Posted on 03/07/2023 12:49:22 AM PST by dennisw
Burton Banks, an Atlanta-based financial advisor, inherited from his father several plots of land in Ocean View, Delaware Banks wanted to sell part of the property in 2021, but learnt that his neighbor Melissa Schrock had been grazing her goats on the land
A judge last month ruled that Schrock had been on the property for more than 20 years and so had squatter's rights: Banks was forced to hand over the land
A judge in Delaware has ordered a businessman hand over a $125,000 parcel of land to his neighbor after she kept her goats on the land for over 20 years and claimed squatter's rights.
Burton Banks, an Atlanta-based financial advisor, inherited the uninhabited plot of land in Ocean View, Delaware, from his father Ralph.
In 2021 Banks and his husband David Barrett decided they wanted to sell the plot of land, which sits empty and undeveloped.
But he discovered that around two thirds of an acre was being used by his neighbor Melissa Schrock, who had erected a pen for her goats on the land.
'It's just always been my backyard since I was a little kid,' Schrock said.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Your property is your property. PERIOD.
It should not matter in the least how you’ve been using it or not. Your ownership of it is based on paying for it, not how you decide to use it.
And NOBODY should ever be allowed to encroach on it and steal it from you because they have been illegally using it for however many years.
Us having to defend out own property rights shows what a mockery our system of government that claims to be a nation of laws really is.
It was the legal basis for the conquest and settlement of North America, for that matter.
NH has Adverse Possession...20 years...
A person’s personally owned property is not “common area” piece of land.
Nope...all you have to do is prove occupation.
Thank God.
Squatters rights is just an excuse to allow people to steal someone else’s property.
However, for all the acreage we own, we make the rounds on it several times a year. I cannot fathom not knowing what has been going on on your own property for that many years.
Know where your property markers/surveying stakes are and keep an eye on them.
Adverse possession in NC means the “squatter” must be using the property openly for at least 20 years. If the actual owner tells them to get off the property, the clock on the 20 years starts all over.
Ummmm - who was paying the property taxes? Pretty sad when someone can move in and become the new “owners”...
I believe Colorado is 7 years and a squatter can claim rights to someone else’s land. In other words, regardless of the State, protecting land from squatting is important.
NH does have Adverse Possession...20 years.
Surveyor's know the rules.
You’re correct. Emotional posts don’t override long time settled laws. Banks chose not to protect his property and lost.
A couple years ago my neighbor erected a privacy fence 6-8 inches inside his property line. It was all amicable. He just wanted a privacy fence. In fact, he and I worked together to remove the old chain link. As a result, my yard is now a few inches deeper. I’ve thought about the adverse possession thing at at some point, that couple hundred square feet become my land.
Big fat hairy deal. But, the privacy fence is a little bit harder to mow around than the chain link so there’s a trade off.
I’m sure it has legal standing for a long time because people have been wanting to steal land for a long time.
It may be legal, but that doesn’t make it right.
banks if he can’t get the land back through the court should sue her for 20 years of taxes paid on the land along with interest for the money paid out and legal fees. my guess is that the taxes at this point and interest are more than the value of the property.
This will likely be challenged and go to the State Supreme Court.
The article is lacking some vital information and background.
Delaware code is written with a pretty high standard of proof, to prevent this type of thing. To be able to claim adverse possession, several levels of proof must be met and proven, beyond the 20 years of occupation.
The claims must prove that the ownership was “open, notorious and hostile.”
If the “Owner” did nothing to protect his lands...; even something as simple as placing No Trespassing Signs, would have helped his claim. If he made no attempts to run the other person off “His” lands..., even again, something as simple as a conversation; “you do know that your goat pen is on my property, right!?!?”, would have protected his claim.
More drastic measures notwithstanding, there are many things that would have protected him. Likely the judge took this as a forfeiture of the ground.
But as I stated, this will be challenged.
In 18 years of being a Professional Land Surveyor, and nearly the same working for the DOT, 11 of which and currently, I do Right-of-Way research, I have only seen one or two other cases where an Adverse Possession claim was allowed, by the courts.
I am very curious and want to know more. Very likely, this will be a topic for the water cooler, today in the office.
Yes, and the occupation has to be out in the open for all to see.
There are quite a few requirements that must be in place for an AP case.
In an HOA, a common area would typically be a landscaped area along the edge of the development, a pond or creek, or even a golf course if it is owned and managed by the HOA.
Edit after rereading the post, it was a Superior Court Judge who made the determination, and Banks does not plan to appeal.
A classic case of adverse possession.
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