A disagreement with a neighbor about exactly where your property line actually sits can complicate a sale in ways homeowners do not always anticipate until they are already trying to move forward with a transaction.
How Boundary Disputes Typically Arise
A fence built years ago in a slightly wrong location, a survey discrepancy between neighboring properties, or simply differing assumptions about where a boundary actually falls, based on old, informal understanding rather than an actual professional survey, can all lead to a genuine disagreement between neighbors about exactly where one property ends and the next begins.
These disputes sometimes remain dormant for years, never formally addressed because neither party had a pressing reason to resolve it, until a sale, a new survey, or some other triggering event brings the disagreement back to active attention.
Why This Matters So Much for a Sale
A title search typically surfaces any recorded boundary discrepancy, and an unresolved dispute can complicate title insurance, since insurers generally want boundary questions clearly resolved before issuing a clean policy covering the property’s exact, defined boundaries.
A buyer, understandably, wants clarity about exactly what they are purchasing, and an unresolved dispute introduces genuine uncertainty that can affect both their willingness to proceed and the price they are ultimately willing to offer for a property with this kind of open question attached to it.
How We Approach a Property in This Situation
We evaluate the situation directly, understanding the specific nature of the dispute, whether it involves a small, technical discrepancy or a more significant disagreement over meaningful square footage, and factor this uncertainty into our offer accordingly, similar to how we would approach any other title-related complication.
Options for Resolving the Dispute Before Selling
A new, professional survey sometimes resolves ambiguity definitively, providing clear, documented boundaries that can settle an informal disagreement even without requiring direct negotiation with the neighbor involved.
Direct conversation with the neighbor, sometimes facilitated through attorneys on both sides, can also resolve a dispute through mutual agreement, occasionally involving a boundary line adjustment formally recorded to reflect whatever resolution both parties actually agree to.
When Resolution Before Selling Makes Sense
If the dispute is relatively minor and a straightforward survey or conversation could likely resolve it, addressing this before selling often results in a cleaner transaction and potentially a stronger offer, since removing the uncertainty entirely tends to work in your favor.
When Selling With the Dispute Still Unresolved Makes More Sense
A more complex or contentious dispute, one that might take considerable time or expense to fully resolve, sometimes makes more sense to address through a sale structured around the known uncertainty, disclosed clearly to the buyer, rather than delaying a sale indefinitely while pursuing a resolution that could take a long time to actually achieve.
Why Disclosure Matters Considerably Here
Whatever path you choose, disclosing a known boundary dispute honestly and upfront, rather than hoping it goes unnoticed, protects you from potential liability later and lets any buyer, us included, evaluate the situation accurately rather than discovering it partway through a transaction that was already underway.
How This Sometimes Overlaps With Deployment Situations
A house when you are deployed with no family nearby sometimes intersects with exactly this kind of situation, particularly when a service member deployed overseas has limited ability to personally address a boundary question that arose or was discovered while they were away and unable to manage it directly.
Moving Forward With a Property in This Situation
A boundary dispute, whatever its specific nature, is a solvable situation, whether resolved before selling or addressed transparently as part of the sale itself. We are glad to walk through your specific situation and help you understand the most practical path forward given your particular circumstances.
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