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Title & Boundary Dispute Law in New York

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.

It's usually 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 very 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.

In these cases, what often happens is that the owner of the property which is actually 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.

Title disputes in Central Islip, New York, on the other hand, involve questions of ownership over an entire parcel of land. This confusion can occasionally arise from improperly recorded deeds, resulting in inadvertent (and, occasionally, deliberate) sales of the same parcel of land to multiple people. Obviously, each buyer wants to be the one who takes title, particularly if it seems unlikely that they'll be able to get their money back. This can lead to some very heated disputes.

Possible Outcomes of Boundary and Title Disputes in Central Islip, New York

There are many ways to resolve boundary disputes. One way is to change the legal property lines to reflect the use that the neighbors had been making of the land before the discrepancy was discovered. This is generally regarded a sort of "neutral" result - nobody's situation changes. If both neighbors knew about the real boundaries for a very long time, and did nothing about it, a court may view this as them having acquiesced to the status quo, and decide that it would be unfair to force the neighbors to change their use of the land after such a long period of time. This might also be done if enforcing the property lines would place an extremely large burden on one neighbor, and re-drawing them to reflect their actual use would put a comparatively small burden on the other neighbor

A court, for several possible reasons, might decide to give effect to the legally-recorded property lines, which would necessarily change the neighbors' situation, with respect to how they use their land. For instance, if the neighbor who is benefiting from the prevailing situation (he is using land beyond the actual boundary of his property, thereby encroaching onto the land of another) knew about the discrepancy and took steps to actively hide this fact from the other neighbor, the court is very unlikely to do anything that rewards this behavior, even in the slightest. Therefore, a court is likely to decide against the dishonest neighbor. Conversely, if the neighbor who would benefit from enforcing the property lines did nothing to make this happen for many years, a court will probably tell them that they had their chance, and essentially consented to the current arrangement when they took no action to correct it.

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 perplexing and (in some cases) antiquated legal issues that guide Central Islip, New York courts on these matters.

Without delving into the specifics 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 Central Islip, New York Attorney Do?

The legal issues surrounding title and boundary disagreements can get pretty perplexing, and there are usually very high stakes involved (most people think their land is pretty important). For that reason, a good Central Islip, New York real estate attorney will prove invaluable if such a dispute arises.

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Life in Central Islip

Central Islip, New York is a community of about 32,000 people, as of the 2000 census. It is located in Suffolk County, on Long Island.

The name came from Islip, Northamptonshire, England, which was the hometown of William Nicoll, the first European to settle the area, in 1683.

In 1842, the Long Island Railroad's rapid eastern expansion reached Suffolk, and Suffolk Central Station was opened, which caused a rapid expansion of Central Islip.

In 1889, a large mental hospital, which would eventually become the Central Islip Psychiatric Center, was opened. By 1955, it housed over 10,000 patients, and closed in 1996, after the last of the patients were moved to other facilities.

Modernly, Central Islip largely serves as a residential suburb of New York City, especially its outer boroughs. Many residents of Central Islip commute to various parts of New York City for their jobs, but live in Central Islip to enjoy its quiet nature.

Central Islip, New York lawyers are plentiful, and are competent to hand virtually any case that an individual, family, or small business is likely to face. If you have a legal problem, you should get in touch with a Central Islip, New York lawyer today.

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Central Islip Boundary Dispute Lawyers and Central Islip Title Attorneys

Title & Boundary Dispute Law in New York

Possible Outcomes of Boundary and Title Disputes in Central Islip, New York