squatters rights

[mooleycow]

we have house in town we are restoring.  elderly couple accross the street ask to put a storage building  in backyard.  years later he passes.  i ask her to sell bldg to me, she won't even sign paper to leave bldg to me when she passes. says she will do it one day. can't put on sons lot no house on lot( town ordinance).  talk to lawyer.  he says n.c. still has squatters rights llaws on books.  if bldg. on lot 7 years occupied or not they can take house and lot.  he adv. to pull bldg. to sons lot and let him argue with town board, did it. see where kindness get you. 

[Meadows Miller]

Gday

Even iff you know that your not going to have a drama with the people involved its always better to stay on the safe side I think you did the rite thing in the situation Mate 

Regards Chris

[T Welsh]

mooleycow, I have to ask a question! Where are you located. I have an idea,but will wait Tim

[Taylortractornut]

I have a friend that found a shack on  40 acres he  inhererited a few years ago.  THe folks  knew he didnt live here.    THey were a few months frm claiming the whole  acreage.     He   couldnt get the  law to do anything so they had a controlled burn.      problem solved.  The folks that had the cabin were just using the weekends but bragged to some of my friends relatives about their plans on the 40 acres.    It also  solved  the mistery of where the  tractor gas was going to.

[zopi]

Controlled burn... ....I like that.

[SwampDonkey]

Up here, squatters have no title at any time, now or in the future. They can be removed "toute de suite". A couple of family members here did allow folks to live on them, but the "tenants" didn't have any ownership. The families eventually moved on and the buildings were disposed of.

[Taylortractornut]

Bad part about it they were only a few weeks away from claiming it.   Its supposedly law here that if you squat on so many acres for  7 years unknown that you can claim it.    My friends grandparents were in their eighties and never patroled the whole property.   These folks knew it and  tried to take advantage of it. THey had  a shack and 2 outbuildings.    When the grandparents passed on the folks got a little more brave.    My friend was working away from home and  didnt know about the squaters and the surveyors never did mention it.    THey found it  after the folks bragged about it..   They ad a regular hunting club and  fishing  hole.      They had to be given 30 days to  remove their stuff but that  meant that it was going to be in time to be gone from the woods.   My friend called the forest service and told them they were having a burn.       It cleaned it   off smooth .

[metalspinner]

That's got to be the craziest law on the books.  How can land that is bought and paid for be taken from you like that?  Who lobbied for that law?  Who can defend it if it becomes public debate?

[ely]

i am fairly certain with even my archaic and somewhat limited negociating skills i could talk them into removing their belongings.... and if i couldnt? i can always fall back on my favorite TV comercial,  "He didnt do nothin"

[mooleycow]

this is 2011.  this is eastern n.c. .  i decided to contact law firms in my county, beaufort county n.c.. no law firm will consult with me.  conflict of interest.  can we say line bred county.  drama, yes.  he started pushing and threatening last nite.  getting out of control.  I'm remaining calm.  its not the action but the reaction.  this is getting stupid.  the mayor says he can get over it or die with it. i don't think he is going to get over it.  this is 2011.  this is eastern n.c.

[clearcut]

"Squatter's rights" is a form of the legal term Adverse Possession. Adverse possession is rooted in English common law as a cure to title defects where the heir of a long lost title or lien holder could claim possession of land in use by another. Think of it as a statute of limitations on ownership. If you are not using the land, you can lose it. Most cases are boundary line disputes where a fence or property line long held to be the true line is surveyed and true line favors one owner over another. "Squatter's rights" is much more difficult to assert and is generally refers to where the possessor has no adjacent property .

While the details of adverse possession vary by legal jurisdiction, most courts require the possession to be:

• Actual possession - you must change the land in some way.
• Open and Notorious - the possession has to be visible to the owner and others.
• Exclusive use - prevent the owner from using the property.
• Adverse or hostile use - without the owner's permission and inconsistent with the owner's rights.
• Continuous - for the duration of the statute which varies widely.

Again, depending on jurisdiction, there may need to be other criteria, such as a claim of title, proof of taxes paid, and specific improvements.

Defeating adverse possession can be as simple as giving the possessor permission (negating hostile use), or denying access (negating exclusive use) during the statue period.

As with any legal issue, document it in writing, document with photographs, and hire the best lawyer you can afford if the going get tough.

[T Welsh]

mooleycow,That was my second guess.! I have had run in,s with the police in all southern states in the smokey mountains on my motorcycle. there are a hand full  of states that the laws are out of date with reality! keep a level head and use the law to your advantage . you might now see it right away,but the light bulb will come on and you will  know what to do,it will usually cost you money. thats what governments do best,collect money. step back for a moment and lower yourself to there standards and hopefully you will see a loop hole that can be used to your advantage. Tim

[Jasperfield]

There are other pertinent facts relative to your situation that I do not know and could affect my statements given below; I.e: Who holds title to the land of your adjoiner... the same party that was granted the original permissive use? And others. Notwithstanding: 

In NC a possessory interest in real property DOES NOT ripen into ownership, fee simple, or otherwise.

Aquisition of title to land via an adverse claim, (which is not the situation, here) and without the claimant having color of title (and several other elements), WILL NOT result in his ownership, regardless of passage of time.

Adverse possession is THE most widely misunderstood and bastardized concept in land title law in the country. In your situation his possession is not adverse, it was created by permission.

NC real property laws are perhaps the most defined in all of the country, and do not vary by county. From Manteo to Murphy these statutes have withstood every kind of challenge imaginable. No local or regional personalities can deflect your rights granted under the NC Constitution.

For example; What happens to the land of a U.S. citizen imprisoned in a foreign POW camp for years on end? Does it become that of a squatter or an adjoiner? No, it doesn't.

Have it surveyed and hire an attorney who practices real property law. Your attorney is dead wrong.

Oh, by the way... squatters do not have any interest, in NC law, to real property owned by another.

[Al_Smith]

It gets a little sticky on things like selling land locked land for example .You might have all kinds of easements you know nothing about so it's best to have a title search before you buy said piece of property so there aren't any surprises down the road .You know a couple hundred up front might save thousands down the road when the attorneys line up three deep and 4 wide with their brief cases with one thing in mind,surgically seperating you from your wallet .

[thecfarm]

I always thought that squatters law was a southern thing. Like grits.  Here in Maine they would leave when the snow comes and the below zero weather freezes thier under wear.   

[Al_Smith]

I think grits are one of those things you kinda gotta be born into .Bless their little hearts the little cuties with the honey dripping accent who try their best to serve them to you .Might be okay if you have enough gravey to drown out the taste I suppose .

That squatters rights deal  perhaps goes back to open range laws of the wild west .Now if that applies now of days I question although I really don't want to find out .

I do like the idea of "controlled " burn .If it works for the forestry service or the land management people  it should apply to the citizenry one would think .What was it a couple years ago they had half of Texas and part of New Mexico on fire then tried to burn up Florida .I'd imagine Smokey the bear had a talk to them over that one .

[Magicman]

You gotta be very careful about burning.  It may sound funny and could work in some instances but remember, it could go both ways.   

[Al_Smith]

That's a fact .Might  sound funny but I've seen wheat and corn fields a fire .That isn't one bit funny .

[SwampDonkey]

Yeah about the burning. I saw a fellow that was just a straw baler, came on the farm we leased out to a farmer and baled straw. But didn't have permission to set the fields on fire. I told him he wasn't to be burning the farm fields when I caught him burning busted bales. Then something told me to go up to the farm in the evening after I knew he would be gone. The field was set afire and heading to my tree plantations. He also had a bunch of loose straw dumped up into the woods perimeter. I can tell ya right now, if I hadn't put it out there would have been a forest fire. I can also tell ya I would be at his place returning the favor right after. 

[Al_Smith]

I don't have any idea why anyone would burn wheat stubble .It plows right under no problem .

Oh years ago they would fire fields and fence rows but I haven't seen that done since I was a boy .Even then most times it was fence rows with both sides plowed .If it did get away from them and somehow get a woods it would just burn a little underbrush and fizzle out .

[WDH]

I always thought that squatters law was a southern thing. Like grits. 

Down here, we are all just a grits eatin' bunch of squatters.

[ellmoe]

Down here, we are all just a grits eatin' bunch of squatters.

  Speak for yourself, I don't squat!
Mark

[PC-Urban-Sawyer]

I'd say about half the population down here in Dixie is squatters and the rest of us are standers...

[beenthere]

The minds are going in the gutter. 

[SwampDonkey]

Burning pastured fields around here kills the good feed and encourages weeds. It also runs out the ground over time. Can't tell some people that, they just like to start fires every spring. And many have caused fires in tree plantations. Somebody burnt one up near home here that was 12 years old. Fire in young spruce trees will do them in.

[BaldBob]

Some years back we had a survey done on some property that we had just acquired. There was a 20 acre parcel in the middle of it that we did not own, with a cabin on it . The survey showed that the cabin was on the 20ac. but just barely - within 1foot of the boundary. However, the outhouse (half moon hotel) was on our property. When I went to talk to the cabin owner he had a good sense of humor. " I always thought the cabin was on the other side of my property. I see you got my outhouse, but since its an outhouse I figured I had squatters rights."

We were both happy to resolve the whole thing by trading equal strips on both sides of his 20 acres so that his cabin & out house were well inside his property & we both ended up with the acreage we started with.