Took my driveway and half my garage

What is the name of your state? Tennessee

I put a bid on my house in the first of October 2005 and gave my ernest money. The real estate agent told me that the driveway and the garage on this property belonged to this property and at that time it did. The contractor selling the house divided the land in November 2005 which took half of my garage and all of my lower driveway to use it for a house he was building on another lot. I was never informed in any way by the seller or real estate agent that he had divided the land and took that part of the property. We closed on the house in December 2005 and this month April 2006 I walk out side to find stakes in my yard which run right threw the middle of my garage.

I thought that once I placed my bid on the property that he could not change it in any way without some kind of notice to me. Everything he was going to do to the house like change the carpet and paint the inside was on the contract but nothing about him subdividing the land to use for another home on another lot. I have hired a lawyer but before I go further I want to know if I have a case. I am not rich so I don't want to pay for all this if I can't get the land I was suppose to have to start with.

BlueLT said:

What is the name of your state? Tennessee

I put a bid on my house in the first of October 2005 and gave my ernest money. The real estate agent told me that the driveway and the garage on this property belonged to this property and at that time it did. The contractor selling the house divided the land in November 2005 which took half of my garage and all of my lower driveway to use it for a house he was building on another lot. I was never informed in any way by the seller or real estate agent that he had divided the land and took that part of the property. We closed on the house in December 2005 and this month April 2006 I walk out side to find stakes in my yard which run right threw the middle of my garage.

I thought that once I placed my bid on the property that he could not change it in any way without some kind of notice to me. Everything he was going to do to the house like change the carpet and paint the inside was on the contract but nothing about him subdividing the land to use for another home on another lot. I have hired a lawyer but before I go further I want to know if I have a case. I am not rich so I don't want to pay for all this if I can't get the land I was suppose to have to start with.

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Huh? please forgive me I am not trying to be rude, and please do not be rude back... but...
HUH? What do you have on paper? survey... contracts// extracts/// stuff/// stuff stuff///

ENASNI said:

Huh? please forgive me I am not trying to be rude, and please do not be rude back... but...
HUH? What do you have on paper? survey... contracts// extracts/// stuff/// stuff stuff///

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Ya, what ENASNI said.
What was the property description in the contract for purchase?






Did you have a good Dyngus Day ENASNI? Do you know what a Dyngus Day even is?

ENASNI said:

Huh? please forgive me I am not trying to be rude, and please do not be rude back... but...
HUH? What do you have on paper? survey... contracts// extracts/// stuff/// stuff stuff///

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You didn't sound rude at all.

There is nothing on paper about taking the driveway or half the garage. There was no survey done to the property until just a few days ago. According to my closing documents/mortgage papers the deed was registered in November he did not subdivide the land until November. According to the deed that was on file in October the garage and driveway belonged to this property, lot 75. According to the deed on file now half the garage and all of the driveway belongs to lot 74. AFTER I made my bid but BEFORE I closed on the house he subdivided the land. It was never mentioned either written or verbally. There is no mention of anything about any of this in any paper that I signed. I don’t know how else to explain it. It is as simple as this … The land I saw was the land I bid on …. The land I bought was not the same land that I bid on. He took the driveway, garage, and part of my yard and gave it to lot 74 to use as their driveway. He did not tell me he was going to do it, it was not written that he would or that he could do it. It is a simple matter of is he allowed to take part of the property without informing me of it. There is nothing saying he can in my documents but is there something in Tennessee law saying he can without notice because technically until we close it is still his BUT I bid on it before he changed it so I was bidding on what it WAS then not what it IS now.

Sorry Bluelt. Maybe I can make sense in the morning, but this still seems beyond my scope. Let us hope Homeguru or SeniorJ will be in the mood to lend their brains. They are good at this... it is their job.

Something smells like it came out of the water a little late though and I wish you had some paper with your lines around it saying : THIS IS YOURS.

Layman

id you have a good Dyngus Day ENASNI? Do you know what a Dyngus Day even is?

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Everybody hates a Monday, except if they Polka.

Did you have a good Anzak day?

It seems simple to me, but I'm a layman: If there was a plat of survey on file in October, and you placed your contract in October, on the land/property described in that plat, then that is what should have been delivered to you free of undisclosed encumberances, such as re-subdividing the land after you placed a contract on the property. From my perspective, if you were promised one thing, and were delivered another, that is a breach of a contract, especially from a developer. I don't think it matters that you did not get a preliminary plat when you signed the contract, but as a condition of my offer on my home, a survey and plat of said survey was required before closing of the property. I'm not sure what your contract read, but it should have included the same. It is on the standard Realtor offer that most realtors use.

It sounds like you may have purchased directly from the developer, and having never taken that route, I cannot comment. I would, however, talk to a local real estate attorney, and get an injunction on the replatting of your lot and further development of lot 74 until they can resolve this dispute. Most places, it's not legal for a developer to provide no setback from property lines for such major structures as garages. I would think it would be highly illegal to place a structure across a property line where both properties are not owned by the same owner.

What might be a cheaper alternative is to go a talk to your zoning/planning and development office, and have them pull the two plats, the one from before the change and the one after, and ask them what recourse you may have. The land was surveyed for the subdivision (if there was a lot 75 when you were looking at it, then it had already been surveyed. Plats of subdivision have to be prepared by licensed surveyors, the only ones legally able to set and move property lines, and subdivide larger properties). You can usually get this from either your city, or your county (that is, the plat of subdivision). You can also usually get a copy of this for a nominal fee. You could then contact a reputable independent surveyor and ask them to survey the land and stake it as it was platted for the subdivision. That may help to resolve the dispute. And remember, that before the go-ahead to develop the subdivision was given, there had to be a plat of subdivision presented to the "powers that be" to meet their zoning requirements. These are usually reviewed in some detail because of requirements for zoning density, setbacks, improvements (roads, drainage, utilities, etc.), not to mention impact on school districts, open space provisions, etc.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that there is most definitely a previous survey on record for the property. You need to reconcile what was previously platted with the latest survey, which are all public records, and if you property has been encroached upon, you need to do something about it sooner rather than later. Another thought: Some/most lawyers will provide a free or low-cost consultation on the matter to see if it has merit.

Maybe I'm missing something here poster. If you purchased lot 75 (already platted) I would presume lot 74 would have already been platted. You need to find out when they were both origanally platted and when the change took place. While he may change the lot lines before you closed, this would make the contract voidable on your part (maybe even make it void without any other action). Maybe Homeguru will catch wind of this and chime in.

I don't quite understand, if the lots were already platted, they were already subdivided. In other words, how could he have a deed in October if he had not subdivided the land until later? It doesn't work that way.

How could the closing agency allow this to happen?

The other possibility is the house was built in the wrong location due to the lack of a survey. Actually this seems to be the most logical conclusion to me. If this is the case, I would suspect the developer needs to remedy this situation. As well the local authority that is in control of building ordinances would surely be interested. They require setbacks and such that would make this illegal, especially in a new construction.
I think you need to get yourself to a RE attorney ASAP. and maybe start looking for another house.

ENASNI said:

Did you have a good Anzak day?

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I though Anzak day is the 25th.

Does this mean you are an Aussie or a Kiwi?

justalayman said:

I though Anzak day is the 25th.

Does this mean you are an Aussie or a Kiwi?

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Oops got trying to be witty again, I Hate when that happens. Nope Irish origins...
At my work I never know what day it is... I will not explain.. and you do not want to hear it.

I just wanted to throw something back at ya, Pal.. Have a good night.

( Ps I hope you helped the Op or that HG or SJ will pick up on this, it is toooooo much for me, it should be straightforward, yes?) But then we would not have these high paying jobs on Freeadvice .com... Poor OP....