Quite Interesting: My neighbor Sold My Land

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NoSmoke
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Post by NoSmoke » Fri. Mar. 27, 2020 2:19 pm

A surveyor in town was telling me something interesting; my neighbor sold my land.

Well, not all of it, I have a few acres left! :-)

It is an odd piece of land; an addition to my land that came in 1856 or so, when a neighbor lost a lawsuit for some unknown reason, to my Great Grandfather several times removed. Back then it had a lot of value because it was used to water sheep.

It was not much land, just a few acres, but was located across the townline in a different town which confused everyone. For years it has been on the deeds, but no one but a few of us understood what it really meant. But not that it really mattered; I got a few acres, and my neighbor has a few acres, so what is a boundary line between friends except in terms of mineral rights and forest products?

But I knew over the last few years as property taxes increased, he was having trouble paying them, and was selling off some land. Now apparently he sold my land to an out-of-stater.

I am not sure where to go from here. Maybe I can have the sale redacted, or at least get my land back. I hate to see it go. I prospected that land a few years ago and has got quite a bit of gold on it.

If you look close, you can see the channel dug back in the 1800's, then the watering pond, and then in the foreground, the spillway. Over the years the stream has cut a new channel to the left.
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Fri. Mar. 27, 2020 3:17 pm

If it has not been surveyed, it is anyone's guess about who owns what. Ask a local attorney that handles property transactions what your options are.

 
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gaw
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Post by gaw » Fri. Mar. 27, 2020 3:27 pm

My east side boundary is double marked with about a three foot strip of deed overlap. It is no big deal because a road goes over the southern part and to the north is woodland. Zoning requires a buffer area when building or putting up fences so this strip will probably be in limbo for a long time. I would bet the township is collecting tax on it from both me and my neighbor. A lot of old deeds around here are screwed up because the quality of surveying sucked and it don't sound much different up your way.

 
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Post by LeoinRI » Fri. Mar. 27, 2020 4:01 pm

NoSmoke,
Walking the property lines, Interviewing neighbors, searching maps in two towns and spending days at the registry in Ellsworth I was able to piece together the sequence of property transactions to clarify my situation. Surveyors, lawyers, tax assessors and title abstractors all make mistakes. You may be able to research this yourself and save $$$.
LeoinRI

 
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Post by Richard S. » Fri. Mar. 27, 2020 4:41 pm

The neighboring house owned by a landlord actually has quite bit of my land past the fence they are using for driveway. Fence has been there since the 60's, my Grandfather left space so they could have a driveway because they were good friends with the people that lived there at the time. I'm fairly confident the people that own the house don't know it.

Not sure what the law is but I'll be finding out when it's time to replace the fence. I got the old deeds/titles dating back to the mid 1800's.

 
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Post by coalder » Fri. Mar. 27, 2020 4:59 pm

Whoever purchased the property has to have a deed, with the description of said land. & I'm quite sure a title search was conducted. So most probably was a legal transaction. hopefully, you have a deed for the property in question, which would give at least a rough boundary & thereby you might be able to contest the sale. No lawyer here but just saying. Good luck.
Jim

 
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Post by freetown fred » Fri. Mar. 27, 2020 5:33 pm

Yep--when ya get back into rods & handshakes, things can get pretty confusing!! :)


 
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Post by johnjoseph » Fri. Mar. 27, 2020 5:37 pm

I had a family member that had a similar situation I think and this is the route they took if I remember correctly:

Quiet title is an action lawsuit or legal proceeding that can help clear title to realproperty, especially if there are multiple claims, disputed interest, or title defects. Thelawsuit will "quiet" certain claims to theproperty, clarifying ownership as well as clearing up possible discrepancies on the title.

 
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Post by NoSmoke » Sat. Mar. 28, 2020 6:25 am

I have a deed to it, and my deed goes WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY back, so my deed would trump any other one out there. And here, we do Warrantee Deeds, and not Quit Claim Deeds.

I will have to go talk to my neighbor, and the surveyor, and find out if this was indeed an accidental land-grab. If it is, I think I can fix it pretty easily.

 
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freetown fred
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Post by freetown fred » Sat. Mar. 28, 2020 6:43 am

Come on N--nothing is an easy fix once it gets in the SYSTEM anymore---sad but true--good luck with it. :)

 
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Post by McGiever » Sat. Mar. 28, 2020 10:47 am

Quick fix as in who paid all the taxes for all these years?

 
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Post by CapeCoaler » Sat. Mar. 28, 2020 11:28 am

Different states have different Title procedures...
That is why there is title insurance in this state...
Highly recommended...
Maine should be similar to MA in title proceedings...
Since it was MA back in the day...
LOL...
You should be fine with the land since you held clear title back then...

 
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Post by ASea » Fri. May. 08, 2020 9:41 pm

Crazy to think. It must've been a cash deal otherwise a bank would have a title search done.

 
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Post by johnjoseph » Fri. May. 08, 2020 9:56 pm

Any successful things happen since your original post?.

 
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Post by NoSmoke » Sun. May. 10, 2020 6:40 pm

ASea wrote:
Fri. May. 08, 2020 9:41 pm
Crazy to think. It must've been a cash deal otherwise a bank would have a title search done.
It probably had a Title Search done, but I am not sure how many years it went back. On mine, I go back 100 years, which would probably would have not have caught this. I think the lawsuit that won the land in question was in the 1850's sometime.


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