Preston Wright
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Minnesota
I Bought a 2.64 acre property with house in the city limits of Saint Paul MN in August of 2008. The house had been vacant in foreclosure since 2007 and I purchased directly from a bank. I had a proper title search and there were no apparent problems.
In June of 2009, bulldozers showed up to the bottom of my property and proceeded to knock down trees. I inquired about what was going on and they said it was a watershed project and that they had authorization from the city and county to clear a gully and that there was an extensive right-of-way for this purpose.
It did not show up on my title that there was any easement, but a bunch of google searching and I found the minutes of the city council and county watershed going back about five years discussing this project. Strangely, there was the final City council authorization of an easement and go ahead for project in March of 2009, 7 months after I took ownership.
I called the city council woman's office to ask why they had not consulted me. She claimed that they had permission from the foreclosed owner in June of 2007 in a signed document, even though the city never officially approved it and filed it for nearly 2 years.
My questions: can an owner's statement from 2 years ago be held as valid when they lost ownership to the bank, and then the property was sold to a new owner? Don't you have to file county property records for this to be valid? Does the city have a legal standing to override the current owner's wishes based on previous owners intentions if they didn't complete the necessary paperwork? Do I have any recourse that my property was devalued without compensation (this is a violation of the 5th amendment and Minnesota constitution).
Finally, do I take this to an appellate court if I never had an initial hearing or what am I supposed to do? I understand that fighting a watershed now is a lost cause, but aren't they required to compensate me for taking away the use of my land?
I Bought a 2.64 acre property with house in the city limits of Saint Paul MN in August of 2008. The house had been vacant in foreclosure since 2007 and I purchased directly from a bank. I had a proper title search and there were no apparent problems.
In June of 2009, bulldozers showed up to the bottom of my property and proceeded to knock down trees. I inquired about what was going on and they said it was a watershed project and that they had authorization from the city and county to clear a gully and that there was an extensive right-of-way for this purpose.
It did not show up on my title that there was any easement, but a bunch of google searching and I found the minutes of the city council and county watershed going back about five years discussing this project. Strangely, there was the final City council authorization of an easement and go ahead for project in March of 2009, 7 months after I took ownership.
I called the city council woman's office to ask why they had not consulted me. She claimed that they had permission from the foreclosed owner in June of 2007 in a signed document, even though the city never officially approved it and filed it for nearly 2 years.
My questions: can an owner's statement from 2 years ago be held as valid when they lost ownership to the bank, and then the property was sold to a new owner? Don't you have to file county property records for this to be valid? Does the city have a legal standing to override the current owner's wishes based on previous owners intentions if they didn't complete the necessary paperwork? Do I have any recourse that my property was devalued without compensation (this is a violation of the 5th amendment and Minnesota constitution).
Finally, do I take this to an appellate court if I never had an initial hearing or what am I supposed to do? I understand that fighting a watershed now is a lost cause, but aren't they required to compensate me for taking away the use of my land?