Adverse Possession is one of those terms we learn early on in our real estate career. You're guaranteed to see it as one of the multiple choice questions on your license exam, along with riparian rights and appurtenances.
It's always interesting to me how these terms can take on a whole new meaning when, as licensed real estate professionals, we actually encounter them in the real world.
If you want to know more about what constitutes Adverse possession, then simply click through to the rest of the article at SOUNDBITEBLOG (opens up into a separate window)
another quality article from Sparky of SoundBiteBlog
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Excellent information. Very similar to Squatters Rights ...Yes?
We've got a listing now that brought up if prescriptive easement applies to federal forest service land. It doesn't, but it too, like adverse possession, has been physical, mental and temporal... for 27 years. We did the exercise to find out if prescription applied, first because it's our job, and secondly to see if we could lead with the benefits of the easement in our marketing. We had to leave it out.
The research though was one of those things we do to learn something new, which is always a fun, good thing to do. Thanks for your thoughts here.
I was selling a piece of property last summer and the owner said the rights were well into the water, but that did not have anything to do with adverse possession. Wow, some people will do anything go get a piece of property.
Susan - it's farily common here for waterfront property owners to also own a portion of the tidelands going out from the shore. Is that what your owner's were referring to?
Gary - experience is usually the best teacher, especially in these kind of issues. I'm still waiting for a riparian rights issue to come up!
Mariana - actually, I beleive that was the pre-cursor to Adverse possession. Seems to me I read that somewhere once before...
Rich
I don't like Adverse Possession any more than I like Eminent Domain. I think both are a rip off on the property owner. It would have to be something that was so important to the community and there was no other way and no other land, before I would approve. This article just explained why. Not to mention that there is nothing more deadly than a crooked lawyer. :/
Roberta - I'm not a big fan of AP or ID either, but there are rare occassions when both parties are fairly ignorant and unaware, and it makes some measure of sense. But that's very rare....
Rich
You are absolutely right. Those cases are rare. I know as Americans we have so many privileges that are non existent in other countries, but when a person pays fair market value and lives or works for their entire life, it just doesn't seem fair in any circumstance. Just my humble opinion. :) Not to mention some creep coming along and using the law to steel from someone....oh that's just wrong!
Roberta - I totally agree. It's clearly abused much more than it is used fairly or legitimately. I think the timeframes should be extended to at least 20 years in all states, but that's just MHO.
A few years ago a teenage boy was causing trouble in the neighborhood. Police were notified. Everyone had watched him and knew he lived with his dad in a ramshackle house with boarded up windows. They even moved the lawn. When the police checked it out, the house was officially vacant and owned by a medical conglomerate with a nursing home on the other side that they had shut down. They were squatters. No clue if the utilities were on, do not want to go there. It is now gone.