Had to eat my words about the neighbor's fence line dispute

Last spring I was sure my neighbor was full of crap when he claimed the property line was 3 feet into my yard. He showed me some old survey from 1998 and I told him surveys can be wrong. I even called a buddy who flips houses and he backed me up saying neighbors always fight over this stuff. Well I finally paid $350 to get my own survey done last month and turns out he was completely right. The original survey was recorded with the county and everything matched up perfectly. Now I have to move my shed and it's gonna cost me but at least I know where the line actually is. Has anyone else had a survey reveal something unexpected about their property?

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wyatt1352mo ago

Wait, did your buddy the house flipper actually look at the county records before he backed you up? I've seen a lot of these fights go the other way too, where the old survey was wrong. That $350 stings but it's probably cheaper than losing a court case later. At least now you know for sure and can plan around it.

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the_brian2mo ago

Did your flipper buddy actually look up the historical aerial photos from the county too? I've seen old surveys that missed an easement or a driveway that's been there for 50 years, and a fresh copy from the clerk's office doesn't always catch that. A buddy of mine lost a fence dispute because his old survey showed the line 3 feet one way, but the county had a 1970s plat map that proved the neighbor was right all along. That $350 might sting now, but if you'd let it slide and built the deck wrong, you could be looking at a lot more in legal fees or a tear-down order later.

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