D
dumitriu
Guest
What is the name of your state?
New Jersey.
I am currently under contract to purchase a property and an issue has arrisen regarding the property line facing the street. I need some very urgent advice. The problem is as follows. When the property was last sold, to the current owner, the company which did the survey made a mistake in the dimensions of the property and the total area. All deeds, except the last one, recorded in the county clerk's office show the area to be 1.743 acres and the extents of the property extending to the middle of the street. However, when the last survey was done, the company based their survey on a site plan for a development, next door, which, for some unknown reason also showed the lot of this property, being drawn to the edge of the street, but without explicit dimensions. On that plan, the road is drawn as being 50' wide, though in reality it is only 16'. As such, the last survey done, cut off the property at the edge of this supposed 50' road, thereby shortening the property, by 25', and reducing the area to 1.5 acres (the surveyor, for whatever reason, simply subtracted 25' from the dimensions of the property that went to the street). That was the legal desciption included in the last deed. Now, the actual road is Not 50' wide, so there is a gap between the actual edge of the road and the edge of the property legally recorded. I have protested to the survey company, the title company, and the sellers, but they all insist that the area between the property line and the street is public 'right of way' anyway, and thus could not be mine regardless. Supposedly, in that township the right of way is 25' from the center of the street, which would bring it up to the edge of the property. However, I am concerned because my driveway actually crosses through this 'dead space' between the actual edge of the street and the property line, as currently legally recorded. This discrepancy is obviously an error made by the last survey company, however they have declined to correct the issue, saying that it is not a big deal, given that the missing land is part of the public right of way. The title company also, has declined to make any correction, saying that the fact that they give us clean title is good enough. Now, the closing is scheduled for just a couple of days away, and I am faced with the question of whether I should proceed or not. I should also mention that the township tax map shows the area of the property as 1.743 acres, and that is what the owner currently pays taxes on.
My concerns are: If I will have any problem with access to the property. If I will have any problem when selling the property. I have been told that even cancelling the contract is problematic because the clause therein states that I can do so if I do Not have clean title and title insurance, which I have been given. However, I would also argue that the seller did misrepresent the sale, given that the property was listed as 1.743 acres and now it is discovered that legally it is, in fact, smaller.
New Jersey.
I am currently under contract to purchase a property and an issue has arrisen regarding the property line facing the street. I need some very urgent advice. The problem is as follows. When the property was last sold, to the current owner, the company which did the survey made a mistake in the dimensions of the property and the total area. All deeds, except the last one, recorded in the county clerk's office show the area to be 1.743 acres and the extents of the property extending to the middle of the street. However, when the last survey was done, the company based their survey on a site plan for a development, next door, which, for some unknown reason also showed the lot of this property, being drawn to the edge of the street, but without explicit dimensions. On that plan, the road is drawn as being 50' wide, though in reality it is only 16'. As such, the last survey done, cut off the property at the edge of this supposed 50' road, thereby shortening the property, by 25', and reducing the area to 1.5 acres (the surveyor, for whatever reason, simply subtracted 25' from the dimensions of the property that went to the street). That was the legal desciption included in the last deed. Now, the actual road is Not 50' wide, so there is a gap between the actual edge of the road and the edge of the property legally recorded. I have protested to the survey company, the title company, and the sellers, but they all insist that the area between the property line and the street is public 'right of way' anyway, and thus could not be mine regardless. Supposedly, in that township the right of way is 25' from the center of the street, which would bring it up to the edge of the property. However, I am concerned because my driveway actually crosses through this 'dead space' between the actual edge of the street and the property line, as currently legally recorded. This discrepancy is obviously an error made by the last survey company, however they have declined to correct the issue, saying that it is not a big deal, given that the missing land is part of the public right of way. The title company also, has declined to make any correction, saying that the fact that they give us clean title is good enough. Now, the closing is scheduled for just a couple of days away, and I am faced with the question of whether I should proceed or not. I should also mention that the township tax map shows the area of the property as 1.743 acres, and that is what the owner currently pays taxes on.
My concerns are: If I will have any problem with access to the property. If I will have any problem when selling the property. I have been told that even cancelling the contract is problematic because the clause therein states that I can do so if I do Not have clean title and title insurance, which I have been given. However, I would also argue that the seller did misrepresent the sale, given that the property was listed as 1.743 acres and now it is discovered that legally it is, in fact, smaller.