wrote:
RicodJour wrote:
wrote:
wrote:

It's there, it's grandfathered.

Not true. Nor is the previous advice to tear it down sound.

If the survey shows the fence and chicken coup are actually on your
property, you need to consult a real estate attorney. The biggest
issue are possible adverse possession or the obtainment of an easement
by the neighbor having had open access for a long enough time. In
addition to openly occupying your property for a very long period, like
15 years, for adverse possession to apply, he usually would also have
had to pay taxes on the property.

Not sure where you are, but the tax thing rings odd. If I paid your
property tax, it doesn't confer any of your land possession to me.

See below:

http://real-estate-law.freeadvice.co...possession.htm
"The length of time required for adverse possession in title varies -
it could be as short as a few years or could run for twenty years or
more. Typically public entities must establish a longer period of
possession than individuals. Some states have adopted a rule which
requires the adverse possessor to pay taxes each year on the land. "

That's an interesting twist on it. I wonder how that shakes out in the
real world. Say that the adverse possessor doesn't pay the taxes on
the disputed property, does that mean that the property owner
automatically keeps the land? Does it mean the property owner doesn't
have to pay taxes on it as it's someone else's responsibility? If the
encroaching owner doesn't pay, does the municipality file a tax lien
and sell the disputed property?

Also, even without adverse possession, paying someone elses taxes can
result in property possession. The classic case being when a town
sells tax liens on properties that have unpaid tax. At that point, the
person buying the lien pays the taxes and if the property owner doesn't
take action to pay the back taxes plus interest to the holder, after a
certain period, the holder of the tax lien can foreclose.

Paying unpaid taxes through a tax lien process is entirely different,
and entirely more likely, than someone selectively paying a small
portion of your taxes to cover the small amount of land occupied by the
encroachment. How would the encroaching owner know how much to pay?
How would the municipality know how to apportion the tax paid?

There aren't many questions that come up on this newsgroup that is so
convoluted that the only advice applicable is consult a local lawyer
knowledgeable in real estate law.

R