I have used a piece of land, which no one for 11 years, now someone is saying they own it, can I claim it.?

Question

the land is 49 ft x 150 ft, it forms part of my land. The so called owner asked me 11 years ago did I wish to buy the land, I asked him to show me proof of his ownership, then I would talk to him about buying it, he never replied.
I have now put my house up for sale, with a board,
I think he has seen this, then come out of the woodwork tring to claim ownership
He has never been to or tried to mark out this land as it within my boundaries on two sides

Answer 1

You can claim your neighbors piece of land IF you meet the rules of adverse possession in your state. The rules of adverse possession differ from state to state. For instance, in California, among other things, you would have to had paid the property taxes on the land to claim it by adverse possession. Check out the link below for the general rules.

Alternatively, you may be entitled to an adverse easement (i.e. right to use).

You should discuss the specifics of your case with the real estate agent selling your home or a real estate attorney. It is wise not to represent to a prospective buyer of your home any rights you might have with respect to the neighbors piece of land until you legally establish those rights.

Answer 2

OK what you are attempting to find out is if you have claim to the title by adverse possession. You'll need to go to your state's statutes to determine what the guidelines for adverse possession are. But here is some generalities that apply in some states and not in others when it comes to adverse possession:
1.) The occupation of the property must be open and notorious
2.) The occupation of the property must be for a statutory period of time (ranging from 7 to 20 years depending on the state)
3.) You must show that taxes on the property have been paid
4.) Claimant must have some kind of color of title
5.) To legally make the property actually come into your name you must file a suit in court claiming the property by adverse possession.
To stop adverse possession:
1.) If you think you are a victim of adverse possession and the statutory time has not been met, all you need to do is send a registered return receipt to the person adversely possessing your property giving them permission to use your property until you have time to Quiet the title in court.
Adverse possession is a legal way to take the property of others if all the statutory premises are met.

Answer 3

The only way to determine whose property it is for certain would be to look at the deeds and have both properties marked out by a professional surveyor.

I have seen property disputes where someone has even added onto their house and ended up on the neighbors land because they didn't get it surveyed first and just assumed the fence was on their property or the tree line was their boundry.

Answer 4

the real question is, do you own the land?? If you don't know than you can go to the city and find out exactly where you property line is. If you have the info and you know that you do not own the property than you cannot just claim something that you never bought. Even if he doesn't own the land, somebody does own it. Either way, the city has all the info. If the city says they have no record of ownership on that property for some wild reason than find out what you can do to aquire it via purchase as good price.

Answer 5

The "owner" claimed it 11 years ago. Technically the ownership has been in dispute for 11 years. Have a professional survey done to find out exactly where the property lines are. If the survey shows that it is your property tell him to get fucked and go on with life.

Answer 6

I would get the county records of land titles and double check on ownership and exact size of both properties; yours and the mystry owners. Next talk to a lawyer and find out your rights or claims. This is not a situation you want to try and handle yourself unless you have the knowledge. I know it sucks to spend a little bit of money on the font end but it could save you thousands later on.

Answer 7

First of all the fence thing is BS. There are no squatter laws within the US. Costa Rica has them, but not the US. The land and it's boundaries are registered with your local tax office. If you are trying to sell the land and it is not yours, you can be sued and charged with a criminal offense.

Answer 8

Every State is different..Connecticut has a law called Adverse Position..Which means if you even just cut the grass or planted flowers there and no one claims it in 15 years than it is all yours....So you need to see if your state has that law and how long...Did you pay the property taxes?

Real Estate Investor..

Answer 9

Have neither of you done a deed search around this property? How is it you have managed to erect a house on property ostensibly owned by someone else, without his noticing?
If he owns it, and you have been using it, you may be able to claim it by "adverse possession" - but you must go through an attorney to figure this out. Go to the hall of deeds in your county, get a copy of the last few transactions regarding the property, and you may have to have a professional surveyor come in to map it out.
Good luck.

Answer 10

Ask him to show the land certificate. If he can't then legally he does own the land.

As for you, if you want to sell the house, you need to also sell the land to the house owner, and you will have difficulties in selling it, if you yourself cannot produce the land certificate to the buyer lawyer in order to complete the transaction.