Understanding What is an Encroachment

Whether you are buying or selling a home it is essential to understand encroachments. Knowing how to deal with property encroachments can be tricky. If a property line dispute is being made the best way to resolve it will be to get a professional land survey done.

A local land surveyor will be able to visit the property and do a property survey. When the survey is completed the results will show a few different things. The survey will determine the exact boundary lines of the property, along with any encroachments over said lot line.

At this point, the owners of both properties can best determine how to resolve the issue. If there is a buyer purchasing one of the properties the lender may have certain requirements as well. Understanding what will be required will be a key determinant of how to proceed.

Some property encroachments are considered minor while others would be considered substantial. It goes without saying when purchasing a home you will not want to move forward with a significant encroachment issue.

Most of the time encroachments occur when something like a shed or a fence are built over the properties boundaries. Usually, whoever is installing the improvement does not take the time to pull permits. With no permitting in place there is no oversight for checking on lot lines.

Of course, a more significant violation would be building an immovable object such as a garage over the property line.

If you take a look at the resource above from Maximum Real Estate Exposure, you will see a detailed overview of everything to know about encroachments. The article will explain all the various types of property encroachments.

More importantly, you will see exactly how to deal with the encroachment issue. When dealing with encroachments it is usually advisable to have an experienced real estate attorney to help with such matters.

There will often be negotiations between neighbors and maybe one of their lawyers. Most attorneys are better equipped to handle such negotiations. Once an agreement is made there will be documents needed to be drawn up outlined what has been agreed to.

The property deed will also need to modified and the change recorded with the registry of deeds. Hopefully, you have a better understanding of what to know about encroachments after reading the article at Maximum Real Estate Exposure.

If you have family or friends who will be dealing with an encroachment problem, please pass the information along to them.