adverse possession or acquiesence?

[driller43]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania:

We have recently listed our home for sale in Pennsylvania. The home has been in the family for several generations and the neighbors home has also been in their family for several generations. Thirty some years ago, the neighbor helped my grandfather build a very large two story double garage on our property. Both were aware that a section of the rear portion of the garage encroached over the property line. Around the same time both parties also put in individual driveways being aware that half of the neighbors driveway encroached on the same line. Being longstanding neighbors and aware that there were (and still are not) any surveys for the property boundaries on record since the 1800's and that those existing property lines do not run parallel but rather at a sharp 60 degree angle from the front of the properties to the rear on both sides. Now that we have placed our property on the market, potential buyers are concerned about a potential conflict in the future. Our neighbor and we would like to make this become a non-issue. Can we simply file a mutual agreement with a proper authority that this diversion is an agreement under our acceptance considering "adverse possession" or "acquiesence" and resolve this issue without involving courts and surveyors, attorney fees, etc....

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania:

We have recently listed our home for sale in Pennsylvania. The home has been in the family for several generations and the neighbors home has also been in their family for several generations. Thirty some years ago, the neighbor helped my grandfather build a very large two story double garage on our property. Both were aware that a section of the rear portion of the garage encroached over the property line. Around the same time both parties also put in individual driveways being aware that half of the neighbors driveway encroached on the same line. Being longstanding neighbors and aware that there were (and still are not) any surveys for the property boundaries on record since the 1800's and that those existing property lines do not run parallel but rather at a sharp 60 degree angle from the front of the properties to the rear on both sides. Now that we have placed our property on the market, potential buyers are concerned about a potential conflict in the future. Our neighbor and we would like to make this become a non-issue. Can we simply file a mutual agreement with a proper authority that this diversion is an agreement under our acceptance considering "adverse possession" or "acquiesence" and resolve this issue without involving courts and surveyors, attorney fees, etc....

I honestly don't see how you can do it without involving attorneys and surveyors. The court would not need to be involved if you are in agreement, as this could be settled without the courts involvement, but I think you would need surveys and attorneys.

 

[FarmerJ]

I suspect one way with the help of a atty to make sure it is clean enough is to grant each other limited- conditional licensed use of the others property example, person whose land has the structure encroachment gives to the owner of the structure permission to use it until say structure meets local codes definition of destroyed and must be rebuilt or torn down so then new replacement structure must meet local zoning and be placed so it is not encroaching any more and the driveway issue same thing if the driveway is to be rebuilt or Improved over and above its current condition then it must be moved enough to be on its users own land. ( this may well be enough to comfort a buyer) but its best to talk to a atty about this after surveys are done , its much cleaner that way.

 

[154NH773]

I agree that you could accomplish what you want to do without a court, but I would be very careful about trying to do it without an attorney's review. I would also highly recommend a survey to identify the areas exactly. If there is any ambiguity in the agreement, it could turn around and bite someone in the future.
Any buyer would probably have a title search and would question any easement or agreement that wasn't properly written and filed.