When does adverse possession apply?
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When does adverse possession apply?
My neighbor moved into his home in September 2002. We moved into our home October 2002. There was an old rotten broken-down fence that separated our backyards. In 2008 we decided for safety of our little girls to replace the rotten fence with a new vinyl fence. We asked our neighbor if he’d be willing to split the cost and he said No. We went ahead with the construction after agreeing with him to put the new vinyl fence in the existing old wood fence holes. 10 years go by with no complaints or concerns from him. Just this week, he comes to my door and says we put up the vinyl fence on his property and he is going to get it surveyed and we may have to tear it down. I have photos of the existing wood fence and even photos from when we moved in that show existing wood fence. When those photos are compared to the photos of the new vinyl fence it is obvious they are in the same spot. If for whatever reason the survey comes back showing the fence on 1 foot of his
property, hasn’t the land been
Asked on June 11, 2018 under Real Estate Law, Oregon
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
Based on what you write, you may have a claim for adverse possession: you can acquire land by adverse possession in your state (OR) if you openly and notoriously (so obviously, so that the other land owner can see what you did and respond to it, if he chooses--like when there is a fence on "his" land), actually (so you have done it, not just talked about doing it), continuously (without interruption), exclusively (not letting others, including the land owner you'd be asserting a claim against, use the land--for example, you fenced it off), and hostilely (not "angrily" but "hostile" to or opposed to his interests--such as by carving off some of his land) occupied the land for 10 years (you are right on the cusp for the new fence, but prior to that, occupied with with the old fence). Based on what you write, you seem as if you may well have fulfilled the criteria for adverse possession.
You also do nt need to take his assertion about the property borders or boundaries at face value--it is entirely possible he is wrong and it is your land anyway.
So there are two different ways you may have or be able to get ownership of the land. Consult with a real estate attorney to explore the best way to proceed.
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