PROPERTY BOUNDARY CONFLICT What Should I Do?
AAA GROUP
Two neighbouring landowners may come into a disagreement over conflicting property boundaries for a variety of reasons. Why do land boundaries often conflict? The most common reason of boundary disputes is when two landowners claim the same area of property due to unclear legal descriptions. It’s possible that incorrect legal descriptions were prepared and recorded by personnel who lacked the necessary qualifications, such as laypeople with no surveying experience.
Many such incidents arose in the early days of the United States, especially when the land was granted by European government officials who had never visited North America and relied on incorrect maps. Furthermore, ancient land surveying methods, such as the metes and bounds system, relied on markers like trees that were likely to change over time. Based on today’s geographical facts, such depictions of the area can be difficult or impossible to understand.
Boundary conflicts can arise simply because legal boundaries were not checked before construction in some circumstances. This is why, before any structure is built, a land survey is required, especially if the location is thought to be close to a legal property line. Knowing where your property lines are can help you avoid future disputes. Of course, difficult neighbours may ignore surveys for their own reasons, but a property survey completed by a professional land surveyor is important evidence of the legal boundary.
A surveyor locates the property borders on the ground, as described in your deed, during a boundary survey. This should always be done before building anything that is likely to come close to the property border, such as a fence. If your surveyor’s interpretation of the boundary differs from your neighbor’s interpretation of the border, the surveyor should try to figure out why the differences exist and advise you on how to resolve them.
While a survey is necessary for negotiation or mediation, the courts are the only ones who may determine property ownership in the event of a disagreement. Qualified land surveyors can serve as expert witnesses in court to help resolve such disagreements. If you believe this could come to that, make sure you ask your land surveyor if he or she is willing and able to testify as an expert witness before hiring them to do your boundary survey.
For more information about boundary surveys in NYC, contact AAA Group. https://aaagrouponline.com/