Mechanicsville Title Lawyers | Title Attorneys in VA

Title & Boundary Dispute Law in Virginia

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.

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.

However, it's more common for the neighbor whose land is being encroached upon by the other neighbor to seek enforcement of the legal property lines. The other neighbor will almost certainly want to use the property as he had been, since enforcing the legal property lines would cause him to lose some of "his" land.

In addition to the boundary disputes mentioned above, land owners and buyers in Mechanicsville, Virginia 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 Mechanicsville, Virginia

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.

A court might do the opposite, and decide to enforce the property lines as they're drawn. This will necessarily benefit one neighbor and hurt the other. A court will probably do this if one neighbor knew that his land was encroaching onto another person's property, and actively tried to hide that fact from his neighbor. Obviously, such bad behavior shouldn't be rewarded. Conversely, if the neighbor whose land was being encroached upon knew about the discrepancy, and did nothing about it, the court will probably change the property lines to reflect this prior use, to prevent that neighbor from being rewarded for "sitting on his rights."

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 Mechanicsville, Virginia.

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 Mechanicsville, Virginia 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 Mechanicsville, Virginia real estate attorney, who will help you navigate these murky legal waters.

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Life in Mechanicsville

Mechanicsville, Virginia is an unincorporated community in Hanover County, with approximately 35,000 residents.

Mechanicsville is associated with several important battles during the American Civil War. These include the Battle of Beaver Dam Creek, The Battle of Gaines' Mill, and the Battle of Cold Harbor. Some of these battles are considered by historians to be very important turning points in the war.

As a result of these, and other important events from the time, Mechanicsville, Virginia is rich with historical sites, and professional and amateur archeologists frequently visit the old battlefields looking for artifacts. Mechanicsville, Virginia is also home to a local landmark - the large stone windmill which has been a fixture of the community since it was built in the 1970s. However, it fell into disrepair over the years. It was renovated in 2008, and fully restored to working condition.

If you live in Mechanicsville, Virginia and are in need of a good attorney, chances are you'll be able to find one. There are many Mechanicsville, Virginia lawyers (or lawyers from nearby) who can probably help you with just about any legal problem you might face.

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Mechanicsville Boundary Dispute Lawyers and Mechanicsville Title Attorneys

Title & Boundary Dispute Law in Virginia

Possible Outcomes of Boundary and Title Disputes in Mechanicsville, Virginia