Property lines help determine where your land starts and ends. However, the lines may not always be clear, and your neighbors may believe some land is actually theirs.
How does this affect you if you’re selling your home? Can you sell a house with a boundary dispute in progress?
No one wants to deal with property line disagreements while trying to sell their house fast in Pittsburgh, PA. Even so, resolving them lets you remove the dark mark from your property’s status.
The What and Why of Boundary Disputes
A property line dispute happens when property owners disagree on which parts of the nearby land are theirs. Title issues or physical land changes may muddy who owns what. Boundary arguments come in several forms:
- Encroachment: Encroachment claims involve structures from one property reaching over the boundaries of someone else’s property. These claims often refer to fences, trees, or sheds.
- Fences: A fence dispute occurs when there’s a disagreement over who owns or should maintain it.
- Boundary lines: A boundary disagreement means the involved parties aren’t sure where one property ends and another begins. This most often happens due to unclear titles or missing and outdated records.
- Neutral land: If project plans leave a strip of land unowned between two properties, both parties can claim it. This may start a land ownership argument.
Neighbor conflicts add more stress when you’re trying to sell your property. How can you sell a house with a boundary dispute without driving people away?
Resolving Boundary Disputes
You can try to resolve the dispute to attract buyers, often without involving legal enforcement.
- Review the title deeds and plan: If you haven’t tried checking the title yet, do so. You and your neighbor should compare property title deeds and plans to see where the lines are.
- Hire a land surveyor: If reading the documents seems too confusing, hire someone to do it. Land surveyors can assess the property and other details, providing their expert opinion on boundary line locations.
- Have a discussion: Sometimes, you can just talk it out. If your neighbor is amicable, you may work through the misunderstanding. Try to clarify the agreed boundary lines together.
- Discuss with help: You can get a legal resolution without going to court. For example, consult solicitors who specialize in boundary disputes. You and your neighbor could also go through mediation instead.
- To court: If all else fails, take all your evidence and go to court to make your claim. This is the most expensive and time-consuming option, so consider the others first.
Sell Your Home Fast in Pittsburgh
How else can you sell a house with a boundary dispute? Easy: Sell your home for cash.
Sell Pittsburgh Now, LLC has the time, resources, and network connections to resolve boundary disputes on our own time. Meanwhile, you can proceed with your life with this hands-off approach, getting cash to ease your exit.
Call 412-275-5238 to talk with an expert cash home buyer in our office today!