Scranton Boundary Dispute Lawyers and Scranton Title Attorneys

Find the right Title & Boundary Dispute attorney in Scranton, PA

Title & Boundary Dispute Law in Pennsylvania

There are times when neighbors will find themselves in a situation where how they've been using their land doesn't match up with the property boundaries that are on record. This can be a source of significant conflict, as one might expect.

Ideally, the neighbors could just dismiss 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.

Usually, when this happens, the owner of the property which is being encroached upon wants to expand their property to reflect the legal boundaries, and the owner of the land that will be shrunk by recognizing the legal property lines will want to keep the situation as it is.

People in Scranton, Pennsylvania should also be aware of the possibility of title (ownership) disputes. Unlike the boundary disputes considered above, the outcome of a title dispute can decide who owns an entire parcel of real property. Confusion over who actually owns a piece of property is more common that some people might imagine. Many local property records are still kept on paper, are not very well-organized, and sometimes date back a hundred years or more. A lost or misfiled deed is the most common way for a title dispute to arise. However, sometimes fraud on the part of a seller can lead to title disputes. Unscrupulous individuals will sometimes try to sell the same piece of land to more than one person. And some people even try to sell property they don't own, occasionally succeeding (and this isn't just limited to bridges in London). Usually, once the buyers discover they've been duped, the "seller" is nowhere to be found, leaving them to figure out who owns the land they all thought they had purchased.

Possible Outcomes of Boundary and Title Disputes in Scranton, Pennsylvania

One way to resolve boundary disputes is to simply re-draw the property lines to reflect what the neighbors thought they were all along. When this happens, nobody's case changes, and it's generally considered a neutral result (causing no significant loss or gain to either party). This is often done if both of the neighbors knew about the actual property lines for many years, and didn't do anything about it. A court might also take this course of action if enforcing the property lines would impose a significant hardship on one of the parties, not outweighed by the overall benefits of doing so.

Nonetheless, a court might also enforce the legal property boundaries, particularly 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 further weigh heavily in favor of enforcing the legal property lines.

When a title dispute comes up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the court has to apply some pretty complex legal and equitable principles. These rules are sometimes very 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 assistance 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 previous 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 previous sale of the same land isn't acting honestly).

What Can A Scranton, Pennsylvania 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 Scranton, Pennsylvania real estate attorney will prove invaluable if such a dispute arises.

Talk to a Real Estate Law Attorney now!

Life in Scranton

Scranton is located in the northeast region of Pennsylvania. It is in Lackawanna County, with a population of 76,089 people.

An interesting fact is that Scranton is one of the largest former anthracite coal mining communities. Other such communities include Wilkes-Barre, Pittston, and Carbondale.

Some popular attractions include the Scranton Iron Furnaces, The Elecric City Trolley Museum, The Lackawanna Coal Mine at McDade Park, Everhart Museum, Terency Powderly's House, The Houdini Museum, Sno Mountain Ski Resort, and the Masonic Temple.

Scranton is also home to many law offices and small firms that provide legal services in all areas. Residents and businesses can therefore remain rest assured because they do not need to travel far for their legal matters to be handled.

Past famous residents include Bob Degen, Judy McGrath, Alex Grass, Bill O'Reilly, B.F. Skinner, Melanie Smith, and Lizabeth Scott.

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