Rochester Boundary Dispute Lawyers and Rochester Title Attorneys

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Title & Boundary Dispute Law in New Hampshire

Occasionally, neighbors will find out that their use of their land (or what they thought was their land) is not reflected in the actual property lines on record. Obviously, this can create a problem.

Ideally, the neighbors could just dismiss the situation, and go on as they had before, effectively agreeing to change the property lines to reflect their past use. This doesn't always happen, however. Additionally, such a course of action is not free of issues, and could eventually result in ownership of the land legally changing to reflect the past use, even if one of the neighbors opposes this.

It's more frequently the case that one neighbor wants to maintain the current use of the land, property lines notwithstanding, while the other neighbor wants to enforce the property lines that are on record. This is because moving a property line necessarily expands the land of one neighbor, while shrinking the land of another. Obviously, the neighbor whose land would be shrunk will likely oppose any attempt to enforce the property lines.

People in Rochester, New Hampshire should also be aware of the possibility of title (ownership) disputes. Unlike the boundary disputes considered above, the outcome of a title dispute can decide who owns an entire parcel of real property. Confusion over who actually owns a piece of property is more common that some people might imagine. Many local property records are still kept on paper, are not very well-organized, and sometimes date back a hundred years or more. A lost or misfiled deed is the most common way for a title dispute to arise. However, sometimes fraud on the part of a seller can lead to title disputes. Unscrupulous individuals will sometimes try to sell the same piece of land to more than one person. And some people even try to sell property they don't own, occasionally succeeding (and this isn't just limited to bridges in London). Typically, once the buyers discover they've been duped, the "seller" is nowhere to be found, leaving them to figure out who owns the land they all thought they had purchased.

Possible Outcomes of Boundary and Title Disputes in Rochester, New Hampshire

One customary resolution for boundary disputes is a court re-drawing the boundaries to fit with what the assumptions that the neighbors were operating under before the error was discovered. This typically happens when both parties were, for many years, aware of the actual property boundaries, and did nothing about it. Moreover, if the neighbor who has been encroaching onto the other neighbor's land has made costly improvements thereto, this weighs in favor of that neighbor, since changing the property lines would impose significant hardship on that neighbor.

A court may do the opposite, and decide to enforce the property lines as they're drawn. This will always benefit one neighbor and hurt the other. A court will probably do this if one neighbor knew that his land was encroaching onto another person's property, and actively tried to hide that fact from his neighbor. Obviously, such bad actions shouldn't be rewarded. Conversely, if the neighbor whose land was being encroached upon knew about the discrepancy, and did nothing about it, the court will likely change the property lines to reflect this prior use, to prevent that neighbor from being rewarded for "sitting on his rights."

In Rochester, New Hampshire courts have many options when it comes to resolving title disputes. However, these disputes are usually controlled by some fairly complicated (and old) legal principles. While they're usually built around policies that most people would find to be quite fair and reasonable, their application can be nearly impenetrable, even for some lawyers.

Without delving into the specifics too much, courts typically resolve title disputes by looking at who recorded the deed first, and whether or not that person had notice of any prior sales of the same land. To succeed in a dispute like this, a buyer will usually need to prove that they were the first to record their deed, and that they had no notice (or reason to know) of any prior conveyances of the same land.

What Can A Rochester, New Hampshire Attorney Do?

Because of the high stakes, going it alone in a boundary or title dispute is rarely recommended. Therefore, it's almost always a good idea to get a good Rochester, New Hampshire real estate attorney to help you with such legal problems.

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Life in Rochester

Rochester is home to 32,000 Strafford County residents who live in New Hampshire's largest region, the Seacoast region. Rochester is home to Skyhaven Airport and the annual Rochester Fair. The Rochester Fair has lots of games, carnival ride, and even food, wine, and fine dining tents.

The 45 square miles Rochester covers was incorporated in 1772 and encompasses both East Rochester and Gonic Villages. The heavily wooded area have a number of very tall White Pine trees that were reserved to be used as masts for Royal Navy Ships. During the Revolutionary War, Rochester was used as a meeting place for soldiers before traveling to their assignments.

A Civil War monument once stood in the downtown section of town and commemorated the 54 men who died in Rochester but during World War II, cannons on the side were melted down for use in the war. The monument today depicts a civil war scene accented by four World War II guns. Rochester is a destination for many American history buffsand localschool trips.

Rochester is an attractive community that is ideally situated in the New England region.The city allows a wide variety of professionals, artists, and students to commute to nearby cities and states. It's geographic locationprovides dramatic autumn trees attracting tourists from around theglobe.

Rochester has been a place where important people have gone to live because it is positioned in such a desirable location within New England. This includes Inventor Isaac Adams, Governors, U.S. Congressmen, Senators, and Arctic explorers like Charles Francis Hall. Rochester is home to some great lawyers today too. Rochester lawyers are familiar with local courts and their rigid procedures. They can help you do everything from getting money for an injury to disentangling your personal assets with an ex-husband or ex-wife.

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