Shifting boundry lines

[notsmartmark]

WA

My housing development consists of about 45 homes with a few empty lots. It was developed in 1972ish. In 1996 some of the empty lots had timber that was logged. The empty lots were owned by the guy who developed the development. He had the boundary lines re-shot at that time. The lines moved a few feet.

In 2005ish a house was built, and the owner wants to build a fence. The fence will require our neighbor to tear down her woodshed. The woodshed was on her property prior to the boundary lines being re-shot. She has lived here since 1974 and had maintained the land that she thought she owned since moving into her house.

Who would win this case of the moving boundary lines?

By the way, I know of at least one home that was moved off of her property with the changing lines. She was next to an empty lot, and the developer had her lines re-drawn. I'm assuming a number of homes are not on their property. Our carport is now not on our property. Happily, we have an empty lot next to us. Also, most of the owner are not aware of the lines moving.

 

[lizjimbo]

Confusing Post

Usually a subdivision of that recent of a nature is done by what is called a simultaneous conveyance. In other words a large tract of land is divided into separate lots and they are all recorded as part of one plat at the same moment. Each boundary line subsequent to the recordation of the plat is in a fixed geophysical position relative to the original tract corner. In order to prevail you would need to show that the developer redivided the lines, between the lots he still owned, that were contiguous to a lot he had sold, without the consent of the owners of the adjacent lot. This can easily be proved out by hiring a surveyor to determine where the lines are established presently (the recorded plat) as opposed to where you say the developer has moved them.

Boundary lines are fixed forever or until the contiguous land owners consent to a new line being placed, and then it would usually require the governing juristiction to approve of any modification of the original and recorded subdivision.