House, Septic, and Drainage Field over Lot Line

[MrsMope]

What is the name of your state? WI
Hello, we purchased two ten acre parcels approx. 2 1/2 years ago. These parcels are each 330Ft. wide by 1330 ft deep, that's why we bought two. We didn't want anyone too close to use when we decided to build. At time of purchase there was one ten acre parcel available for sale between our land and an existing neighbor. Earlier last year (May) that parcel was purchased and house constructed, all work was completed by Sep-Oct timeframe. We don't drive by our property every day so we didn't notice an issue until the house was almost complete. Then we thought the house looked really really close to the lot line, but we didn't know the setback laws. This past year we have decided to built on our land, we contacted our general contractor and he came out to take a look. He said that the neighbor looked really close, and if that was his doing he would have to move it. Our land is wooded, so we needed to have a portion logged off to build. We contacted a local logging company, they contacted our general contractor to find out where the west side lot line was. He wanted to make sure he was not taking timber that wasn't ours to take. The corner stakes have always been marked, but no other stakes. Our GC asked that we contact the survey company and have them put a few more stakes in to mark the lines. We contacted the surveyor (who was the original surveyor at the time of purchase) he called me back on 05/23 with bad news.

The house is over the lot line by 6ft (setback is 20ft for a total of 26ft), the septic by 10ft. (setback is 10ft. for a total of 20ft.) and the drainage field by 5 ft (setback is 5 ft for a total of 10 ft). He also said he pulled a copy of the building permit, the permit showed the house was to be constructed 60 ft off the lot line. He suggested we contact an attorney, but we might want to talk with the neighbor first because they are going to know something is up when they see the pink stakes heading right up to their home.​

We did call the neighbor, who told us that we HAVE to sell them the land. We told them that we are not interested in selling the property and we would like the house to be moved to the original place it was supposed to be constructed. They told me that they bought the house and land as a package from their contractor.​

My questions:

1. Do we need to deal with the contractor or the neighbor
2. How did the house get built over the lot line if the permit shows 60ft. off?

We have come up with several options to resolve, but we don't know if any are a reasonable request

1. Move the property to the place listed on the permit
2. The contractor that built their home must build our home at "cost", with "free" upgrades, including landscaping
3. Neighbors can purchase the entire 20 acres from us because we don't want to deal with the hassle (purchase price = 80-100K)
4. We'll sell them the 26ft. for a price of 40-50K.

I haven't called an attorney yet, but I'm sure I'm going to have too. Just wanted to see what thoughts I would get from you all first.What is the name of your state?

 

[Ozark_Sophist]

Your issue is with the neighbor. The neighbor's issue is with his or her contractor.

Option 2 is out. Why would you want in incompetent contractor building your house?

The other options are up to the neighbor. Sue for the encroachment. Work out the details at that point. Your neighbor may not have the finances to buy your land, but would be able to turn around and sue his or her contractor.

 

[MrsMope]

Are we able to set the price we want for the footage, or are we only able to charge fair market value? Do I need to involve the county zoning administration? How was this house constructed to begin with??

 

[Ozark_Sophist]

Are we able to set the price we want for the footage, or are we only able to charge fair market value? Do I need to involve the county zoning administration? How was this house constructed to begin with??

Dollar amounts come later unless you want to solve the problem directly with the neighbor. Prior to discussing dollar amounts, I would talk to a local attorney.

 

[MrsMope]

Well, I haven't been able to get any answers on how this house was built on our land. I talked to the zoning administration and they said all the paperwork they have shows the house should have been built in a legitimate location. I contacted a local attorney he said I need to get all of my paperwork to him, land deed, title insurance etc. He said that we are due compensation, but I didn't ask him how much or if any of the options I listed on here were possible. Right now I want them to buy the entire 20 acres at a price of 80-90K and be done with it. I don't want to live next to them after starting out like this anyway. I don't know how much all of this will cost, but we don't think we'll be able to build our house now. We'll probably end up just buying a house, so the money we have put in for plans, perk test, permits etc. is all down the tubes. Can we get that back from the neighbors?

 

[Ozark_Sophist]

Well, I haven't been able to get any answers on how this house was built on our land. I talked to the zoning administration and they said all the paperwork they have shows the house should have been built in a legitimate location. I contacted a local attorney he said I need to get all of my paperwork to him, land deed, title insurance etc. He said that we are due compensation, but I didn't ask him how much or if any of the options I listed on here were possible. Right now I want them to buy the entire 20 acres at a price of 80-90K and be done with it. I don't want to live next to them after starting out like this anyway. I don't know how much all of this will cost, but we don't think we'll be able to build our house now. We'll probably end up just buying a house, so the money we have put in for plans, perk test, permits etc. is all down the tubes. Can we get that back from the neighbors?

No. It's also not likely the neighbor would be required to buy your entire property. Figure compensentory damages of about $3,600 (strip 26'x1330' is less than 4% of your property and 4% of 90 k is $3,600) plus costs (survey, deed, closing, fence) and punitive damages. All together perhaps $15,000 max. Taking it to court will cost more than that.