Current Events > Should I be reimbursed in this situation?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I decided to put up a new fence and build a small apartment on the far side of my property. Turns out the space that I thought was mine belongs to this guy who lives on the other side of the woods and creek behind my house. He actually owns the entire field between about 20 houses surrounding the creek, something that a lot of my neighbors were unaware of as well. There was an error or some shenanigans going on for us all to be misled about our property lines.

Anyway, I checked with the city and his claim is accurate. I am willing to concede the land but the thing is, due to compulsion by the city (including a fine), I've been maintaining that for 6 years now. It's only a half acre of land but it is dense with vegetation that gets really overgrown. It greatly contributes to the mosquito problem and we had a West Nile problem in the past, so the city doesn't fuck around on it. It is far more than I can take care of by myself, so I've had to hire landscaping crews to maintain it. I've spent about $5000 total over the years and the fine was $250.

This guy, knowing that it is his land and his responsibility, has been letting me maintain it but the second I try to do anything with it, he gets all uppity. If it's his land, so be it, but I want to be reimbursed. He's saying that he shouldn't have to do that and is refusing to since I accepted responsibility for it when I paid the fine to the city and I have nothing to blame but my own ignorance.

I haven't talked to a lawyer yet but I definitely plan to take him to court. My stepdad (not any kind of legal professional) thinks I should make a challenge to the land rights but I don't really feel like getting into all of that. I just want to be reimbursed for having to take care of another person's responsibility.
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If someone was taking care of my lawn I wouldn't stop them
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InstaReturns posted...

If someone was taking care of my lawn I wouldn't stop them

It's not just a lawn. It's a lot of work to just stand by and be like "oopsy, oh well" then be a bitch when someone wants to do something with the land.
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You chose to maintain it of your own free will, no-one tricked you into it. You're getting nothing. Sorry dude.

Can you prove in a court of law that he knew you were maintaining it?
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I would contest the property lines if not maintaining that part causes problems to you (the mosquito problem ), I am sure you can hit him with something.
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you were "compelled with a fine" because the city thought you owned the land when in reality it was his?

all maintenance including fine should be on his dime or at the very least, the city's because of their own ignorance.

worth taking to court over definitely.
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RussianLegSweep posted...

I accepted responsibility for it when I paid the fine to the city and I have nothing to blame but my own ignorance.

The better question here is why the city, who should have all of the correct property lines on file and apparently do since they sided with him on his complaint about you building on it, decided to fine you for lack of maintenance in the first place?

Even if the guy won't reimburse you for the costs, the city should.
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Yeah if the city fined you and pushed you to maintain that land without even knowing where the property line was themselves you should be able to get that money back I think
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InstaReturns posted...

If someone was taking care of my lawn I wouldn't stop them

You better. You could end up losing it to adverse possession.
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How long have you been dealing with this? You might be able to claim he abandoned the property and that it should be yours now. A lawyer can tell you more about how/if that applies where you live, but a number of states have "squatter's rights" laws
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Not for six years.

If it had been 12 or so years, then you might have something.
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SomeLikeItHoth posted...

Can you prove in a court of law that he knew you were maintaining it?

I can prove that he wasn't maintaining it but knew someone was and I can prove that I maintained it. Some of my neighbors are having the same problem with him as well, so maybe one of them has something better.

Squidkids posted...

I would contest the property lines if not maintaining that part causes problems to you (the mosquito problem ), I am sure you can hit him with something.

If it comes down to it, I will but bare minimum I want to be paid for the landscaping.

AsucaHayashi posted...

you were "compelled with a fine" because the city thought you owned the land when in reality it was his?

all maintenance including fine should be on his dime or at the very least, the city's because of their own ignorance.

worth taking to court over definitely.

Aristoph posted...

The better question here is why the city, who should have all of the correct property lines on file and apparently do since they sided with him on his complaint about you building on it, decided to fine you for lack of maintenance in the first place?

Even if the guy won't reimburse you for the costs, the city should.

A third party organization monitors the creek area in conjunction with our neighboring city (we're right on the city limits and they have control of the water ways coming from their city for like a mile into my city), so they might not be privy to the property lines and just report what makes sense based on the address, even though it's wrong. Why my city doesn't make sure is another question and I will be taking up a separate issue with them for the fine and not knowing that.

fire_bolt posted...

How long have you been dealing with this? You might be able to claim he abandoned the property and that it should be yours now. A lawyer can tell you more about how/if that applies where you live, but a number of states have "squatter's rights" laws

I don't think I have a case for that.

This whole problem started Thursday, so I'm still just trying to get the facts on everything. Definitely talking to a lawyer tomorrow though.
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No. You did this all on your own. Whether he let you knowingly do it is irrelevant. It was your mistake

Depending on where you live, the law may give you a legal claim to the land since you've been maintaining it - by government force, to boot.

That being said, anyone doing major additions to their property without confirming property lines first is just begging for trouble.
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ArchiePeck posted...

You chose to maintain it of your own free will, no-one tricked you into it. You're getting nothing. Sorry dude.

Not necessarily. If he complied with the elements of adverse possession in regards to his state he may have a legal claim to the land.

Adverse Possession can be tricky. Some states require good faith; (honestly believe a rightful claim to the land) some, oddly, require bad faith claims; and some don't care if it was good or bad faith.

There will be a statute of limitations before you can claim adverse possession. It could be anywhere from 7 years to 20 years. Although you just recently purchased the property it's not going to be an issue. Tacking is permitted in adverse possession. Tacking is when the previous owner used the land in a way that the rightful owner would, and then passed the land on to another buyer (TC) who now used the land in a way that the owner would.
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I must have misread that you were compelled by a fine to maintain that part of the property, that seems like at least some kind of case, against the city at the very least
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RussianLegSweep posted...

This guy, knowing that it is his land and his responsibility, has been letting me maintain it but the second I try to do anything with it, he gets all uppity.

There's your case right there, unjust enrichment. He didn't mind what is ostensibly trespassing when you were maintaining at your own cost under the impression that it was your responsibility but as soon as you attempted to develop/re-purpose the land then he made his ownership clear. There is a burden on you to check and maintain your own boundary but her clearly knew where the line was if he popped up as soon as you started fencing etc.
You could argue for them to either sign over the land as a settlement (as it's clearly not crucial to any sentimental or commercial interests) or for reimbursement of anything spent in maintenance but not both.
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