Jim Yanik wrote:
Karl S wrote in
:


On Wed, 1 Nov 2006 16:48:06 -0800, Patches Forever wrote:


I have a fence that encircles my property and (I believe) it is built
6 inches inside of my property line. A few years ago one of my
neighbors poured a concrete walk right up against the fence, i.e. it
is 6 inches over the line. I never said anything because it doesn't
cause me a problem, however he is now going to sell his house and I
think he should cut the walkway back to his edge of the line (at
least) before he sells. I haven't talked to him about it yet but I
will be doing so soon. I may need to get a surveyor to establish the
property line. Then, if my neighbor won't cut his walkway back I may
have to take him to court. Does any one here have any
suggestions?

Bill S.

You said "it doesn't cause me a problem," so why worry about it and go
through the expense of getting a surveyor?


Because after some period of time,it allows the neighbor to claim that
piece of property as THEIRS,and reducing the value of your property in the
process.

No, it doesn't. Before you start practicing law, gt an education.


There are multiple elements to a claim for adverse possession. To
establish adverse possession, the one claiming the property must show
that the possession was open, notorious, hostile adverse, and continuous


Open means that it occurs 24 hours a day in public. In other words,
if you put a portable shed on my property each night between midnight
and 2:00 am, your are sneaking on and sneaking off. Doesn't cut the
mustard. Your use of my property has to be readily observable to me as
the real owner.

Notorious parallels open. Your use of my property must be known to the
public at large.


Hostile or adverse means that your use of my property must be without my
permission of license. In your scenario, you have known of the use and
generously permitted it. Your neighbor or his successor will always
fail this prong of the adverse possession test. If you really want to
ice the cake, cheaply, send your neighbor a certified mail letter, with
return receipt, giving him written permission and a revocable, no fee
license to use the 6 inch strip for his concrete. His use of the strip
will never, within the requirements for adverse possession, be
"hostile". Term your permission a revocable no fee license and you
preserve your right, and your sucessor's to be an asshole and
unilaterally demand th removal of the concrete from the strip. It
sounds like being an asshole is important to you, so you do want to
preserve your potential to be an asshole.

Continuous means that the use by your neighbor has to uinterrupted for
a term of ears. At common law it was 20 year. That means 24/7/365 for
20 years. Your neighbor comes nowhere close.