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Title & Boundary Dispute Law in Idaho

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.

In these instances, neighbors usually have the option to resolve the dispute by themselves. If the neighbors are on amicable terms with each other, and the dispute is minor (for example, it only includes a difference of a couple feet), and enforcing the property lines would be a major inconvenience for one or both of the neighbors, they'll probably decide to just go on as they had before. This is a viable option, to be sure, but it's not a perfect one: if, sometime down the road, one of the neighbors wants to attempt to enforce the legal boundaries, they might find themselves unable to do so.

In these cases, what often happens is that the owner of the property which is truly larger than he initially believed (due to the property line not being where he thought it was) wants to make use of the further property, and eject his neighbor from it. The other neighbor, on the other hand, will want to keep using the land as before, to avoid having his property shrink.

In addition to the boundary disputes mentioned above, land owners and buyers in Boise, Idaho should also be aware of the possibility of a title dispute. Rather than being a disagreement over the exact boundaries between two pieces of land, a title dispute is a conflict over who actually owns an entire plot of land. Uncertainty over ownership of land can come up more often than you might think, and is most often caused by a buyer's failure to correctly record a deed, or the accidental loss or destruction of a deed. Sometimes, however, these disputes can be more dishonest in origin: on occasion, unscrupulous sellers of land will attempt to sell the same parcel to more than one person. Obviously, once you've sold land to one person, you can't sell the same land to anyone else, as you no longer own it. These tricksters know this, but are attempting to gain a large amount of money through the multiple sales. Once this is done, they typically attempt to flee the state or country before the buyers discovery they've been duped. This leaves it up to the buyers to figure out amongst themselves who owns the land.

Possible Outcomes of Boundary and Title Disputes in Boise, Idaho

Courts have many tools at their disposal to resolve boundary disputes. One way is to just re-draw the property lines to reflect how the neighbors had been using the land before the discrepancy was discovered. This doesn't very change the position of either neighbor, and is sometimes the fairest result. This is most frequently done because the neighbors were both aware of the legal property lines, and that they differed from how they were using the land, and went on using the land anyway.

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 the case of disputes over title, courts have to figure out who owns a specific piece of real property. Courts will consider many factors, and there are some confusing and (in some cases) antiquated legal issues that guide Boise, Idaho courts on these matters.

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 Boise, Idaho 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 Boise, Idaho real estate attorney to help you with such legal problems.

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Life in Boise

Boise City is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon. When you add on that Boise City acts as the Ada County seat, you begin to understand what an attractive city it is. The Boise River Greenbelt attracts nature lovers and is home to outstanding bird watching during migratory seasons. The World Center for Birds of Prey is nearby and is playing an integral role in repopulating endangered Peregrine Falcon and California Condor populations. For a closer look at the wild, Julia Davis Park and Zoo Boise offer a wide range of animals, over 200 to be exact, including African animals such as lions.

Boise City enjoys a strong economy as a growing high-tech, transportation, and hub of company headquarters. WinCo Foods, BodyBuilding.com, Clearwater Analytics, and Albertsons all have headquarters and manufacturing facilities in Boise City. Relative to the national statistics, Boise City enjoys a very low unemployment rate. Since so many Boise residents are hard at work, the city also boasts shockingly low crime statistics.

Boise is a safe prosperous community in which Ada County operates its major inner workings like the legal system. Ada County Courts in Boise City are responsible for handling a wide variety of cases like child custody, wrongful termination, probate, and criminal cases. A qualified cast of lawyers live in Boise City as well. Boise City lawyers are knowledgeable of local courts and procedures. Lawyers in Boise City can work with you to determine your best course of action whether you're thinking about bankruptcy or filing a personal injury lawsuit.

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Boise Boundary Dispute Lawyers and Boise Title Attorneys

Title & Boundary Dispute Law in Idaho

Possible Outcomes of Boundary and Title Disputes in Boise, Idaho