Passaic Boundary Dispute Lawyers and Passaic Title Attorneys

Find the right Title & Boundary Dispute attorney in Passaic, NJ

Title & Boundary Dispute Law in New Jersey

Sometimes, 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 ignore 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. Also, 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.

Therefore, neighbors more often end up in some type of legal dispute over whether and to what extent the property lines should be enforced. Obviously, when the property lines are changed, one neighbor wins, and the other loses. It should come as no surprise, then, that legal fights are often the result.

In addition to the boundary disputes mentioned above, land owners and buyers in Passaic, New Jersey 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 disagreement 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 someone 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 usually 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 Passaic, New Jersey

One possible outcome of a boundary dispute is a court effectively re-drawing the boundaries to fit what the neighbors had perceived. This is most often 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 decide 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 most of them boil down to common-sense principles of fairness. For example, 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 probably won't enforce them.

In Passaic, New Jersey courts have many options when it comes to resolving title disputes. However, these disputes are usually governed by some fairly complex (and old) legal principles. While they're generally 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 details too much, courts usually 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 prevail in a dispute like this, a buyer will generally 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 Passaic, New Jersey Attorney Do?

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

Talk to a Real Estate Law Attorney now!

Life in Passaic

Passaic, New Jersey is a city in Passaic County. As of a 2008 Census estimate, its population is just under 67,000 people.

The city of Passaic can trace its origins to a Dutch settlement established in 1679, on the Passaic River. "Passaic" comes from the Lenape word pahsayèk, which means "valley." The 19th Century saw a great deal of industrial growth, becoming a center for the textile industry. Passaic is sometimes called the "birthplace of television" because, while the TV was not invented there, it is the site of the first permanent TV station designed to broadcast to consumers. It began transmission in 1931.

Currently, portions of Passaic are designated by the state of New Jersey as "urban enterprise zones." This is part of a state program to promote entrepreneurship and economic growth by targeting areas underserved by businesses providing basic services, and encouraging them to set up shop there through reduced sales taxes (3 1/2% as opposed the statewide rate of 7%), and tax credits for hiring new employees.

If you live in Passaic, New Jersey, and need an attorney, chances are good that you'll be able to find one. Thanks to its size, diversity, and proximity to the large city of Newark, there is a significant legal community there. The chances are good that a Passaic, New Jersey lawyer can help you with whatever legal issues you might face.

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