ONE OF MY CLIENTS, WHO WE’LL CALL John, was telling me about a problem he was having with his neighbor, who we’ll call Bill. The problem was in regards to a property line. Bill had a land survey done and the surveyor said John’s fence was encroaching on his property. Bill was worried about adverse possession.
About.com defines adverse possession, “The laws of adverse possession allow a person to obtain title to land by simply using the land for a period of time specified by state and federal laws.” A common example of adverse possession is with fence placement. If your neighbor places a fence on your property and you do nothing, after a set amount of time, your neighbor could lay claim to that land.
However, in California, before anyone can claim your land through adverse possession they must meet the following three criteria: • The property in question must be used for a minimum of five years, continuously and uninterrupted. • The land must be used openly and notoriously and considered to be a hostile use to the true owner, without permission. • Property taxes must be paid and improvements must be made to the land within the statutory period.
After Bill told John about the fence, John hired his own surveyor, but discovered that land surveying is more of an art than a science. Which means two surveyors could come up with slightly different property lines. This is similar to two appraisers valuing a property for slightly different amounts.
John said he could have taken a couple courses of action. He and Bill could hire attorneys and either mediate the situation or take it to court. Alternatively, the both of them could come to a resolution together without any attorneys. The latter was cheap-er and in the end, depending on your neighbor, is usually the better course of action to take.
John and Bill decided to hire a third land surveyor. They agreed to take the median property line from the three surveys and mark it as the official property line between their properties. After reviewing the three land surveys, it was agreed that the fence was encroaching on Bill’s property line. However, the encroachment was nominal, approximately two inches. John decided that he was going to buy the property from Bill. Instead of hiring an appraiser, John and Bill agreed on a price.
They went through escrow and had everything done officially. Luckily, John and Bill were friends before the incident, but this is the exception, not the rule. Many property line disputes go on for years as no one wants to give up land. If you have a property line dispute, talk to your neighbor first before hiring an attorney. A simple conversation could save you a lot of time and money.
MIKE HEAYN is a Washington Mutual multi-family loan consultant. He (310) 428-1342, or e-mailed at
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 16, 2008. Read the original PDF.