The Term Encroachment Explained

The Term Encroachment Explained

Everyone likes their space, especially their personal space. 

Personal space can be defined in many ways, today we are defining your personal space as it relates to your property.

When you buy a house the lot that it is on has a legal description that defines exactly what ground will convey to the next owner. This legal description can be drawn in the form of a survey, which gives a visual of the shape of the land and what sits on it. It is always a good practice to know where your property begins and ends, for many reasons.

Encroachment is one of the main reasons. 

Encroachment happens when your neighbor decides they want to add something, like a fence, on to their property, but the fence creeps on to yours in the process. If you didn’t approve it, it should NOT be on your property. It should be on the neighbor’s side of the property line.

When you’re buying a home, sometimes there aren’t fences to create that divide between property lines. If there are no fences and your neighbor decides to build a storage shed (or something of the like), be SURE they are staying on their own property. If something were to happen while working on the building or after and it just so happens to be on your property, you are liable.

So, what can you do? The easiest option would be to pull your survey out and have a chat with your neighbor.  You could have a surveyor mark the property lines for you if you need to take it a step further.

An encroachment will be a problem when it’s time to sell the land, so take care of it before then.  You’ll be glad you did.

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