adverse possession??

[massusie]

I live in Alabama. Bought a foreclosure about 6 months ago. Neighbor claiming adverse possession of over half our land. They sold the land 20 years ago and now saying they sold the "wrong" land. we are the thrid owner of this property. also claim the land is theirs due to a quit claim deed given to them for the land by the owner of the vacant land behind us. It was part of a land swap between them. Can they claim adverse possession now? They had a fence up but removed it when we told them the fence was on our land. They said since the previous owners of our house never "used" that half that they "took" it back. Our deed shows the land as ours and and our property is the only one with a survey.

[cherokeenewyork]

Good afternoon Massusie:

Adverse possession claims are done through the courts. If no "clouds" were on the previous deed prior to your possession, then their accusation is in correct.

Did you have a title search done on the property prior to buying?
Was this property financed through a mortgage?

I am asking these questions because the title insurance company's job is to research and discover any problems. Also title insurance companies insures the bank. And if employed, they would have notified you at prior to closing that judicial problems affected this property.

I hope I have answered your questions.

Best wishes,
Cherokee

[massusie]

Thanks for the info! Yes the title was searched and came back clear. This is a very weird case. The owner of the land behind us (Mr. H.)"quitclaimed" 3 plus acres to our neighbor, Mr. M ,claiming to straighten out their ajoining property lines that are behind our property. (Mr. M has 2 1/2 acres) The quit claim involves 3/4 of an acre that is ours. The neighbor, Mr M,now believes he owns that 3/4 of an acre! Also the quit claim involved the the deeded easement granted from Mr. M to Mr H in the purchase of the property Mr H owns. ( vacant land by the way) A corrected warranty deed was issued the same day with the same easement regranted. After discovering our land has buildings on it that are Mr. M, we told them that we would be willing to "swap" land to enable them to keep buildings. He agreed and helped us mark the corners so the surveyor could resurvey for the swap. (we paid). Mr H easement was also involved in this which runs along our border with Mr M. The easement as it stands now is unusable do to the buildings on Mr. M property. ( Built after the land was recorded as an easement) The new easement inclued in the land swap bypassed all buildings an was a straight shot to his property as appoised to one with a right angle. Mr H does not want he easement changed and also choses not to use it, instead wants to use an ingress/egress across our property. Says he is going to claim prescriptive easement and Mr M says they are going to claim they own the 3/4 acre since it was quit claimed to them. (Mr H never has owned our property...Mr. M did 30 years ago but now claim they sold it in error) We fenced after written and verbal notice to both parties...so far nothing. Would like to know A: Can someone Quit claim land to land they never possessed?? B: Can someone who has a deeded easement go for a prescriptive one? Sorry this is long but it is soo weird I felt I had to explain it all to get you the full picture.

[cherokeenewyork]

You are very welcome.

Best wishes,
Cherokee

[elklaw]

Well based on what you are saying, it sounds like whoever bought the land was a good faith bonafide purchaser for value meaning that even if there was a mistake, the courts would likely still approve and uphold that sale as valid since the party was innocent, had no reason to know there was a problem, and had done reasonable acts to ensure good title was being received. Also, this is a long time to wait to contest a sale- 20 years.
If there is a problem, there is title insurance.
As for the easement, if by deed, it could also be a prescriptive easement and that may be why it is in the deed. Cannot tell what you are asking to be honest, but a deeded easement may also be a prescriptive on- depends on the situation.

[massusie]

Thanks a million elkkaw! Now I guess what I am wondering is can I go back on the original owner of our land for breach of quiet enjoyment since they are suing me for adverse possession and not have to sue the others that have own our property? The original owner of our property sold it 27 years ago and is claiming 27 years of adverse possession to 3/4 of acre of our 1 1/2 acre tract. His land borders ours.

[elklaw]

You are in privity with everyone who has owned your land, so you would claim adverse possession based on everyone who has owned that land and been the record owner of title of property that is the same plot and property description as what you currently have.

[massusie]

I understand what you are saying about being privy, BUT what this situation is that our neighbor is claiming adverse possession on our 1/2 of our 1.5 acre lot that was once part of his farm that he divided off and sold 27 yrs ago. He is claiming the adverse possession started when he sold it. Our lot has had 3 owners before we bought it. In our neighbors words, "no one else "minded" his using it, so we shouldn't mind either. Owner number 2 even gave him permission!" Now in Alabama in neighbor cases, you only have to prove 10 years of use. But where they are stating in their complaint 27 years, will they have to show 27 or would the judge be apt to rule in their favor if they can show only 10? Also won't they have to show "continueos" use of the land? I feel they can prove the use to be sporatic at best. Thanks for any input you may have.........

[massusie]

sorry for any typos in my posts......get in a hurry

[massusie]

What about suing a remote grantor for breach of quiet enjoyment without bring suit agaisnt the other previous owners/ grantors of our property? Can we just sue the one that is causing the breach of coveyance of quiet enjoyment by suing us for adverse possession???