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These usually arise after someone has conducted a survey, which locates the fence (that exists in 98% of these cases is) off the property line. Boundary disputes involve the principal of adverse possession, which is the ability to gain title to property by having used the property continually for ten years as if you were the owner. One of the things frequently examined is what kind of maintenance was done. The standard types are mowing, cultivating, trimming, and other types of activities you would do with vegetation. I once had a case in which the encroachment was not done by fence, but by a retaining wall, which was only 2-feet high and was built out of concrete pieces. When the other side inquired as to what kind of maintenance was done, my response was leaves had cleaned off the top, and it was observed over the years to see if it needed any maintenance. Frequently there is not enough value at stake to justify going to court even though emotions tend to run very high in these cases. If what is at stake is a 4-foot wide by 70-foot wide rectangular piece of property on the edge of the property then will cost more to gain that property through court than the property is worth. My approach to these cases is to initially see if there is any room to convince the adjoining property owner to compromise, or to acknowledge the right to adverse possession of a certain section of his lot. Once these cases escalate there is no solution short of going to court. any of these cases are between people who know each other and like each other. Therefore, they do not pay as much attention to detail. Once successive owners come and go the dynamics of the agreement change and a lot of things that were based on good will between former neighbors are eliminated and you now have two strangers who are trying to interpret a legal document that was drawn up without much attention to detail. |
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