What Is Encroachment?
That tree that has grown on your property, the fence that seems about six inches over the line or that building that intrudes on your territory—these are all examples of property encroachment in Guadalupe County, TX, which can be a frustrating situation for all involved.
It’s important to note that while land surveyors can’t solve or identify problems of encroachment (that’s a legal term), they can help delineate the exact boundaries of your respective properties, which will allow lawyers to take it from there.
How do questions of property encroachment arise?
You might have heard encroachment referred to by other terms: overlap (which is when a building or other structure extends over a neighbor’s property line), gore (which is when inaccurate surveys leave behind an irregular tract of land—often triangular, but not always) and hiatus (where deeds show a common property line, but the survey monuments don’t support that).
How can land surveyors help?
The job of a land surveyor is to take the legal description of the property and title, then apply it to the land monuments in order to determine the exact physical boundaries of a piece of property. This will help you determine whether it is you or the neighbor encroaching upon the other’s property. Your land surveyor won’t make a legal determination as to whether someone is encroaching—they will simply provide the boundaries of the lot so that your lawyers can make a legal determination.
What will lawyers do?
After you get a land survey, you and your lawyers will be responsible for taking the next steps. You might first talk to your neighbor to see if you can settle the matter out of court, whether through removing or moving the encroaching structure, giving them written permission to use that part of the property or selling that piece of the property to them.
If your neighbor is not amenable to settling the matter out of court, your lawyer could potentially file a “quiet title” action (where you prove that you own the property and your neighbor is unlawfully using it), as well as an ejectment action. These have varying levels of success, so you’ll want to speak with a reputable property attorney before you decide which course of action to take. (It may also permanently damage your relationship with your neighbors, so depending on how much you value that, you’ll want to consider how that impacts your decision.)
Ultimately, talking to land surveyors is the first step in getting your property back—but it can be a longer process than you might expect.
Get a land survey for property encroachment purposes in Guadalupe County, TX
When you need a land survey to determine whether there’s encroachment on your property, trust the team at Bettersworth & Associates, Inc. We have been surveying and serving Guadalupe County since 1953, and our skilled team will be able to help. No matter the size and scope of your particular lot, we have the expertise to pull it off. Contact us today to get started on your individual land survey.
Categorised in: Property Dispute