surveying to gain land or building prviliges, how and why can this happen?

Question

My family had a house near the beach in Ct that had an undeveloped area next to it. A sleazy builder bought it and had 3 surveys done and chose to go with the one that put his property line well into ours (in the middle of our driveway). He then developed three houses on it. The property should have only sustained 2 according to building code, but with the extra he did it anyway. Is there any true recourse that will correct this injustice without costing anything or at least a minimal amount. The answer should be legally enforcable (IE no civil action..it's virtually unenforcable).

Answer 1

You say 3 surveys were done and the builder "chose" the one most favorable to him.

Surveys are NEVER done to gain land. Every professional land surveyor is bound to abide by a code of professional ethics. Different surveyors may very well have honest differences of opinion about property line locations, in fact this is very common, because determining the locations of property lines can be very complicated. However, each surveyor is bound to stand behind his results. If a conflict results, a judge must decide which survey shall stand as correct. It is not up to either of the property owners to make that decision unilaterally. The case must be tried in court, and the decision will be based upon which side presents the best evidence of the true property line location.

If you are convinced that the survey the builder relied on is not correct, then you need to have YOUR property surveyed by a different licensed professional surveyor. If the surveyor agrees with you that the property line is in a different location, you will have a good chance of success in court against the builder. However, its also possible that the survey done for the builder is correct, and your surveyor may confirm this. You will need to pay for the survey of your property regardless of whether the results are favorable to you or not, so make sure its worth the expense before you take the step of getting your property surveyed.

Answer 2

You ask how you can correct this without resorting to the law? The only way to "correct" this, especially now, is by suing. If your facts are correct, and the developer encroached on your land and you can prove it, you will be able to enforce it. Lawsuits involving land are much more easily enforced than are those involving only money damages.

As for the zoning violation (the 3 houses where only 2 should be.) You should have acted when he started, by intervening at the permitting stage. It will be harder now. But start by approaching the relevant city or county board. There will be a permit and zoning staff that should -- but might not -- provide you with some guidance.

Good luck.