Real property boundaries influence what a home or parcel is worth on the real estate market. More acreage generally means more overall property value. Boundaries and easements also influence who is responsible for certain maintenance obligations and what owners can and cannot do with their property. Rules about installing improvements such as swimming pools or chicken coops may reference the distance between two properties or the distance from the boundary between the properties.
Many people acquire real estate with only a cursory understanding of boundary placement and the existence of easements. A seller or their real estate agent may have given only a verbal indication of where the line between one property and the neighboring property falls and what the state of title is. What happens when owners of real estate end up disagreeing about where a property boundary actually is, or whether one lot or the other is subject to an easement?
Homeowners may need professional assistance
In some cases, boundary and title disputes are easy to address. The owners who disagree about the boundary line can look at the legal descriptions in the deed and plot plan. The legal description should clearly state where one property ends and the other begins. They should also clearly indicate the existence of easements and the scope of their use. But not always.
Unfortunately, many legal descriptions use highly specialized language that people may find confusing. In addition, chains of title often go back many years to a time when deed and plan drafting did not conform to modern standards. If a review of the deeds for the properties does not quickly or easily resolve the boundary dispute, it may be necessary to hire a surveyor.
Surveyors are real estate professionals who have both training and specialized equipment that can help them establish the actual placement of the boundaries between the two properties. A surveyor can help establish the exact placement of the boundary and can verify whether one neighbor’s claim that the other may have encroached on their property is correct, or whether a proposed project crosses the boundary between the two properties.
In some cases, surveys can sufficiently resolve the conflict between neighbors. Other times, one may have to consult an attorney before pushing ahead with a project that infringes on the property of the other. If the dispute cannot be resolved by agreement, it may be necessary to initiate civil litigation to protect a property from boundary or use incursions that might later result in claims of adverse possession. The party crossing the boundary line can sometimes try to take legal ownership of the land that they misappropriated by taking the matter to court.
Absent a settlement by agreement, filing a civil action in court is sometimes the only remaining avenue to resolve boundary and land use disputes. Property owners need to act proactively when boundary violations arise in order to protect the full and unfettered use and enjoyment of the real property into which they have invested so much time and money.