D
domw
Guest
House is in Northern California.
House is 30 years old.
We've owned the house for 18 months
House and all surrounding land is on 45 degree slope.
Question: We have recently had a site survey conducted for replacement of a retaining wall. The site survey shows that a 40' portion of our driveway and the only piece of flat land on the property (adjacent to the driveway), that we thought was ours, is in fact owned by our neighbours.
This information was not disclosed to us by the previous owners, and during the buying process they led us to believe the 30' square piece of flat land was part of the property. They even affectionately refered to it as "long term parking" as it is at the bottom of our steep driveway which is 240' long.
No easement has ever been applied for to address the access to our property, and our Title Insurance company says they are not in any way liable as they could not reasonably have been expected to know a portion of the driveway was not ours.
Our neighbours, who own the property in question and who have lived in their home for over 25 years, say that all previous owners have know about this issue. They are being very nice about it and say they have no issue with us using the land. However, I assume that applying for an easement will cost money, which I don't believe I should pay for. I also always intended to build a garage on the flat land to enhance the value of the house, which I obviously can't do if I don't own the land.
Can I sue the prvious owner for not disclosing all this? What proof would I need that they knew? I only have the word of our neighbour so far. Do I have any recourse to sue the Title Insurance Company?
Thanks for your help everybody.
House is 30 years old.
We've owned the house for 18 months
House and all surrounding land is on 45 degree slope.
Question: We have recently had a site survey conducted for replacement of a retaining wall. The site survey shows that a 40' portion of our driveway and the only piece of flat land on the property (adjacent to the driveway), that we thought was ours, is in fact owned by our neighbours.
This information was not disclosed to us by the previous owners, and during the buying process they led us to believe the 30' square piece of flat land was part of the property. They even affectionately refered to it as "long term parking" as it is at the bottom of our steep driveway which is 240' long.
No easement has ever been applied for to address the access to our property, and our Title Insurance company says they are not in any way liable as they could not reasonably have been expected to know a portion of the driveway was not ours.
Our neighbours, who own the property in question and who have lived in their home for over 25 years, say that all previous owners have know about this issue. They are being very nice about it and say they have no issue with us using the land. However, I assume that applying for an easement will cost money, which I don't believe I should pay for. I also always intended to build a garage on the flat land to enhance the value of the house, which I obviously can't do if I don't own the land.
Can I sue the prvious owner for not disclosing all this? What proof would I need that they knew? I only have the word of our neighbour so far. Do I have any recourse to sue the Title Insurance Company?
Thanks for your help everybody.