Adverse Possession or Buy out Neighbor's 'pole' of a "flag lot"

[sunburntcanuck]

Pinal County, AZ
My neighbor and I have been under the impression for 20 years that the water lines to the 2 houses behind our lots were under an easement for utilities and have for 20 and 15 yrs. respectively used the land as our own with fences, driveways, bushes and trees and storage continuously on the 'easement'. Suddenly 1 of the neighbors behind us decided to get together with the other neighbor beside him and wants to "bulldoze" everything on the land. Both houses behind us are apparently on 'flag lots' however they have ingress/egress from 2 other streets and have never used this property in ANY way, walked on it or indicated to us that they owned it. The neighbor beside us has started an "adverse possession" claim to protect her fences etc. We were going to wait to see what happened and then file one ourselves but now the neighbor behind us has ramped up our interest by trying to give us a document "permitting" us to use the land, which we have refused to sign. Since we have been 'openly and notoriously" occupying the land for 15 yr and they have ingress/egress from other streets would this be the best way to proceed or is there a mechanism whereby we can buy the property from our neighbor and save the court costs and at the same time have a 'utility easement' established to protect the water lines going to the lots behind. Looking for an inexpensive 'win/win' solution or not, depending on legal input.

 

[Zigner]

Your matter is too complex for an internet forum. You will want to speak with an attorney.

 

[quincy]

Pinal County, AZ
My neighbor and I have been under the impression for 20 years that the water lines to the 2 houses behind our lots were under an easement for utilities and have for 20 and 15 yrs. respectively used the land as our own with fences, driveways, bushes and trees and storage continuously on the 'easement'. Suddenly 1 of the neighbors behind us decided to get together with the other neighbor beside him and wants to "bulldoze" everything on the land. Both houses behind us are apparently on 'flag lots' however they have ingress/egress from 2 other streets and have never used this property in ANY way, walked on it or indicated to us that they owned it. The neighbor beside us has started an "adverse possession" claim to protect her fences etc. We were going to wait to see what happened and then file one ourselves but now the neighbor behind us has ramped up our interest by trying to give us a document "permitting" us to use the land, which we have refused to sign. Since we have been 'openly and notoriously" occupying the land for 15 yr and they have ingress/egress from other streets would this be the best way to proceed or is there a mechanism whereby we can buy the property from our neighbor and save the court costs and at the same time have a 'utility easement' established to protect the water lines going to the lots behind. Looking for an inexpensive 'win/win' solution or not, depending on legal input.

I agree with Zigner that you will want to consult with an attorney in Arizona.

My opinion is that your next door neighbor could be approaching the matter in a smart way by starting an adverse possession claim, if they already have confirmed the "easement" is not government property. And I think you were smart to not sign any document from your other neighbors that grant you "use" of the property that they are now claiming as belonging to them.

 

[FarmerJ]

Do you have a survey that shows exactly where the lot line is for your own records ?

 

[quincy]

Do you have a survey that shows exactly where the lot line is for your own records ?

Rather than a survey, it is better for an adverse possession claimant to invest in an aerial photo of the property and rely on old photos and witnesses to show 10 years of continued use. The defendant-neighbor will have a survey.