Real Estate Question...

[da3dalus]

My family owns some land in Missouri. There is a house and land that borders our property that has been deserted since the late 1940's. I mean, deserted. As far as we know there were health complications and both people died and there was no family that it was passed onto.

I think i vaguely remember hearing about a real estate statute that went something like if you were to stake off a perimeter around property and it wasn't disputed, taken down, claimed, etc. for 3 years that it could be claimed as your own and ownership could be transferred to you.

Is this actually true? We already upkeep around the place anyway mowing fields, etc just because we don't want to have to look at a rundown place everytime we drive into our place. I was thinking about putting barbed wire around the place and trying to do this so we could at least take ownership of the land.

Anyone know the discrepancies of this and if its true or not?

I tried searching google but couldn't turn up anything. Thanks in advance!

 

[sahtt]

Not sure about in your state, but I am familiar with the laws in Texas. There are various homestead acts here, including the more famous one where if you hide well enough in the woods for long enough with some sort of designated perimeter for long enough, the property is yours!

I'd just get some TNT and level the place if I were you and say a storm did it.

 

[Searchin4acoupe]

I'm also in MO. My Dad is dealing with a very similar situation right now, only he's on the other side of it from you. The property was owned by his (now deceased) parents and is farm rental property. The dispute is over 2.x acres, most of it wooded river bank, and some of it tillable cropland. The neighbor claims he now owns it because he has been "caring for the property for x amount of time. Basically he's been planting corn on our property and we never stopped him. I believe our neighbor's case would be a slam dunk if he were only trying to take ownership of the tillable ground, but he's also trying to take the wooded area that nobody really has to "care" for. I believe the term is adverse possession. I'm no lawyer, but from what I've seen, if you can show that you have been maintaining a piece of property long enough, then you can eventually take possession.

 

[pvmike]

Adverse Possession.

Missouri: http://aglaw.missouri.edu/adverse_possession.htm

 

[exNSXer]

Adverse Possession.

Missouri: http://aglaw.missouri.edu/adverse_possession.htm

Exactly what PVMIKE said, adverse possesion is the legal term your looking for. Also, might be worth looking into the timing (statute of limitations) requirements for adverse possession, different depending on state/jurisdiction.

 

[da3dalus]

Thanks guys!

 

[eddiensx]

I know in many states, if you pay the property taxes for 5 years, you can then make a claim of ownership. Take a look at that angle as well.

 

[sahtt]

I know in many states, if you pay the property taxes for 5 years, you can then make a claim of ownership. Take a look at that angle as well.

Now THAT'S what the state wants to here.

 

[isellpower]

The people died, they didn't pay taxes, the property went to auction, someone else bought it for back taxes.

 

[White92]

I know in many states, if you pay the property taxes for 5 years, you can then make a claim of ownership. Take a look at that angle as well.

Same thing here, but I think it's 7 years.

 

[steveny]

I know in many states, if you pay the property taxes for 5 years, you can then make a claim of ownership. Take a look at that angle as well.

Where this is available at any time the owner of the property you paid tax on can pay you back WITHOUT interest thus putting an end to any claim you have.

I don't know if there is any truth to this but I have heard if you build a fence along where you think your property line is but the fence is actually more or less than where the actually property line is and no one contests the fence... the fence becomes the new property line.

However on a property I just bought there hadn't been a survey on the property since 1982 and the fence was in fact placed in the neighbors favor by the neighbor to the point were if the fence were put where it belonged the neighbor would not have a driveway and the addition they put on their house would be under one foot off the property line which is highly illegal (obviously they never got a proper permit to build the addition). SO...I had the title and abstract updated to give easement with condition that I could retract easement at any time for any reason I see fit. This makes for great neighbors. :biggrin:

 

[docjohn]

Buying new land today presents fewer variables than contesting old forgotten land because of gps.Our property lines are all gps localized on our deed.If you want to laugh try going down to your local recorder of deeds and see how older homesteads and farms are delineated.

 

[White92]

Could this be consider an easement? I remember something about how if you allow people to access your property on a certain area for 20 years, you can't tell them to stop using it anymore. Happens alot up here against the mountains. People own property and for many many years the public has been gaining access to trails through certain areas of the property. Nobody ever stopped them. Now the land is being developed into subdivisions, but they have to leave the trail access open.

 

[steveny]

Buying new land today presents fewer variables than contesting old forgotten land because of gps.Our property lines are all gps localized on our deed.If you want to laugh try going down to your local recorder of deeds and see how older homesteads and farms are delineated.

Do you mean, big oak tree in the south west corner, 40 rods from a fresh water spring in the north corner, which is 75 paces from an iron post? :biggrin: