Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Illinois

The answer to your dilemma can be found on the survey of the property that you received when you purchased it. It is one of the required closing documents and your attorney would have asked for it from the buyer.

If you don't have a copy, contact the attorney who represented you when you bought the property if he has a copy in his files. If that doesn't work, the township assessor would also have a record.

Once you obtain the survey, you might want to consult with your former real estate attorney or someone else to see what your rights are regarding your neighbor's potential intrusion onto your land. If it goes on long enough and you allow it, she may end up with rights to the property.

Good luck to you.

That problem should have been taken care of by title insurance. I can't imagine a lender lending money and not demanding title insurance. Did you pay cash??? Still, find your closing documents - there should - must? - be a survey. See what that shows. If She doesn't accept that go to the title insurance company and insist that they do what you paid them to do.

Have a lawyer send a cease and desist letter. If that doesn't work, you ma yneed to file suit to clear title for that 5 feet. I agree that you need to notify your title company asap but also hire counsel asap.

I'll bet you dollars to donuts that you were not represented by competent real estate counsel. Nevertheless, you should locate your plat of survey and title insurance policy that was issued prior to, at, or shortly after the closing, and make an appointment with a real estate lawyer sooner than later.

O boy. I see you're downstate, and don't know if you had an attorney help you out. If you did you should go back to him/her. You should have been given a "current" survey but it depends on what your contract said -- current means 6 months prior to close at least here in Cook County. If you got an attorney abstract of title you may have a claim unless the survey shows the problem and it was not objected to. Same or similar if you received a title insurance policy. But if YOUR house has been on HER lot since 1980 YOU may have a claim for adverse possession against her and would need to file a lawsuit to "quiet title" and gain her land to be yours. You really ought to see a lawyer whether you sue or not because the next buyer may not be as willing to accept the situation as you did and that could screw you up then. Then again there may be facts you don't know or didn't include: maybe in your subdivision lots were small and to build you needed more than 1 lot and the question is on whose lot your house was built!!! That was a typical builder "trick" so the original buyer needed to buy 2 or more lots in order to build and the price of each was a tick higher than if only 1 lot was needed!!! Gook luck.