Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2006 5:39 am Post subject: Adverse Possession - State of Florida
I have a question about my parents property. My parents have lived in their home since August of 1974; now the area is going industrial and all the homes are being bought out by developers. Our parents had their property surveyed in 1990 and it turns out that some of the land which they thought they owned isn't their property. And not only is some of the land not theirs it seems that about 10 feet of their house also sits on this property. As I stated my parents have lived in this house since August 1974 and no one has ever come around claiming to own the patch of land. My parents researched this piece of land and it was sold in 1997. But as I've already stated in the 31 plus years that my parents have lived there no one has ever come around to claim that piece of land. The previous owners had put up a fence around that land as well as the house. My parents have maintained that piece of land as well as a piece in their backyard which according to the surveyor belongs to both my parents and another person who hasn't been around since about 1991.
How can my parents handle this situation as there are people who want to buy their property...but have asked my parents to take money out of their pockets and pay for the pieces of land in question. I would think that if my parents pay someone for these 2 pieces of land, then they have bought that land and it would then become my parents land to sell...am I correct?
Under Florida Code §95.16-.18 the duration of possession of property title is 7 years and pay the assessed taxes.
As you have said that your parents are there since 1974, so as per law that property belongs to your parents only. If you want to play bit safe then you can consult your local attorney about this.
That property is totally under your parents control and the reason those guys are saying like that as they think themselves more powerfull but you dont have to worry as the law is with you.
As per the adverse possession florida law, if you possess a land for a period of 7 years or more without any dispute and paying the relevant taxes on it then you become the owner of the land through adverse possession.
But you need to have paid the taxes on a regular basis or should have a written instrument of record.
If any of the above of the above criteria is met then there should not be any problem and your parents become the owner of the disputed automatically.
There are some discussions held here on adverse possession previously which may be useful to you.
Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2008 11:37 am Post subject: Easement by Prescription
I own a Townhouse Condominium in Broward County. To my knowledge when I purchased in 1995 I was told I can build an addition, which is a screened-in room which extended the bak porch as every other of the 42 Townhomes had already done. Also, I was told the a portion of grassy area adjacent to the screen room was part of my small backyard, as every other townhouse was using. We are a community of 240 units the balance of these unit owners reside in two midrise buildings on to the right and left of the 42 Townhomes which are in three rows. These areas in our backyards were common property, however, for over 20 years they have been utilized as I just explained. Some of the building dwellers are starting to say that we should pay higher maintenance fees because of this situation and also want us to remove our barbeques because they are not, by law, able to put one on their terrace. One of these unit owners recently put a barbeque in the pool area and chained it to the fence. This is against our by-laws. Because they were asked to remove it, they are now saying all the townhome owners must remove their's because it's on common property.
Therefore, my question is "isn't the property that the Townhouse owners use fall under the laws of "Easement by Prescription"?
Thank you for helping me clear this up.
Sincerely,
Maria DeVito
"ria611@bellsouth.net"
[Email address deactivated as per the forum rules]
I feel with adverse possession, 21year is required for establishing an easement by prescriptive use. But you have mentioned that the common property has been utilized for 20 years. So it may not fall under the laws of Easement by Prescription. By the way I am not an attorney and you should consult with one. _________________ Good is the Enemy of Great.
morenomk
