Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Pennsylvania
Property Line
I've owned my property for 5 years. The neighbor has owned his for 7 years. Both properties have been surveyed and the property lines were well defined. The neighbor has suddenly moved the property line without any discussion with us. We just happened to notice(because we own 80 acres)recently. My husband asked him and he said he had it resurveyed and that the line moved. He could not show any documentation to prove he had it done. He called the police on us when we removed the stack because it was in our field which we have farmed for 5 years. Now suddenly an obvious straight boundary line has a sudden curve to it. Can they do this without our agreement? Now we will have to pay for someone to resurvey to prove him wrong. What if the line goes back to the original line, what can we do to stop this from happening again?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Property Line
This is a classic legal problem. When you purchased your property the deed described the property lines either by reference to blocks, etc. that are defined in other parts of the land records, or (more likely with a rural property) by "metes and bounds" with references to various landmarks.
You will need to have the description on your deed compared to the survey that was conducted at the time that you purchased your property --- note that the survey may need to be up-dated and recertified --- If your survey confirms your own impressions of the line, and you cannot convince your neighbor otherwise, you will have to hire an attorney and seek a court resolution of the dispute.
Please note that failure to address the issue can have negative consequences to your rights over the passage of time.
Lawrence R. Holzman, Esquire
Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A.
6404 Ivy Lane, Suite 400
Greenbelt, MD 20770
(301) 220-2200
fax (301) 220-1214
Disclaimer: Please note that the posting of this response is not intended to constitute legal advice. You should contact an attorney to obtain information applicable to your situation. This posting is not confidential or privileged and does not create an attorney/client relationship.
Re: Property Line
First of all, you should check the survey you should have received when you acquired the property, and also the legal description of your property in the deed. "Rural" property of this size usually has a "metes and bounds" description, meaning it will contain distances from certain points to other points covering the boundaries of the property. You may have to have your survey recertified to make sure it is accurate. If you can't convince your neighbor of the accuracy of your position, you may have to get a court determination of the proper boundaries.
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