Buying a new piece of land can be exciting, and once you find land to purchase, you want to make sure you have the option to use every inch of the property you paid for. As a result, you may decide to build a fence around your property to show everyone what’s yours. However, your neighbors may put a stop to your plan if they disagree with you on the boundaries of your property. The good news is that almost any property dispute can be resolved with the help of an attorney specializing in real estate law.
There are many options for dealing with a land/property boundary dispute. While you may have done a survey on your property when you first purchased your property, you may want to do a more current one to find out exactly where the boundaries are before building your fence.
However, if the property deed is too old, these boundaries may be difficult, if not impossible to determine. In such cases, you as the property owner can file a quiet title lawsuit for the judge to determine where the lines are. You may also be able to work out an agreement with the owners of the property surrounding your property, where everyone agrees to a fence and each property owner would sign a quitclaim deed granting the other owners ownership of the land beyond the agreed-upon boundaries.
Finally, if a property has been used by a non-property owner for a certain amount of time and the possession was a hostile claim, in which a trespasser had exclusive, continuous, open, and notorious possession of the property, without permission from the owner, the non-property owner may have adversely possessed the property. In such cases, the trespasser may be legally allowed to continue to stay on the land.
If you are involved in a property boundary dispute, an Oregon attorney in your area can advise you on next steps.