Law and Mortar: Real Estate Stories from the Trenches -- Property Lines

You buy a house.  You settle in.  You spend years on the front porch gazing upon beautiful sunrises, sipping on fresh lemonade.  Then one day it happens… your neighbor makes a rude comment about how the condition of your lawn is ruining everyone’s curb appeal, or the fact that you are playing your 80’s hair-band music too loud on Saturday nights.  What was once an average insult between neighbors somehow blossoms into full-on war.  Next, you are complaining that his fruit is falling into your yard and killing your grass. He says your fence is encroaching on his land.  And that’s when he filed a lawsuit against you.

Thor Roundy, of EVN Law, has been practicing Real Estate Law for over 20 years, and he has seen his share of real estate battles. One of the most common problems? Property lines and battles over them--battles that can be very costly for both parties.

He describes a situation where one of his clients had been living in a home for 16 years, using a road that his client understood was his “right-of-way” to use.  It was the only access to his house.  It took him from the main road that ended at the corner of his property, across the front yard of his 5-acre horse property, to his driveway.  Then, one day, he had a squabble with his neighbor over something trivial, and the real estate war began…

“It ended up costing both sides around $30,000 in litigation fees. It was a hard lesson for both parties to learn. In the end, the Title Company ended up paying to fix the situation on behalf of the buyer, but it was a lot of time and stress for everyone involved. And it doesn’t always turn out that well. It is so much better to watch out for that kind of issue during the Buyer Due Diligence period.”

Your real estate agent should review your title commitment with you.  It should contain a plat map that should be looked over carefully, especially when easements are involved. And if there is any doubt, you should talk to a lawyer to be sure.

If you have questions you would like Thor to address in future blogs, send them to me at Stefanie@CharmingUtahHomes.com. And to reach him for your real estate needs, you can reach him by email at Thor.Roundy@EVNLaw.com.