Neighbor's encroachment over property line

[voyager]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
Hawai'i

We recently purchased a home on a 1 acre lot in Hawai'i.
We took possession the last part of November, 2013.
Recently, I have been working on landscaping the property.

I have just found that the neighbor on the South side of our property, that when building a new house there in the last few years [3 or 4?], the land was cleared over our property line.
The actual portion of our property that was cleared to facilitate the construction of their house is only about 15' into our lot X about 40' along it +/-.

My concern is the potential for their claiming adverse possession or what eve it is termed.
I feel that I need to assert my rights to and ownership of that sliver of land they have encroached upon before it is lost to them.

Now, how do I know this?
The prior owner had the corner posts located in 2005. They were certified as being correct.
I have located those corner posts.
From those corners it is obvious that the pad cleared for the house's construction has crossed over our property line.

I have not yet spoken to the neighbor or the previous owner of our home.
I will do that after getting a feel for the potential for problems with this situation.

 

[justalayman]

are they using this area or is it just that it was cleared as being needed to allow room to work around the house as it was built?


Have you spoken to the neighbors about it?

 

[voyager]

Hi justalayman,
Thanks for your response.

It is hard to tell if they are actually, physically using the encroached area.
About 1/3 to 1/2 of their lot had been "ripped and stripped".
The lot's lava rock was leveled to create a flat building pad and yard area.
The ripped area of the lot is now a flat rocky "moon-scape" area with weeds beginning to grow back.
I have never seen anyone out and about on the property, just a car in the garage on occasion and lights on in the evening.

Most of the view between their lot and house, and ours is obscured by vegetation along the property line on our side of the line.
I have begun a landscaping project along that property line and will be putting the area in question to use.
Right now the area adjacent to the encroachment is an undeveloped thicket of native trees, ulu'he ferns, and invasive weed trees and shrubs.
I am removing the ferns and invasives at the moment.
I am about to break into the encroached area.

I will be contacting the prior owner of our property in the next day or so, to see what he knows about the situation.
If he was aware and there was no problem [it was inadvertently done, permission was given for temporary use, or something similar], I have no problem.
After I speak with him, I will then talk with the neighbor.
I'm just trying to see what my options are in a worst case situation -- a dispute over the land involved.