mortgage survey is just a picture.
So, do you know where your boundary actually is? Or, have you just assumed it to be the fence? Who told you the fence was on the line? Who built the fence?
Your neighbor may have had a survey made. Will he provide you with a copy? Mistakes can be made - do you accept the neighbors survey or do you want your own?
You should start taking steps now to determine where the line actually is and then defend your property if necessary.