said surveys are to wipe my blank with

What is the name of your state? arkansas. Last year we bought 24 acres. The property was surveyed at time of purchase. When we put up a fence along the survey line, our neighbor came to tell us that we were putting up fence on his property. When we pointed out that we were just following the new survey line, he said that surveys meant nothing and were only good to wipe his blank with. He said that they had only sold to the old existing fence line to the man that we had bought from. He also stated he was going to tear our fences down. Someone did damage the fence and tore down the ladder and platform we had made to cross over our existing fence (the old fence that he claims is the property line). The property in dispute is a little over 2 acres. The lawyer we contacted said the cost would start out at 3 thousand dollars and go up. The cost of litagation would be way more than the 1600 we paid for the 2 wooded acres. Still, it doesn't seem right to give up something we paid for. We have also been told that he is saying that he paid taxes on the disputed acres. I know we paid taxes on it. Is it possible that he also paid taxes on the same property? Is there any way to continue to use our property without paying for a lawyer? He does not want to pay for a lawyer or for his own survey. He told us that we would have to get a lawyer. It seems he might be setting the stage for adverse possession, not sure. Does anyone have advice? thanks, debbie

[FarmerJ]

Deb this is a fight you cannot do with out a lawyer . If you dont fight him who knows what else he will come up with in the future .

Did you get title insurance when your purchased the property?

If so, you may want to contact the title company to see if they can be of help resolving the issue.

Does the previous legal description (the one he conveyed) match the one on your deed?

Did you check with the surveyor to see if he surveyed correctly?

What does the previous owner say?

Thanks everyone for your replies. Yes, we do have title insurance but the closing office went out of business since our closing so we have to figure out who we need to contact. The surveyor told us that the first seller knew that the property would go past the old fence line but told him not to survey on that side in order to save money. It just so happens that he surveyed both times of sale. The brother of the man causing our grief told us that his grandpa threatened to burn the house down of the man who sold to us because of the dispute concerning the property lines. The grandpa has since passed on. We have invested money and hard work remodeling the building which exists on the property. So there is more at risk than just the land. The people who bought next to us have at least 16 acres that the guy is claiming to be his. I did get a certified deed from the prior sale and the description of that side matches the description on our deed. But of course this neighbor says that means nothing and he has been using this land forever. The previous owner that sold to us owned the property for 4 years before selling to us 1 year ago.

[HomeGuru]

You should hire a real estate lawyer soon.