property line quest -- what would you do

[avenger79]

so here's the set up:
bought my place 3 1/2 years ago. realtor said prop line was the poles on the corners. ok.
guy who owns the land around me rents it out to a farmer. right down the line between the properties is a trail that they use to get the tractors in the fields.
when we first moved in I asked the farmer's nephew 23 yrs old or so, not to cross my land with implements. told him i was going to put trees around the line anyway so he may as well get used to going around. soon after i caught cutting across my yard with a pick up truck. he claimed it saved him time not to have to make the corner around the pole.
I was pretty understanding when they brought in trailers and what not but not a pick up. beside normally they would just nick the corner, he was cutting right through the middle.
so this spring I put in the trees. he started whining about the turn to the field. got me to thinking, I don't want the trees to close to the line so I pulled out the plat of my land. hmmm it looks like john farmer may have moved the pole quite sometime ago and everyone has let him use what is now my land for his trail.
so here's the question, should I get the land surveyed properly and then make him move his trail, or should I just let it go, or should I make sure he is aware that he is using my land but still allow him to do it.
I am not really doing anything with that little strip of land, although I could have put my trees further over.


what would you do?

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: property line quest -- what would you do

Survey. Install some substantial corner marker's.

 

[Bass Tracker TX17]

Re: property line quest -- what would you do

First and foremost you NEED to have your land area established and marked.
If for nothing else , your safety.

With all the nut cases in this world you never know what could happen.

If he is traveling on your land and something happens to him who knows what a lawyer will try to pull. A friend of mine had this happen to him and it was not pretty.

If i'm not mistaken there was a similar situation where people were using another persons land and the owner lost a portion of it due to some established situation.

I'm sure others will have more knowledge than I but for sure you need to have your land marked correctly. And if you don't want them cutting through then signs need to be installed and documented.

It's in the best interest of everyone.

 

[Fly Rod]

Re: property line quest -- what would you do

You should seek the advice of an attorney.

Realtors can only give a buyer approximate boundaries and should mention to a potential buyer that they(buyer) should have the land surveyed if interested in purchasing the property.

My uncle had an extra lot of land. His neighbor had used a section for many years to park his vechicle. The uncle went to expand the land to make more parking spots for people in the apartment house.This neighbor put a desist order stopping uncle from doing any more work claiming he had rights to the property because he was using it for many years. They ended up in court my uncle won. If the neighbor waited one more year he would have had rights to the use of the property and my uncle would still have had to pay the taxes on that property. In Mass. at the time if a property had been used for more then 20 years by others they had the right to continue to using the property.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: property line quest -- what would you do

Good advice above. You really can't mess around with these things nowadays. Get it surveyed and your property markers about should be something along the lines of cement fill steel pylons.

 

[OldePharte]

Re: property line quest -- what would you do

By all means get a survey. There is a pesky legal theory called adverse possession where you could lose property if some one else has been using it for a specific time. The time involved defers by state.

 

[CN Spots]

Re: property line quest -- what would you do

I think it's 9 years in MS. When my father went to sell my grandparents farm after they passed away the agent told him that he was claiming too much land... turns out that a scumbag neighbor had put up a few strands of barbed wire nailed to trees in the back woods for his cattle and never told my Grandfather. They legally stole 50+ acres from our family that my Grandparents were paying taxes on for years.

Chances are you've already "lost" that land and if so, make sure that the taxman knows it.

 

[lowkee]

Re: property line quest -- what would you do

Agreed with all above, get it surveyed before he tries to take possession. Make sure he knows he has no rights to use your land, period. If he wishes to use your land, and you are okay with it, make him sign an agreement stating what parts he can use and how he agrees to never make a legal claim to it or stemming from his use of it (liability, etc).

You can always opt to sell him that strip of land in order to keep things relatively civil. There is a neighbor give and take on that point. Then again, some neighbors are take-only.. like mine.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: property line quest -- what would you do

you should have had the seller provide a staked survey, when you bought it. Realtor is not qualified to tell you where the property line is. how did you know what you were actually buying. get smart have a staked survey done.

 

[aspeck]

Re: property line quest -- what would you do

agree with the above ... with the exception that it is ADVERSARIAL possession. At least in PA you have to be using the land against the wishes of the land owner for that length of time. It could be said that since you told the farmer not to cut the corner, that he is now using the land in an adversarial manner - against your wishes. Therefore the clock could be ticking and you could in fact loose the property you have purchased.

My advise (I am not a lawyer and did not sleep in a Holiday Inn last night) is to get the land surveyed and then either kick the farmer off of using it and move the trees closer to the line so he cannot use it or build a fence, OR give the farmer written permission to use the property, aleviating the claim of adversarial possession.

 

[DianneB]

Re: property line quest -- what would you do

I live in farm country and can tell you that one of the most valuable assets in a rural area is good neighbours. Disputes lead to hard feelings (or worse) that can last for decades.

Get a legal survey done (they will leave visible markers) and then meet the farmer at field-side with a beer and have a neighbourly conversation about how you can both meet your needs.

There is an old adage "You get back what you give out."

 

[avenger79]

Re: property line quest -- what would you do

I live in farm country and can tell you that one of the most valuable assets in a rural area is good neighbours. Disputes lead to hard feelings (or worse) that can last for decades.

Get a legal survey done (they will leave visible markers) and then meet the farmer at field-side with a beer and have a neighbourly conversation about how you can both meet your needs.

There is an old adage "You get back what you give out."

this is exactly what I was thinking of doing. I'm not looking to be the jerk from the city that moved in. so far i have been very well liked and accepted. I just hate to have someone thinking they can do whatever they want with no remorse. I will admit I have thought about the fence only because I would love to let my dogs have the run of the place with out having to babysit them all the time. I'm sure that would cause some fuss. I will also admit if he fights me on the survey the fence will be up before he gets his crops in this year.

 

[Fly Rod]

Re: property line quest -- what would you do

I live in farm country and can tell you that one of the most valuable assets in a rural area is good neighbours. Disputes lead to hard feelings (or worse) that can last for decades.

Get a legal survey done (they will leave visible markers) and then meet the farmer at field-side with a beer and have a neighbourly conversation about how you can both meet your needs.

There is an old adage "You get back what you give out."

Very true.

In farm country you do not want to become the "Hatfields & McCoys."

 

[642mx]

Re: property line quest -- what would you do

How much does a survey like that cost?

 

[rbh]

Re: property line quest -- what would you do

Were we are your property is marked on the corners with a steel pin about 16 inches long, as well as a white corner marker with the legal plot # on it.
If you cant find them, as was said get a surveyer in, and the good neighbour policy goes along ways, especially if they have heavy equipment you can borrow.

 

[Fly Rod]

Re: property line quest -- what would you do

this is exactly what I was thinking of doing. I'm not looking to be the jerk from the city that moved in. so far i have been very well liked and accepted. I just hate to have someone thinking they can do whatever they want with no remorse. I will admit I have thought about the fence only because I would love to let my dogs have the run of the place with out having to babysit them all the time. I'm sure that would cause some fuss. I will also admit if he fights me on the survey the fence will be up before he gets his crops in this year.

Do not use barb wire you may start another feud such as in the old western days when the cattle ranchers and sheep herders went against each other on the open range.

 

[avenger79]

Re: property line quest -- what would you do

Were we are your property is marked on the corners with a steel pin about 16 inches long, as well as a white corner marker with the legal plot # on it.
If you cant find them, as was said get a surveyer in, and the good neighbour policy goes along ways, especially if they have heavy equipment you can borrow.

yeah he's not the type to borrow you anything. it's kind of a touchy situation because the guy who owns it is pretty cool. we BS all the time and he's a nice guy. I've helped him fix his tracor and he gives me props for all the work I have done on the house so far. The guy who rents it for farming is not very cool. not terribly bad just not what I would call a good neighbor. I have a feeling it's because he is afraid I will check the lines and change things. I don't necesarily want to change anything, I just don't want to arrange my land for him either. another words I don't want my trees run over especially if I find out they're actually 15 feet or more into my property.

 

[BWR1953]

Re: property line quest -- what would you do

Good fences make good neighbors.

Get your property surveyed, then install fencing. Let your dogs run loose if you like, as that reinforces that it is YOUR property.

Yes, good conversations with the neighbor are warranted, but it is still YOUR property and should be protected accordingly.

Here in FL, adversarial possession takes just 7 years.

I had a trespasser issue a couple weeks ago and put up just one section of fence, blocking the travelway and that ended the problem completely.

Take care and keep us "posted."

 

[rbh]

Re: property line quest -- what would you do

By all means get a survey. There is a pesky legal theory called adverse possession where you could lose property if some one else has been using it for a specific time. The time involved defers by state.

How the heck does this work, since when did property lines not have legal boundries?????
My cow has been sticking its head through the fence for years eating grass and so all the grass and land on the other side that he could reach, I am claiming now???

 

[avenger79]

Re: property line quest -- what would you do

adverse possession in Wis is 20 years. what I need to find out is if it starts when I took poss of the land or if it goes back over various owners.

waiting for the survey price now.