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Title & Boundary Dispute Law in Ohio

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.

In these examples, 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 involves 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 actually 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 Mansfield, Ohio. 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 usually 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 actually owns the land that each of them thought they had just bought. Obviously, whoever loses this dispute will usually 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 Mansfield, Ohio

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 really change the position of either neighbor, and is sometimes the fairest result. This is most often 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.

Of course, there are plenty of reasons why a court might decide to enforce the property lines as the records indicate. If one neighbor knew about the discrepancy, and hid it from the other neighbor (presumably because the neighbor with the knowledge of the discrepancy benefited from it), a court will, of course, not reward this kind of dishonesty, and will decide against that neighbor. On the other hand, if the neighbor whose land would be expanded by enforcing the "real" property boundaries knew this fact, and took no action for many years, a court will probably not be receptive if he or she suddenly tries to enforce them. This is referred to as "sitting on one's rights," and courts will not reward this, either. If you have a legal right, you're expected to make efforts to vindicate it as soon as possible. If you don't, a court will essentially say "I guess it wasn't that important to you if you waited 10 years to bring this to our attention. Next case."

With title disputes, a court has to decide who owns a particular piece of land. There are many factors that a court will consider, and this decision is governed by some fairly complex laws in Mansfield, Ohio.

In general, the person who first recorded the deed at the appropriate government office will be the one who the court deems to own the land, if they didn't have any reason to know about the existence of the other deed, or other sale, or whatever else gave rise to the title dispute.

What Can A Mansfield, Ohio Attorney Do?

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

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Life in Mansfield

Mansfield, Ohio is a city in Richland County, for which it also serves as the county seat. Mansfield has a population of just under 50,000 people. Mansfield has adopted the official nickname "The Fun Center of Ohio."

Mansfield was originally settled in 1808, it was incorporated in 1828, and chartered as a city in 1857. Mansfield began to experience significant economic growth in the mid-1800s, when the railroads arrived, making available to the areaa much wider variety of goods and services.

While Mansfield was once a thriving industrial center, but like many cities in the Rust Belt, it saw a major economic decline in the 1970s. While there are still some manufacturers in Mansfield who provide a major economic boost to the city, the city has understandably been undertaking to diversify its economy, to lessen its dependence on any single economic sector.

To that end, Mansfield has promoted itself as a filming location for the movie industry. Its historic buildings, and presence of some abandoned structures, enable it to stand in for settings all over the world.

If you live in Mansfield, Ohio, and need a lawyer, it's likely that you'll be able to find the right Mansfield, Ohio attorney to meet your legal needs.

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Mansfield Boundary Dispute Lawyers and Mansfield Title Attorneys

Title & Boundary Dispute Law in Ohio

Possible Outcomes of Boundary and Title Disputes in Mansfield, Ohio