S t r i p p e r : C o n f e s s i o n s o f a L a n d S u r v e y o r
B y P e a n C h e n e y i n g P L S
(Originally published in Gulf Coast Surveyor, September 2011 under the column "Chain!")
PART 2
STRIP NAKED
Joe called saying he wanted a Land Survey to define a strip of land he was occupying next to the recorded lot he owned that he wanted to purchase from his adjoiner. He said he had read some positive reports about our firm and that is why he was contacting us. A current tax mosaic was pulled showing the lot in question along with the current tax report for his lot and then sent along with a proposal with a price and time frame for an Investigative Survey that would we felt would suit is needs. I explained to Joe in writing and over the phone how I thought the process should proceed regarding purchasing the strip. I advised him to contact a lawyer and provided phone numbers for a few of them. I also explained that it may not be necessary to hire a lawyer and that I could prepare and file this paperwork for him if he so desired.
The next day the proposal was sent back signed so we started work on this project. The initial visit to the site showed Joe appeared to be occupying about 4’ of land out of the adjoining lot. The current tax mosaic, the current tax report, the vesting Deed into Joe from 1986 all described just the lot only. There seemed to be something wrong because improvements that were occupying the 4’ strip adjoining Joe’s lot were reported to appear to be in excess of 30 years in age.
The vesting Deed was pulled for the adjoiner, despite the fact that the current tax mosaic and the current tax report showed the adjoiner owning the entire lot. The adjoining vesting Deed dating to 1998 was for the entire lot, save and except the north 4’ (the strip in question). A search was then made of the chain of title going back to the original owners of either lot. It turned out the adjoiner’s predecessor in title had conveyed Joe’s predecessor in title the 4’ strip in 1976. Joe’s land had changed hands 6 times since then and the 4’ strip had never been mentioned in any of those conveyances. Land Survey after Land Survey, Title Policy after Title Policy had failed to identify this problem. The Land Survey performed for Joe’s closing in 1986 just showed the fence and other improvements 4’ over the boundary. The adjoiner’s property had changed hands 3 times since 1976 and each description was for the lot save and except the 4’ strip, however the tax reports and tax mosaic had never changed. Apparently the original transaction for the 4’ strip had never been reported to the Tax Assessor Collectors Office and the handlers of the subsequent transactions on the adjoining property had failed to report the absence of the 4’ strip to them as well.
A Land Survey was prepared with an attached Surveyor’s report and Joe was contacted. We explained the situation to him in writing and in person so he would fully understand the results. What we had found indicated a condition whereby the adjoiner had been paying taxes on a 4’ strip they did not own since 1976. Joe was in possession of the 4’ strip of land that he had no title to and what was worse was none of his predecessors in title had title to the 4’ strip since the original buyer of it conveyed the lot in 1978. Neither Joe nor any of his predecessors in title had ever paid taxes on the 4’ strip.
I advised Joe on various ways I thought the problem could be eliminated for little or no money and the drawbacks and difficulties that each cure might entail. I advised Joe to seek the council of a lawyer and gave him some phone numbers of some lawyers I know who had experience with this type of specific problem.
Joe was very upset and said that he was going to sue the Title Insurance Company, the Land Surveyor who did his survey in 1986 and his lender. I told him this may not be possible in some of those cases and told him he should consult a lawyer.
I urged him to consider the alternatives I had outlined for fixing this problem for relatively little money and aggravation compared to a lawsuit. Joe said he would contact me.
Phone messages to Joe have gone unanswered and we have not heard from him for months now. I hope for his own sake he calls back sometime soon.
PART 3 "STRIP SEARCH" to come....
Thoughts