• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

Change in property lines

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

Mystcom

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? RI . We purchased a home in 2004. We have retaining walls on the east and west sides of our property on the property line. Recently the developement was resurveyed and the property lines have changed. Now our neighbors property to the west comes beyond the retaining wall into our back yard. Our property to the East goes beyond the east side retaining wall into the yard of our other neighbor. We have attemted to contact the builder, engineering company and the planning board of our town. No one will return our phone calls. If the second set of boundries are correct, and the builder developed the land off the first set of boundries, what legal options do we have?
 


Mystcom

Junior Member
Both surveys were done by a company hired by the builder. Nothing has changed on paper. We are hiring our own surveyor...but if the 2nd set of boundries are correct..we have a problem with the way the property was developed. We have a neighbor mowing part of our front lawn and down into the back of our yard. Will we have any legal recourse ?
 

HomeGuru

Senior Member
Both surveys were done by a company hired by the builder. Nothing has changed on paper. We are hiring our own surveyor...but if the 2nd set of boundries are correct..we have a problem with the way the property was developed. We have a neighbor mowing part of our front lawn and down into the back of our yard. Will we have any legal recourse ?
**A: post back when you get the results of your current survey.
 

lizjimbo

Member
Doctrines

Find a surveyor that understands the "Doctrine of Ancient Fences" or long standing lines of possession. I am presuming, being you live in one of the states governed by colonial land rules, you more than likely live in a long established neighborhood, especially when you refer to retaining walls which are very common in old established communities. If so, you may have remedies, but you will have to pay for it.
 

154NH773

Senior Member
Did the first survey actually show the retaining walls on the property lines, or did you just assume they were on the property line? How does your deed describe the lines, does it make reference to following the retaining walls?
I agree that you should get your own survey. I have had surveyors make mistakes that placed a road more than 10 feet off, and then miscorrecting that to being still two feet off. When I showed them their error, they rechecked and found they had entered a wrong number in their computer.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top