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ziamaria
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Member since 4/07 3372 total posts
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Update - Property lines
Update: Thanks for all of your responses...I contacted my lawyer who swore that he told me. I told him that there is no way we would have agreed to buy the house had we known we were loosing essentially 500 sq. ft of usable space. He said he'd get back to me and still hasn't. So I contacted another lawyer who said that I don't have any recourse b/c it was stated in the survey exceptions page on the title insurance (never was given this document until after closing). So I'm SOL and waiting for a response from the board to see if we will get the fence on our true property line. I guess some fenced yard is better than no fenced yard. :/
Lesson learned...if we ever purchase another home, I'm requesting all of the papers prior to closing so that I can read them before being asked to sign at a table with 7 people. :/
We're applying for a variance and have just been notified that the fence we want to replace is actually 5 ft north of our property line....we closed nearly 2 years ago and no one ever mentioned that our corner property did not include all of the land to the corner.
What if any recourse is there? Was it the responsibility of the town, lawyer, broker? So confused and irritated. Any help is appreciated!
Message edited 7/9/2015 7:56:42 AM.
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Posted 7/7/15 8:47 AM  |
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GoldenRod
10 years on LIF!
Member since 11/06 26792 total posts
Name:
Shawn
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Re: Property lines
Who owns that 5' of property? Is it the town's?
Is the property the 5' along the street/curb, or is it not along a street edge?
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| Posted 7/7/15 9:33 AM |
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ziamaria
I love this boy!
Member since 4/07 3372 total posts
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Re: Property lines
We assume the town..It is 1 foot away from the concrete currently and they're saying that it should be 6.2 feet away. :/
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| Posted 7/7/15 9:36 AM |
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NYCGirl80
I love my kiddies!
Member since 5/11 10413 total posts
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Re: Property lines
You need to get the survey map of your property. Your lawyer should have it, if it's not in your closing papers.
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| Posted 7/7/15 9:52 AM |
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ziamaria
I love this boy!
Member since 4/07 3372 total posts
Name:
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Re: Property lines
I have the survey map and it shows the preexisting fence past the dark black line which they are saying is my property line...it doesn't make any sense though, b/c we are a corner property. Who is responsible for mowing the remaining feet of lawn f we remove the current fence and place the new fence on the black line they're talking about?
It was never mentioned at closing that our existing fence is on property that does not belong to us.
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| Posted 7/7/15 10:03 AM |
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GoldenRod
10 years on LIF!
Member since 11/06 26792 total posts
Name:
Shawn
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Re: Property lines
Sounds like a typical property line. The town owns the first couple of feet (to put sidewalks, fire hydrants, telephone poles/lines, etc.
However, the homeowner is responsible for cutting the grass, and shoveling the sidewalks (if there are any).
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| Posted 7/7/15 10:14 AM |
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ave1024
I Took The Wrong Road
Member since 12/07 6153 total posts
Name:
That Led To The Wrong Tendencies
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Re: Property lines
Posted by ziamaria
We're applying for a variance and have just been notified that the fence we want to replace is actually 5 ft north of our property line....we closed nearly 2 years ago and no one ever mentioned that our corner property did not include all of the land to the corner.
What if any recourse is there? Was it the responsibility of the town, lawyer, broker? So confused and irritated. Any help is appreciated!
You typically cannot install a fence right along a sidewalk on a corner property. At least not legally.
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| Posted 7/7/15 11:51 AM |
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RainyDay
LIF Adult
Member since 6/15 3990 total posts
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Property lines
There is no recourse if the property you are talking about is along a street. There is a set number of feet from the curb/street that belongs to the town.
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| Posted 7/7/15 6:36 PM |
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ziamaria
I love this boy!
Member since 4/07 3372 total posts
Name:
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Re: Property lines
The current fence is almost 2 feet away from the cement...they're saying that our property line is 5.2 feet closer than the fence is along the length of our house.
I would assume that the selling broker and our lawyer should have had knowledge about this to inform us prior to closing since we were lead to believe that the enclosed area was our land and now there is roughly 500sq feet of yard that is not ours.
That means 500sq feet that may or may not have been taxed, has been maintained by us and used by us.
:/
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| Posted 7/7/15 11:12 PM |
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Re: Property lines
In my township corner properties have different set backs. If you have want to put a fence it has 20 feet from the street or 10 ft. from the side walk. That doesn't mean that, that area isn't mine.
I think in your case, the previous homeowners just put up a fence. That property is still yours , you just have to move the fence. A fence doesn't determine how much taxes you pay.
Message edited 7/8/2015 8:05:13 AM.
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| Posted 7/8/15 8:02 AM |
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Re: Property lines
Posted by ave1024
Posted by ziamaria
We're applying for a variance and have just been notified that the fence we want to replace is actually 5 ft north of our property line....we closed nearly 2 years ago and no one ever mentioned that our corner property did not include all of the land to the corner.
What if any recourse is there? Was it the responsibility of the town, lawyer, broker? So confused and irritated. Any help is appreciated!
You typically cannot install a fence right along a sidewalk on a corner property. At least not legally.
It depends on the town. In my town corner houses can have a fence on the sidewalk as long as it's a certain distance from the corner.
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| Posted 7/8/15 8:46 AM |
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Re: Property lines
You may want to see if there is an existing variance for the location of the fence. We are a corner lot and replaced a seriously broke down fence and our town gave us the whole spiel too that it was too close to sidewalk. But lo and behold, after some searching, there was an old variance that allowed us to keep it in that location as long as we maintained bushes on the street-side of the fence. We too were going to lose about 4 or 5 feet so I was pretty happy to find this out. Perhaps you can do some digging and see how the previous owner was able to get their fence in that location to begin with or if you can be grandfathered in. Good luck!
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| Posted 7/8/15 9:20 AM |
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Re: Update - Property lines
I would go down to the township and find out from directly from them what is going on. These lawyers don't know much and chances are they will call.
In our town the zoning board would help with that . They will also have the survey on file and any variances that may have been filed.
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| Posted 7/9/15 8:11 AM |
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ziamaria
I love this boy!
Member since 4/07 3372 total posts
Name:
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Re: Update - Property lines
I went to the town and they gave me my file...I saw the original survey which showed the lines go up to the sidewalk...the problem is that the footage from house to sidewalk is correct on both ~15 feet, yet there's more than 21 feet of yard space so that is where the discrepancy lies. :/
At this point, we'll be happy to be approved for the fence, regardless of where it is.
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| Posted 7/10/15 7:08 AM |
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Mtk1605
LIF Toddler
Member since 12/11 460 total posts
Name:
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Update - Property lines
If you can prove the fence was there for 7+ years you can claim adverse possession.... It's a legal process but I had a client do it and he won!
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| Posted 7/12/15 11:18 PM |
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ziamaria
I love this boy!
Member since 4/07 3372 total posts
Name:
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Re: Update - Property lines
Really? I didn't know that. I can look up old photos on google earth to prove it, I guess. I know it's been up for a LONG time due to its condition...THANK YOU!
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| Posted 7/13/15 7:41 AM |
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ave1024
I Took The Wrong Road
Member since 12/07 6153 total posts
Name:
That Led To The Wrong Tendencies
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Re: Update - Property lines
Posted by Mtk1605
If you can prove the fence was there for 7+ years you can claim adverse possession.... It's a legal process but I had a client do it and he won!
Adverse possession in NY State is 10 years, not 7.
Also adverse possession claims are usually done against other neighbors/homeowners. The OP's issue is she cannot build the fence on a spot that is controlled by the town. She would be violating building codes building there without getting a variance. I believe you cannot try to claim property controlled by the town as your own.
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| Posted 7/15/15 4:32 PM |
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