Can you sue your title company?

Question

I purchased a home in 1986. !n 1998 I put a pool om my backyard.

The contracter aassumed my fence was the property line and built everything to code A new neighbor moves in 4 years ago and informs me my fence and part of my wood deck is three feet on their property and they want me to remove it.

I explained if I move the fence my pool will become illegal and the balance of my yard will be off. (I was also advised the property is mine due to the law of adverse poscession.)

I closed on my house in 1986 and my lawyer and the sellers laweyrs as well as my title company didi not notice that my fence was on my neighbors property yet it is clearly shown on the survey.

My new neighbor bought their hose and found out after the closing that my fence is on their property.

Shouldn't the title companies be responsible for this situation.

Answer 1

Honestly, I think you should speak to a good lawyer.  The lawyer will tell you what your options are.

Answer 2

Well lets see, You, you Neighbor, your lawyer, your sellers lawyer, the title company, the City who approved your pool. (anyone else I forget) all new about this yet a home sell and two purchases and a pool where installed (your pool guy had permits right) over a bad property line. I'd say let your neighbor sue you then the two of you drag everyone else into court and let a judge sort it out. Something sounds fishy.

Oh I almost forgot, Your neighbors Title company, did he get a survey done? and yet still bought the property,and there lawyers.

Sounds like 20 people involved and everybody knew yet nothing was done. Yup, something sounds fishy to me.    

Answer 3

Even if the title company noticed the fence was overline, you had access to the survey too, you paid for it afterall. When you assumed the fence was on the property line (and a lot are not!) and built off it instead of ordering a quick survey to make sure you were within the legal setbacks, it was your decision to build. The gov't evidently approved it and they should have seen the survey too so they are just as culpable as the title company as far as I can see.

   Title companies are usuallly inept and they sell you title insurance, use the insurance to make a claim, worst case is it's denied.

   But from what you have said, you built without a survey, never a good idea to start with I have seen it backfire way too many times. Sorry.

Answer 4

Ok, you built the pool in 1998, but how long has the fence been there.  Where I am, adverse possession kicks in after 20 years so in the fence has been there 20 years (or quite frankly you can pretend the fence has been there that long and they can't prove otherwise) then I agree that you now own the property through adverse possession.  However you'd better first check and see how long the fence has been there, and (oh yeah) how long the adverse possession law is for where you live.

Answer 5

Hopefully you had a survey done at the time of the purchase. You need to call the title company and explain what has happened. It could be the new neighbor is incorrect. If your pool and deck were built to code and passed local inspections then there is good reason to doubt the word of the new neighbor.

If, indeed, your property infringes on the neighbor's lot and you have title insurance then you will need to make a claim against that. By all means call the title company or your attorney.