Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Maryland
property law
My grandfather received an offer on a peice of property that he's owned for many years on Solomon's Island, MD. No one in the family visits the property or maintains the groudns. The offer was for a small sum and was declined. My grandfather was told that if the prospective buyer put something on the property and maintained the grounds he would be able to claim rights to it. The property taxes have been paid in full. Is there a way that the property could be taken from him?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: property law
There is a legal doctrine known as adverse possession, which states that if someone takes possession of your property and occupies it for 20 years, treating it like his own, he can claim legal title to the property. To avoid this, the legal owner must treat the would be possessor as a trespasser and evict him, or retake possession by barring the person from reentering.
Re: property law
You're referring to adverse possession. Periodic visits to the property, ejecting interlopers and posting signs would probably be enough to protect the owner's rights
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