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Jackie Colson-Miller

Jackie Colson-Miller, CIPS
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Encroachments…Getting a Little Too Close to Your Neighbor?

Encroachments can sneak up on you right before closing. Or worse, at the closing table. It could be a fence that is slightly over the neighbors property line. It could be a driveway that was incorrectly poured over the property line.Fen_ce Any time human error is involved in construction, there is the opportunity for an encroachment.

Properties that have been subdivided over the years are often the source of an encroachment. I recently had a contract on a rural lakefront property with a septic system. During the inspection process, which included a septic inspection, it was discovered that the septic drainage field was located in the neighbors yard. Researching the title revealed that the adjacent parcels were originally owned by the same person and when they were divided, no legal document was filed to deal with an easement for the drainage field. The current owner refused to sign a legal document for an easement and the seller of the contracted property didnt think the issue of the drainage field was important, and failed to disclose it to her agent, or the buyers. Que_estionNeedless to say, the situation was a mess. All of this could have been avoided if the listing agent had asked more in-depth questions about the property when she listed it.

Listing agents have a responsiblity to explain what an encroachment is to a seller and ask if there are ANY boundary issues related to the property and get copy of an existing survey. Buyers agents should insist that a survey is done early enough in the buying process to check for any problems that may require an easement agreement, or an exception to the survey.

Then, there are the people that encroach upon your space on an airplane, which was my inspiration for this post. If someone is too big for one airplane seat, shouldn’t they have to buy another one? I say, if we check to see if a ‘carry on bag” fits certain dimensions, then why can’t people have to fit the seat dimensions? Being politically correct has gone much too far, when it infringes on the rights of the adjacent passenger. What do you think about that?

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This entry was posted on Monday, April 30th, 2007 at 9:25 am and is filed under Buyers, Florida Real Estate, Project Blogger, Real Estate News, Sellers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

7 Responses to “Encroachments…Getting a Little Too Close to Your Neighbor?”

  1. Fifika says:
    April 30, 2007 at 11:13 am

    I thoroughly agree; people have in general let themselves become overweight. When traveling; especially by plane … every inch of space is valuable.

  2. Fred Heptinstall says:
    April 30, 2007 at 11:24 am

    I completely agree. Recently I had a lady that asked to raise the arm rest so she would have more room. I said no because I am a nervous flyer and didn’t want to grab onto her leg. I had to take a shower after I landed.

    Fred

  3. Ken Brasch says:
    April 30, 2007 at 11:42 am

    I went to look at a house in Dallas about two weeks ago that is relevant to your article. The house had a detached garage in the rear and a driveway that extended from the street to the rear garage. As with most houses in Dallas, the builder had installed a privacy fence surrounding the back yard. The neighbor’s eaves of their roof extended 8″ over the side fence. I asked the builder where the property line was and why he was encroaching on the neighbor and he told me, “They are nice people next door and didn’t mind. Otherwise, the driveway would not have fit with the size of the house he built on that lot.” I think he actually believed his line of B.S.

  4. Doris says:
    April 30, 2007 at 11:47 am

    Yep, you’re right and I agree, but that is a very “tender” issue!

  5. Maureen Z. says:
    April 30, 2007 at 10:21 pm

    As a former flight attendant, and a property owner, I could heartily relate to this article on encroachments. People will encroach on whatever they can, as long as they feel that they can “get away with it”…No wonder there’s that little word “roach” embedded within…Either way, you end up being bugged…

  6. Bigger than Average says:
    May 1, 2007 at 2:59 pm

    I would agree with you in that the general public is getting larger and we DO have an overweight problem in this country.

    The problem is compounded by the airline industry itself. The general consumer space per seat has continued to shrink over the decades. Airlines put more people into the same planes by treating the majority of us like CATTLE.

    As a large framed man over 6 ft. tall the problem is not just width.

  7. Fred Hauck says:
    May 3, 2007 at 8:52 am

    Hi Ms. Sizzle,

    LOL! I concur most heartily on your comment concerning encroachment while flying having similar episodes as yours. A solution that could be as simple as purchasing tickets for two seats (provided they are together).

    As for real estate encroachment, I concur with Ms Maureen ” …People will encroach on whatever they can, as long as they feel that they can “get away with it…”…”.

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