Boundary Line Agreement – Yes or No?
Property Purchase Fact Pattern
1) You are buying a home in New York.
2) The neighbors fence, per your survey, is encroaching your proposed property by 16”.
3) Your homes seller does not know how long the fence has been there.
3) It’s the home sellers impression that the neighbor does acknowledge that those 16” do not belong to them.
4) Therefore, the neighbor invoking a claim of adverse possession appears not to be an issue.
5) So how can your potential homes seller immortalize the fact that this fence is encroaching on their property, and certify the agreement of the neighbor to this fact?
Potential Issue Resolution Steps
A) The Easy and Non-Satisfactory Route!
– The easy solution is for the neighbor to sign an affidavit attesting to the fact that the property slice in question is not theirs.
– While quick and relatively simple for all involved (buyer, neighbor, buyers attorney, sellers attorney and some title companies), an affidavit is by no means the best solution. If the neighbor was ever to move, the signed affidavit would be rendered useless.
– An easy, but wholly unsatisfactory, solution!
B) The Somewhat More Involved, and in the Best Interest of the Homebuyer Solution!
– The title company, in its role of protecting the best interests of the buyer, needs to insist on the execution of a Boundary Line Agreement!
– The Boundary Line Agreement, while more involved, ‘…acknowledges the unintentional encroachment that exists along a common boundary line…’
Read more about boundary line agreements in a 2016 article from Sahn Ward Braff Koblenz PLLC here: https://sahnward.com/Newsletters/october-2016/pdf/Nassau_Lawyer_BoundaryLineIssuesInResidentialRealRstateTransactionsPracticalSolutionsForARealPropertyProblem_September2016.pdf
It’s Why the Title Insurance Company You Choose To Use In New York Actually Matters!
Hallmark Abstract Service…You Buy, We Protect!
‘Are New York Title Insurance Providers All The Same?’ Read more at the Hallmark Abstract Service website here, https://www.hallmarkabstractllc.com/?p=10321.
Have questions? Reach out to us at (646) 741-6101 or send us an email at info@hallmarkabstractllc.com.
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