What would you do? 150'X50' peice of my nieghbors backyard

[Cheryl aka JM]

Well~ we went to the lawyer today to get my name on the property. While we were there we wanted to get our driveway that had somehow been "missed" during our original puchase quit claim deeded to us.......

It's kind of complicated.

The seller had a 15 acre property and a 10 acre property for sale. We bought both~ making it into one 25 acre property. Our drive way is the only part of that property that extends up to the road~ it's a little peice 70' by 150'. well~ after we had been here a while the seller brought me a property tax bill for a 50'X150' piece of property that should have been transfered to us and was not. We beleived that to be our driveway. I paid the property tax bill and made the appt with the attourney to get that peice quit claimed to me.

Well~ it turns out that was not the piece of property. The drive way was already in our legal description of the property and deeded to us. The 50'X150' peice is actually on the other side of a house next to our driveway~ between two houses 160' away from our driveway. I know~ its complicated and hard to explain. It's almost like the seller retained ownership of that peice of property as a potential driveway if he chose to build another house in what we now consider our pasture.

And now that I know what I'm looking for~ I can see where the Chainlink Fence belonging to the nieghbor between our driveway and the other 50" parcel that connects to our land is 6 ft high~ but across the 50' section that actually belongs to me (or is supposed to and I paid the taxes on it) is only a 3 ft fence. But they obviously beleive that peice is part of thier property. Their pool is on it~ and obviously they use it.

SO...............
Do I complete the quit claim and legally claim my 50' X 150' peice that my nieghbor apparently thinks belongs to them?
Do I tell the neighbor? Even if I don't care that they are using it?
We discussed giving the neighbor the option of taking the deed to the parcel.........but I don't really want to give away property I might have a use for (it would be perfect for a driveway if I ever want one there) and that I paid for

and as the lawyer pointed out........If I ever get annoyed with that neighbor I could always fence in my 50'X150' peice there and put pigs in it..................

So since I BOUGHT it with my property I don't want to give it away...........
But I don't want a problem with that neighbor either and don't really care that they are using it........
Do I say something~ or just get the deed and keep my mouth shut unless I want to use the peice of property?

[paul]

Depending on state law, if you don't say anything it will eventually become the neighbor's property. Or even worse, there have been cases where the original owner still owned the land and had to pay taxes on it, but could not legally stop others from continuing to use it. Either give/sell the land to the neighbors, or let them know it is yours and you plan on continuing your rights to it.

homesteadpaul

[EDDIE BUCK]

I would set down with the neighbor an compare maps and if the maps are the same, listen to what the neighbor recommends, then see what direction you need to go in.I hope it works out fine for you both. Just my thoughts though. Eddie

[RedneckPete]

Close the deal on the property, then approach your neighbor and offer to sell it to them. They may or may not be able to claim adverse possession, but court cases cost money and make enemies. A simple sale of the land is neat, clean and could put some bucks in your pocket. I once paid a neighbor a thousand bucks for a piece of his property that actually ran under my house! It was much easier then fighting him over it.

Pete

[Jennifer L.]

Just because the pool is on the property doesn't mean they think they own it. Might just mean they are using the ground because no one has said anything. I would offer to sell the piece to them. If they don't want to buy it they'll have to move their stuff off of it, so you'll win either way. In any case, clear it up so you don't have to worry about it.

Jennifer

If it were me I'd speak with a real estate attorney first before I spoke with that neighbor. Might save yourself a peck of trouble either way.

.....Alan.

[ricky]

one word of advice Survey

[walnutgrove]

Originally Posted by A.T. Hagan

If it were me I'd speak with a real estate attorney first before I spoke with that neighbor. Might save yourself a peck of trouble either way.

.....Alan.

agree

[hotzcatz]

Have it surveyed, then write a lease and have them lease it from you if they want to continue to use it. If they pay rent on it, even if it is just $1 a year, that establishes your claim on the property. You may want them to sign off on something that absolves you of any liability or have them get some insurance if they want to continue to use it.

[rambler]

You don't want to own property, letothers use it, & not notify them of it. You will lose the property to 'adverse possesion'. You need to maintain your ownership by being in charge of your property.

Now, this all sounds terribly confusing. I think you will need a survey to clear it all up, as both the seller & you the buyer don't even know what you are dealing with, and a 3rd party is camped on the land..... Did you actually buy it the first time around, or did you buy your driveway & this property really wasn't part of the deal? Very, very confusing.

If you want the property to be yours, get it cleaned up legally, then visit the neighbors, and be prepared for anything from, oh, can i have until tomorrow to get the pool off - to a 5 year legal battle. Anything can happen.

If you want to sell or give the property to the 3rd party, still have to clear up your legal stuff first,t hen go talk to them, see what they would pay for it.

--->Paul

[comfortablynumb]

just sell it to the neighbor.

I'm sure, they will want it.

[Turkeyfether]

I would plant potatoes on it.

[mdharris68]

If I understand your original post, you bought 25 acres originally. If your driveway easment is legally yours, with no dought, I would sell the small parcel with a clause that gives you the right of first refusal if the neighbor ever sells this property. Maybe the current neighbor is friendly, but the next ones may need the hog lot next to thier house to change thier attitude.

[wogglebug]

If you don't have a reliable survey then get advice from a lawyer.

If it's your property and someone gets injured or killed (say drowned, or even worse slips and gets crippled), it's your fault, your liability, your bill for millions of dollars of damages. If it happens because of things you're letting others do rather than doing yourself, your insurance may not cover it. Even if you have a written waiver of liability, that can be challenged by someone who wants you to settle rather than paying to defend the suit.

If you would be amenable to selling it, consider that you have at this stage a right to the title, but it hasn't gone through. If there are legal niceties to taxes and duties on transfer of title, you may be able to sell your right to the title, rather than the title itself. This could avoid a double transfer and one set of taxes. Again, get legal advice.

[mwhit]

Did I read that right? You paid the tax bill before it was legally yours??? I would speak to a lawyer (not one that suggests you put pigs on it) and have a survey. Each state is different, but if they have a permanent structure like a shed (maybe even a fence?) on it for a year in NY without the owner speaking up there is nothing that can be done to stop them from using it.

Michelle

[Cheryl aka JM]

Thanks guys~
Lots to talk with hubby about here.

Yeah~ I paid the tax bill on it~ it was only $17 and I thought it was my driveway.

I kind of wonder about that neighbor and what they do~ and do not know. They bought thier property directly from the same seller who sold us our land ~he apparently used to own all this land and basically built all the houses on our street and slowly sold off parcels until he finally sold the last of it to us. Which explains why he retained ownership of that strip between the houses up there~ as another driveway down into this back area~ since he had it subdivided into two parcels.

The more I think about it.......I don't recall seeing a pool on that spot when we moved in......but it could have been there~ I dind't look carefully into my nieghbors yards.....and why would they put a pool there during the Winter? The fence is different across that piece~ and looks new. When they came to our New Years Eve party they showed up at about 5 min to midnight~ were really nice to us but seemed to be pretty derogatory about the other neighbors (who had already left) whom they either did not know or told us something deragatory about.

I wonder if they know that peice of property was not theirs and probably sold to us as part of the package when the last of this land was sold?

[Cabin Fever]

Let's see if I have this straight. You have 25 acres of land and you're agonizing over what to do with a mere 0.17 acres? IMHO, to keep peace with the neighbor, I'd forget about it.

[quietstar]

I would never rely on a tax office to answer a question of ownership. Providing you received a title policy at the time of purchase, your title co. will have plotted everything you bought and adjoining tracts in order to check for possible boundry problems. I might get the legal for that little strip and ask your title co. to confirm ownership from their records...Glen

[Cheryl aka JM]

Originally Posted by Cabin Fever

Let's see if I have this straight. You have 25 acres of land and you're agonizing over what to do with a mere 0.17 acres? IMHO, to keep peace with the neighbor, I'd forget about it.

Agonizing?
No~ not worth agonizing over! LOL! Trying to figure out what the responsible thing to do is. Considering it's pretty much been dumped in my lap ~ previous owner brought me the property tax bill and told me it was mine. Okay~ it's mine. Goody. WHERE is it exactly~ what responsibilities do I have for it? What rights do I have? And what do I do next.

I guess I could ignore it and pretend I don't know about it. Then next year when the taxes are due again it's still the previous owners problem not mine.

But..........it is a good spot for a driveway if I ever want one there. I wouldn't mind owning it.....seems like I have every right to own it because I purchased it when I purchased the lot. I don't really care that the other people are using it......but you can bet I won't be paying the property tax on it again if it's not MINE...........

So~ I'm not AGONIZING over a a mere 0.17 acre..............
I'm just trying to decide what to do now.....
If anything.
Seems to me if I do NOTHING.....well.......then it's the previous owner and the nieghbors problem not mine. And THAT might just be exactly what I do!

[rambler]

Originally Posted by Cheryl aka JM

Seems to me if I do NOTHING.....well.......then it's the previous owner and the nieghbors problem not mine. And THAT might just be exactly what I do!

Well..... I guess I'm one that agonizes over property issues. Think it is good of you to straighten it out. Insurance, liability, resale value, property taxes, etc. all get balled up if something like this festers.

My sis was looking for property, we looked at a wooded hill. The owner had sold off 5 acres here, 9 acres there, etc. This was the last parcel left. He ended up selling an extra 5 acres to one neighbor because they put up a shed on land they thought they bought from him - but hadn't. The crooked angle line down a ravine went within 8 feet of a house because there was miscommunication about that land sale. The very close neighbor was being given a 10 foot pie-wedge off of the for sale property because they built their hot tub on the property line. He pointed out where the property lines went, past that tree, etc.

We are still laughing about that whole mess. What a joke. Who in their right mind would buy like that? It was a legal nightmare, it seemed there were 6 folks who bought off of this property & no one seemed to know where any property lines were, including the seller who divided it up. It was a real eye opener, that folks would be that far out of it on such a major thing.

Sounds like you are doing a good job to get it cleared up, one way or another. If your property is divided into 2 and this would the access to 1/2 of your property, that little .17 acre could be very valuable to you some day if you decide to move & sell out. Could about double the value of your holdings. Something to consider. Renting it to the neighbor (no perm structures, even fencing to be done by them!) for next to nothing might keep them happy & all would be well, current folks all happy, your future protected.

--->Paul