Encroachment Advice Needed

[ultrarunner]

What if you after thinking about it... you still say the positives outweigh the negative?

As long as you are certain of the your property line... build a fence over the weekend on your line and let them come to you... this is exactly what a friend of mine did and in the end it worked out for him...

The adjacent property owner was not at all happy at first and immediately got a survey and then a second... both showed my friend owned the property where he built the fence...

 

[riptides]

Now hold on here...... adverse possession *greatly* varies state to state.

A bottom line on adverse possession is who is paying the taxes. I doubt highly that a mining company is paying taxes on the parcel in question.

Seek them out directly, and if it comes to property transfer, go get a lawyer. Bulldozers have limited sight depending on the operator. It could be a simple mistake.

 

[sandman2234]

If they removed trees, and you have proof of it, they might be willing to "loose" the berm in exchange for you forgetting about the trees. If they have to put the trees back in order to regain their berm material, it would be a loss for them. Put up the markers definitely, and a fence if possible to keep them at bay until all is hashed out. Take photos of your stakes and/or fences with a datestamp camera, and maybe a current newspaper in the photo.
David from jax

 

[Gary51]

Dennis- Here in Texas you do need to pay taxes to claim adverse possession. In my case, a neighbor had simply had his amount of acreage claimed at the county tax office increased to cover the additional amount from my side. This is suppose to be only done by deed or survey but certain people in certain small counties are not held to the same rules as others. This was in part the reason why I was able to defend my rights. In the end I lost $3000 defending what I already bought and paid for.
I would recommend first getting a fresh survey and then sending a certified letter to the mining company asking them if they are claiming ownership of the area. It might be that they would likely claim that is was simply an error and they are not claiming the land. This might save some lawyer fees.

 

[smitty9266]

Since it has been only a year...I would have the surveyors put in a new marker and a 50 or 100 foot offset marker. Go and get some cheap posts and put up a 3 wire barb wire fence on the property line with prominent no trespassing signs. You can let it go at that and not say anything more to anyone about the berm.

If anyone has questions they will contact you and the monkey is on their back.

Jeff

 

[MikeD74T]

Maybe I'm minimizing too much but: a berm was built in the wrong place to stop access to the mining area. You're buying the property affected and plan to put up a fence, where the berm should have been, that will serve the same purpose as the berm. The question now is who owns the dirt comprising the berm? Unless the miners contest the property line, and you actually do put up the fence that stops traffic (in both directions) why would they care about this dirt? I'd build the fence on the property line then let the dust settle. If no further dust gets stirred up I'd use the dirt as my own. Worst case, the miners cause you to wait on the fence or have to rebuild/restructure the fence while removing "their" dirt. Adding lawyers could serve only to turn dirt into money, which neither you or the miners will receive.

I especially agree with Eddie's last paragraph. Settle the wrong without going to war. Even if the removed trees had monetary value that ended up in the miners' pocket just plant some new ones. They'll be substantial trees in less time than a jury would award damages. You bought the land for privacy - you'll get none as long as there's a dispute. MikeD74T

 

[J_J]

Dennis,

I would recommend that you find out who has been paying taxes on what property, and total sq ft, etc. If they thought it was theirs, and paid the taxes, you might have a problem. Make the county show what the previous owner paid and how much sq ft was involved . and determine if the land under the berm was included. You might negotiate with them on the use of the berm, and when the lease runs out, exactly what they have done and will do to your satisfaction. Get it in writing. If the berm is there to prevent leaching of certain products, it may have to remain there, maybe in your favor.

 

[DennisArrow]

Ok........thanks for the thoughts..........The COUNTY is the actual what is being called the mining company........they sell the chert to whoever drives in with a truck

A survey was completed today by the seller which completely agrees with the plat of the county mine and the plat/plan of the mine that is posted with the state department of mines...........both indicate that the marker has been moved and that the berms have been constructed incorrectly as well as the buffer has been ignored..........

The berms should actually be 50 feet inside of the propertly line due to a 50 foot mandated non-disturbed area.

The surveyor left a pin/stake in the ground as well as painted the area orange. My bank advised me that the closing on the refi that I am using to finance the purchase of this is set for June 5...........

I do appreciate the ideas........thanks......God Bless........Dennis

 

[2manyrocks]

Cheaper to talk to a real estate lawyer about this now and maybe get it fixed than to buy it and maybe run into a situation where you're stuck with it. Example: if you close your sale and accept a deed from your seller that says it is subject to easements and matters which an accurate survey would disclose, I think you may have waived your claim.

Get your legal plan together before you go to closing.

 

[EddieWalker]

The surveyor left a pin/stake in the ground as well as painted the area orange.

I would photograph the stake from several different angles. If possible, I would also have the surveyor put additional marker pins in the ground, but not mark them. If the legal corner is removed, then you still have the marker pins to locate the exact location of the corner.

Allot of pins are just pulled out and then they pretend that they don't know anything about it, which means that you have to hire another survey. If there is a good chance that the pin will be taken out, the surveyors can put other pins in the ground to quickly and easily redo the missing corner pins.

Eddie