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Claim title of ownership through adverse possession?

Posted on: 08th Dec, 2005 04:50 am
Hi, I have a question concerning adverse possession. My property sits on what used to be an access road for the railroad which the town now owns but cannot be classified as an official town road due to its non-conformity. The town owns approximately 20 feet of my front yard which borders this access road. This land has been maintained by myself and previous owners of the house for the past 30 years. Can we claim adverse possession to obtain title to the land.

Thanks
Yeah, Demaio

You can claim the ownership of this land as you have been maintaining it from the last 30 yrs which makes you eligible for the same.

Check out with the your state and federal laws for further procedure.

Thanks
Posted on: 08th Dec, 2005 07:33 am
Hi, Demaio

What Milesa said is correct, but befor you go ahead please consult your state laws for claiming the title as it require some legal formalities also.

For further information you can consult our other forum post on adverse possession.

Adverse Possession Law

Claim under Adverse Possession

Hope i have been able to help you

Niicss :D
Posted on: 08th Dec, 2005 07:40 am
Hi Demaio,

Welcome to MortgageFit Forums.

I understand your concern. But like Milesa and Niicss, I too agree that the condition favors you regarding adverse land possession unless it is a government property.

I am thankful to Niicss for showing the path for details on Adverse Possession and its laws. Kindly go through it and consult an attorney regarding the matter.

If you have any more doubts that you want to clarify, feel free to ask. We will be happy to offer you any possible help.

Wish you best of luck.

God bless you.

For MortgageFit,
Samantha

This is because your are staying over that land
Posted on: 08th Dec, 2005 08:18 am
Hi Demaio,

The only thing that bothers me is that as you said that land is now owned by the town. This indicates that the land is owned by Government.

But the positive thing for you is that it can't be classified seperately and is maintained by you and the previous owner for the past 30 years.

As Samantha and others adviced correctly, you need to refer the laws in your area as it varies a little between states. Also consult and attorney who hopefully will find a proper way out after going through your details.

Hope for the best.

Regards,
Blue
Posted on: 08th Dec, 2005 08:29 am
Thanks for all the response. Let me clarify a few items so hopefully you can get a better understanding of my situation. I live in Connecticut so that would be the governing state laws. The property I am referring to is owned by the town I live in. I have lived at the home for the past four years, but the property has been maintained by myself and previous owners of the home for the past 30 years. Hope this makes things clearer.

Thanks
Posted on: 08th Dec, 2005 11:50 am
Hi Demaio,

Welcome again.

As per Connecticut law, the period of adverse use must be at least fifteen (15) years and it should not be city or state owned property.

During those years you should have paid the taxes for the part of the land that you are talking about.

Since you were not staying there for more than 4 years that may pose some problems but if you and the previous owner have paid taxes for that part, then you may make a claim along with the previous owner. The biggest obstacle however will be that the land is owned by town.

So, I shall suggest you to consult an attorney who may go through the papers maintained by you and the previous owner and may suggest some way out hopefully. This is because the law varies between states regarding adverse possession and he may find out a possibility within the obstacle.

Don't get overworried. Just let your attorney take care of the things.

For further clarifications kindly post here.

God bless you.

For MortgageFit,
Samantha
Posted on: 08th Dec, 2005 12:16 pm
The adverse possession periods for different states in the United States are given below.


States
Adverse Possession Period
With color of title
Without color of title
Alabama
10 Yrs
20 Yrs
Alaska
7 Yrs
10 Yrs
Arizona
2 Yrs
-
Arkansas
15 Yrs
7 Yrs
California
5 Yrs
-
Colorado
7 Yrs
18 Yrs
Connecticut
15 Yrs
-
Delaware
20 Yrs
-
Florida
7 Yrs
7 Yrs
Georgia
7 Yrs
20 Yrs
Hawaii
20 Yrs
-
Idaho
5 Yrs
-
Illinois
7 Yrs
20 Yrs
Indiana
10 Yrs
-
Iowa
10 Yrs
-
Kansas
15 Yrs
-
Kentucky
7 Yrs
15 Yrs
Louisiana
10 Yrs
30 Yrs
Maine
20 Yrs
-
Maryland
20 Yrs
-
Massachusetts
20 Yrs
-
Michigan
5 Yrs
15 Yrs
Minnesota
15 Yrs
-
Mississippi
10 Yrs
-
Missouri
10 Yrs
-
Montana
5 Yrs
-
Nebraska
10 Yrs
-
Nevada
5 Yrs
-
New Hampshire
20 Yrs
-
New Jersey
60 Yrs
30 Yrs
New Mexico
10 Yrs
-
New York
10 Yrs
-
North Carolina
7 Yrs
20 Yrs
North Dakota
10 Yrs
-
Ohio
21 Yrs
-
Oklahoma
15 Yrs
-
Oregon
10 Yrs
-
Pennsylvania
21 Yrs
-
Rhode Island
10 Yrs
-
South Carolina
20 Yrs
-
South Dakota
20 Yrs
-
Tennessee
7 Yrs
20 Yrs
Texas
3-25 Yrs
-
Utah
7 Yrs
-
Vermont
15 Yrs
-
Virginia
15 Yrs
-
Washington
7 Yrs
-
West Virginia
10 Yrs
-
Wisconsin
10 Yrs
20 Yrs
Wyoming
10 Yrs
-
Posted on: 15th Dec, 2005 01:21 am
Thanks for the information.

Shelle
Posted on: 20th Dec, 2005 01:41 am
I have been living in a house for 7 years without paying rent or mortgage. All the utilities have been in my name soley for the 7 years. Previous to my 7 years, someone else lived here for 5 years without paying rent or mortgage and all utilities were in her name solely. We live in the state of Pennsylvania, can I combine my 7 years to her 5 years and apply for adverse possession.
Posted on: 27th Feb, 2007 05:46 pm
Welcome MsD,

This will depend upon adverse possession laws in your state. I think you should contact a lawyer who deals with cases of adverse possession.
Posted on: 27th Feb, 2007 07:41 pm
Hi Ms D,

Welcome to the forum.

In Pennsylvania, one can get property title after using it for about 10 years. But I don't think you can combine the time period of 7 years and 5 years. In that case, you may have to show legally that you have occupied and used the property for 12 years in total. I guess this is not possible because the utilities paid by the person staying for 5 years were in her name only. That is why it will not be possible for you to claim the property through adverse possession.

If at all you wish to get the title through adverse possession, you need to stay there for 3 more years.

As I am not completely aware of each and every provision of the adverse possession laws in your state, you may consult an attorney as he may be able to explain things better.

Hope this will help you.

God bless you.

Samantha
Posted on: 27th Feb, 2007 09:34 pm
Hi all,

Some states follow the rule that a person willing to get property title through adverse possession after a specified period of time should pay taxes each year. The possession must be open for the public to see.

The possession should be exclusive to him or her (for example, a fence, driveway, road, etc) and it must be hostile to the actual owner of the land.

You need to check the above details and also get an idea about your state specific criteria for adverse possession.

Regards,
Jessica.
Posted on: 27th Feb, 2007 10:42 pm
i have a friend who has lived in his home for nine years and payed taxes for the past 9 years. would this entitle him to adverse possession?
Posted on: 18th Oct, 2007 07:42 pm
We live in florida.
Posted on: 18th Oct, 2007 07:46 pm
can you claim adverse possession if you rented but did all upkeep and paid all taxes for 8 years? we are in florida
Posted on: 18th Oct, 2007 08:09 pm
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