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Title & Boundary Dispute Law in New York

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.

It's normally 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 extremely 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. However, 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 really larger than he initially believed (due to the property line not being where he thought it was) wants to make use of the additional 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.

While the boundary disputes discussed above occur fairly regularly, they aren't the only type of land dispute that can happen in Elmont, New York. There are also title disputes. These disagreements arise when it isn't clear who owns an entire parcel of land. There are many reasons why such confusion might arise, but a common one is failure to properly record a deed, or subsequent loss of a deed by the recording office. While normally innocent in origin, these disputes can also be the product of fraud. Sometimes, a landowner will sell his land to more than one person, with each buyer assuming that they are the only buyer. Having "sold" his land multiple times, the fraudster presumably flees the jurisdiction with his ill-gotten gains. This leaves the buyers to figure out who really owns the land that each of them thought they had just bought. Obviously, whoever loses this dispute will normally have to absorb the loss of the land's purchase price, if the fraudulent seller cannot be found.

Possible Outcomes of Boundary and Title Disputes in Elmont, New York

Courts have many tools at their disposal to resolve boundary disputes. One way is to simply re-draw the property lines to reflect how the neighbors had been using the land before the discrepancy was discovered. This doesn't truly change the position of either neighbor, and is sometimes the fairest result. This is most commonly 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.

However, a court might also enforce the legal property boundaries, especially if failing to do so would place a significant burden on the owner of the encroached-upon land. If the owner of the encroaching land knew of the encroachment, and concealed it from his neighbor, this fact would also weigh heavily in favor of enforcing the legal property lines.

When a title dispute comes up in Elmont, New York, the court has to apply some pretty confusing legal and equitable principles. These rules are sometimes fairly obscure, mainly because they can trace their origins back hundreds of years, to the common-law courts of England. However, a close examination of them reveals their basic goal: deciding ownership disputes based on longstanding conceptions of basic fairness.

Suffice to say, you'll want the help of an expert on this subject. In general, however, you should know that courts almost always rule in favor of the buyer who first recorded the deed, AND (not "or") didn't have knowledge of any prior conveyances. This protects the buyer who was most diligent in vindicating his own rights, and acted in good faith (obviously, a buyer who knew about a prior sale of the same land isn't acting honestly).

What Can A Elmont, New York Attorney Do?

Real property disputes typically 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 Elmont, New York real estate attorney, who will help you navigate these murky legal waters.

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Life in Elmont

Elmont, New York is an unincorporated community Nassau County, New York. It is a suburb and bedroom community (a community that is almost entirely residential, populated in large part by people who commute to a nearby, larger, city for their jobs) of New York City. Its population is estimated at about 33,000. The community now known as Elmont can trace its roots back to a land purchase in 1650. Dutch colonists established New Amsterdam in the region, and the colony was eventually transferred to the English, who renamed it "New York." In 1905, the Elmont became home to the Belmont Race Track, which is a major venue for horse racing, and hosts one of the legs of the Triple Crown. During the economic boom following WWII, attractive suburban tract homes began springing up in Elmont, which is largely how it adopted its current role as a residential suburb of New York City. Modernly, Elmont, New York is an extremely diverse city, with roughly equal parts of its population (about 40% each) being African-American and white. It also has significant concentrations of several other ethnicities and cultures, reflecting the diversity of New York, and the U.S. as a whole. Elmont, New York attorneys are numerous, and the selection of attorneys in the greater New York City area is practically unlimited. If you're facing a legal issue, it's very like that an Elmont, New York lawyer can help.

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Elmont Boundary Dispute Lawyers and Elmont Title Attorneys

Title & Boundary Dispute Law in New York

Possible Outcomes of Boundary and Title Disputes in Elmont, New York