adverse possesion

[carter8080]

recently had land surveyed to find out neihbors reaining wall, deck,and about 2 feet of garage(2'by 25')are on my property ,its been like that for 20 years (which probably isnt in my favor)i've been paying taxes on it and are being told there is not much i can do about it without spending alot of money in court and could still lose.Any ideas, could i atleast make it so he can't sell his property till this is resolved so its not passed on to the next person.thx MINNESOTA

[Jack Mevorach, Esq.]

You've received correct advice. You can bring a lawsuit and there's a good chance you will not prevail. How does it come to pass that someone has their structures on your property for twenty years and you don't know it?

Only if you sue, a Notice of Pendency (Lis Pendens) gets filed against the property. This informs the world that there's a suit pending that could affect the property. Any purchaser is bound by the suit and the results of the suit. Practically speaking, the Notice of Pendency makes the property unsaleable. But, you'll have to prosecute your suit.

[HomeGuru]

You do not have an adverse possession issue but rather an encroachment issue with this neighbor. You need to protect your interest and come to a resolution right away rather than taking a conservative wait and see attitude. One option is to sign an encroachment/party wall agreement that is recorded on title. That is if you agree and accept the as-is, as-built conditions.

[carter8080]

when the garage was built he told me that the land was surveyed and he was on his property,tho no stake was ever put in, i trusted him at the time and also thought if he was lying or mistaken i could always get my land ,i bought it ,paid taxes on it ,i guess that doesnt matter.this is rural property where the houses are 150 or so feet apart.so looks to me this is a good way to steal other peoples property

[HomeGuru]

Did you read and understand my response?

[Jack Mevorach, Esq.]

Other than purchase, there are other legal methods to acquire title to property. It's not stealing, and be careful about what you post. You don't want to open yourself to a defamation lawsuit.

Your mistake was relying upon a verbal representation where structures were being erected upon real property.