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Title & Boundary Dispute Law in Georgia

Finding out that property lines are improperly drawn and learning that you have been partially occupying your neighbor's land, or vice versa, can cause some very serious legal issues.

It's typically possible, though not always easy, for neighbors to come to a resolution of these disputes on their own. If the neighbors happen to like one another, and the difference between the actual property lines and what they believed the property lines to be is quite small (a foot or two, for example), they might simply decide to go on as they had before. This is certainly a desirable solution in the short term, since it saves everyone a great deal of time and energy. Nonetheless, in the long term, this can cause problems, particularly if one neighbor decides they want to enforce the legal property lines down the road.

Nonetheless, it's more common for the neighbor whose land is being encroached upon by the other neighbor to seek enforcement of the legal property lines. The other neighbor will almost certainly want to use the property as he had been, since enforcing the legal property lines would cause him to lose some of "his" land.

People in Lagrange, Georgia 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 Lagrange, Georgia

One possible result of a boundary dispute is a court effectively re-drawing the boundaries to fit what the neighbors had perceived. This is most frequently done if the neighbors were aware for a long time of the "real" property lines, and didn't do anything about it. It also helps if the neighbor who is encroaching makes major improvements to the land, and enforcing the new property lines would place a major burden on him.

On the other hand, a court could determine to take the opposite approach, and order the neighbors to abide by the legal property lines. When deciding which course of action to take, courts consider many factors, but majority of them boil down to common-sense principles of fairness. For instance, if the owner of the land who was encroaching onto his neighbor's land knew of the encroachment, and hid this fact from the other neighbor (hoping to continue to use more land than he paid for), that will weigh heavily in favor of enforcing the legal property lines. On the other hand, if neither neighbor knew about the error, and it turns out that the actual property line goes through somebody's living room, a court likely won't enforce them.

With title disputes (as opposed to the boundary disputes discussed above), a Lagrange, Georgia court has to determine who owns an entire parcel of land. There are some pretty complicated legal issues involved here.

Without going into too much detail, the individual who recorded their deed initially will be the one who takes ownership, provided he or she did not know (or had no reason to know) of the existence of the other deed.

What Can A Lagrange, Georgia Attorney Do?

Real property disputes usually involve very old legal principles that can even confound lawyers who aren't experts in real estate law. For that reason, you should almost always hire an expert Lagrange, Georgia real estate attorney, who will assist you navigate these murky legal waters.

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Life in Lagrange

LaGrange, Georgia is a town located in Troup County, Georgia.

It currently has a population of about 25,000 people. Settlement of the area now known as LaGrange began in the early 1800s, and got its name from Colonel Oscar LaGrange, an Union officer during the American Civil War, who defied the "scorched earth" strategy of some Union commanders, and spared the homes of many residents of the area.

After the war, LaGrange became an important transportation hub, with several rail lines converging in the town. It also became a major center for the textile industry, like many Southern cities in the 19th and 20th centuries. However, by the mid-20th Century, this industry had begun to decline significantly.

Currently, thanks to the convergence of several national highways in LaGrange, the city remains a transportation hub, with many large companies, such as Wal-Mart, having set up distribution centers in the area.

If you live in LaGrange, Georgia or the surrounding areas, you can probably find a good LaGrange, Georgia attorney who can handle your case. LaGrange, Georgia attorneys are ready to help.

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Lagrange Boundary Dispute Lawyers and Lagrange Title Attorneys

Title & Boundary Dispute Law in Georgia

Possible Outcomes of Boundary and Title Disputes in Lagrange, Georgia