<p>I have a city lot & while our neighbor has been using part of our lot ( our driveway is west of our house- while he has a narrow piece of land that is east of his), to park his car- he is now preparing to build a garage & I want to be sure it is not on our property.</p>
<p>He hasn’t hired a survey so I am thinking I should be doing that- any comments or suggestions?</p>
<p>Did you get a survey when you bought the house? If so and if the surveyor is still in business, they can ususally do an update for a lot less than a surveyor starting from scratch.</p>
<p>Not sure what it’s like where you are, but here if you want to build a structure that size you need a permit, which involves making sure that the building is being done within your own property line. I’d contact the zoning board (or whichever local govt. entity oversees this sort of work) and ask them. The onus should be on your neighbor to make sure he’s building legally.</p>
<p>I agree with Booklady. Around here you can’t build a garage without a building permit AND a survey. Also around here the title insurance companies usually insist on surveys so there’s generally a survey that is part of the mortgage papers. Even if one or both of you have surveys you or (preferably your neighbor) may still need to get a surveyor to stake exactly where the line between your two houses is. You should call your building department and find out what’s required.</p>
<p>Property lines can be iffy - particularly in older areas. I once found out that a neighbor had built part of his house on the lot our house was on (before we owned it) by simply getting a permit to build 9’ out and then actually building 10 1/2 feet. Your neighbor should get the lot line surveyed before building anything. I’d be surprised if your building department would issue a permit in those close quarters without one.</p>
<p>There’s an argument to be made for letting him build it… and if it’s on your lot, you own it.</p>
<p>I’m concerned that by letting him park there, you’ve created an easement. You need to let your neighbor know that he has to have a survey before starting or at least a mutually agreed property line. He does not need a permit unless the structure is larger than 10x12: [url=<a href=“http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/Permits/FAQ/Permits/default.asp#questionone]DPD”>http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/Permits/FAQ/Permits/default.asp#questionone]DPD</a> – FAQ: Permits<a href=“I%20would%20assume%20a%20garage%20is%20larger%20than%20that,%20but%20maybe%20he’s%20got%20a%20Smart%20car?”>/url</a></p>
<p>^10x12 is not big enough for a garage.</p>
<p>I would seek the advice of an attorney who specializes in this area of the law:</p>
<p>My parents have a next-door neighbor who was using my parent’s land, a downward slope going toward the neighbor’s house but was within my parent’s property line. The neighbor was using this slope for about 20 years-- he had even landscaped it. A survey confirmed that my parents owned this land. It cost approximately $800.00 about 8 or 9 years ago to have the survey done. The reason they did this is because my dad wanted to build a fence to block the unsightly neighbor’s side yard, but the nieghbor balked saying he didn’t want a fence on “his” slope. My parents sued, it went to court, and a judge ruled that, even though my folks owned the land, this was a “prescriptive easement” that the neighbor was given, since they were using my parent’s land for so long. The judge ruled that the neighbor has the right to use the land for as long as they are living and then the easement goes away. </p>
<p>You may need to sue them if they insist on building a structiure. Hopefully a judge will not let them build anything however a judge may let them continue to use the land, similar to my parent’s next door neighbor.</p>
<p>The last property survey may be on log at you county clerks office.</p>
<p>I would get a survey and then give a copy to neighbor and tell him that you just wanted to make sure he knew where his property line stopped and yours started. See how he responds. JShain is right. If you allow him to use it, the courts might grant him an easement. Make your position clear and nip it in the bud before he starts building.</p>
<p>EmeraldKity,</p>
<p>You can use the King County iMap application to view aerial photographs of your lot superimposed with property lines. It is accurate to about 5 feet or so. I’d start there and look at the aerial photographs compared to where he wants to build. If you just can’t tell, then you could give him a printout of the aerial photograph and property line, and ask that the line be surveyed to show the location. It’s neighborly to split the cost among adjoining properties as it adds value.</p>
<p>Usually zoning laws require a setback from a property line of five feet or more. Nothing can be built within that area without a zoning variance which can only be approved if adjacent property owners do not object.</p>
<p>I would call whatever governmental agency is in charge of zoning in your area and ask them about this matter. Someone in the office responsible for issuing building permits might be good to talk to as well.</p>
<p>An easement that he would have would most likely be limited to allowing him to continue to park on your property, but would not allow him to build a new structure on the land. Also, as NJTheatre suggests, setbacks should require him to keep it not only on his own property, but some distance from the property line. </p>
<p>If you live a neighborhood with fairly tight/small lots, I would not recommend agreeing to an easement allowing him to build closer. First, it will impact your property value at resale, and second, it can have real implications for fire service. And while house fires are fairly rare, garage fires are actually pretty common.</p>
<p>EMK - Your local municipal office should have a map with your property lines on it. The deed to your property will have same … though you may need someone with orienteering skills to interpret, because the lines are generally listed in azimuth and distance. If your property has been expanded, there should be a property map associated with the building permit. If you have a well or septic system the land use office should have a map of that also.</p>
<p>So head down to your local municipal offices and inquire. Beats paying a lot of money for lawyers and surveyors if you don’t really need them. JMHO of course … (and no offense intended, all you lawyers and surveyors out there!).</p>
<p>Surveyor here, so here is what to do and not to waste your time doing ;)</p>
<p>1st-Call city/town and find out if a permit was issued for the construction of building,if so a plan was likley filed,so go look at it…My guess being in a city, the neighbor can build within 6" of property line…</p>
<p>2nd-Take a look at your survey,see if you can “roughly” determine the property limits,or perhaps the corners have been staked, and you don’t even know it </p>
<p>3rd-Ignore this advice from above</p>
<p>“There’s an argument to be made for letting him build it… and if it’s on your lot, you own it.”</p>
<p>NOT TRUE, as a matter of fact knowingly allowing this sets you up for a lawsuit for adverse possession…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>In our area, these are notoriously inaccurate and no one relies on them (especially in the older parts of town where houses have changed hands a lot). Around here, people always get surveys (they are about $200-300) and often, the mortgage companies require them.</p>
<p>The seller of one of our houses insisted that the property line went much farther back than it actually did. They only way we knew was by having a survey. We also had a neighbor’s fence on our property at one house.</p>
<p>*An easement that he would have would most likely be limited to allowing him to continue to park on your property, but would not allow him to build a new structure on the land. Also, as NJTheatre suggests, setbacks should require him to keep it not only on his own property, but some distance from the property line. *</p>
<p>I cannot even find info about the easement- We haven’t had a survey & neither has he- but another neighbor had a recent survey and we measured from those markers- and it indicates that about half his " driveway" is on our property. No one had been living there for several years- he recently moved in ( last month) after he had his house remodeled. He did have a carport that was practically sharing a wall with our garage ( about 2" apart) & when he mentioned he was going to tear it down & rebuild ( it had never been used for anything but storage), I asked if he had a survey- which he didn’t & I told him that I didn’t think he would be allowed to tear it all down & rebuild without a permit.</p>
<p>However- that is what they are apparently doing- there aren’t any permits registered & they tore down all the walls to the carport. ( lots of info available on line)
I am going to notify him, that I am going to get a survey- & I haven’t filed a complaint yet- but I want to make sure his construction is not on our property. ( & because of setbacks- I don’t think he would be able to do it at all)</p>
<p>EK, I don’t believe it’s permissible for someone to tear down a structure in Seattle without a demolition permit. You can log on to the land use department at this link [Seattle</a> Department of Planning and Development (DPD)](<a href=“http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/]Seattle”>DPD Redirect) and lodge a complaint on-line. You can also search the same site using your neighbor’s address to determine whether he has obtained a permit. Unfortunately, the department is not always the most thorough. We had a neighbor who demolished a large structure after a fire and quickly cleaned up the site, without any attempt to mitigate the dispersal of soot to nearby houses. Following a complaint, the city determined that there was “no violation” because the structure had never existed! They did reverse this decision after proof (including news stories about the fire) was brought forth. My point is that there is a process in place to make sure that homeowners comply with building requirements, but you may need to be vigilant and be prepared to present your own documentation to ensure that the process works.</p>
<p>If he only moved in about a month ago and there is no recorded easement (it would listed at the County Recorder’s office, by property) he most likely does NOT have any kind of an easement. Is he a new property owner or is he renter? </p>
<p>To have an easement by use he would have had to have used your driveway for a significant period of time (like a number of years), with your knowledge. These kinds of easements typically go with the property owner, not with the property.</p>
<p>A recorded easement would have involved a survey, showing what portion of your property the adjacent property could use and what the allowable uses would be. This could have been done years ago, before you ever bought the property, but it would of been disclosed to you at the time you bought the property, and it would show on the deed or in the abstract of title.</p>
<p>Listen to qdogpa!!</p>