On May 16, 1:18 am, Tim Smith wrote:
In article GNv2i.7111$vu2.5936@trndny01,
"Ivan Vegvary" wrote:

After seven years (or some interval of time), adverse possession kicks in
and the land is yours.

WRONG!!
1) The possession has to be truly adverse. That is, both parties must know
about it, disagree about it, and disagree over a seven year period (or
whatever the statute of limitations in that state).

That sure doesn't fit in with my recollection from property classes in
law school, and a bit of Googling verifies that it is mostly wrong:

http://www.lectlaw.com/files/lat06.htm

2) The adverse possessor also has to pay the taxes for the same duration
(seven years).

Only true in some states.

--
--Tim Smith


LOL. Yes, I've never heard that there was any requirement for both
parties in an adverse possession to know about it and continously
disagree about it. AFAIK, the possessor has to make use of the
property as if it were his own, ie maintaining it, or occupying it,
and it has to be obvious to anyone that cared to look. But, I've
never heard of any reqt of direct contact. In fact, in the typical
adverse possession case, the parties are not in contact, because if
they were, there are simple legal steps the owner could take to
prevent the adverse possession. Therefore, the most common thing is
for the parties to not have contact.

Now this is a good example of why telling a newbie that he should go
about buying a piece of his neighbor's land without a lawyer is bad
advice. A lawyer knows the law, has experience doing these
transactions and is there to protect your interests and make sure you
don't get screwed.