Real Estate & That 70's Show

What to do when you don't own what you think you own?

A property disbute arises during episode 21 of Season 3.  

It begins when Red spots Bob with a tape measure by his basketball hoop.

Bob explains that after reviewing his deed (as part of a second mortgage application), he has discovered that he actually owns several feet of Red's driveway and garage. Red immediately invites Bob to also own a select body part in a select location.

Later in the show we see Bob moving personal property around inside Red's garage and we witness the dispute "that's not your stuff", "well, it's on my property!" Bob is laying claim to everything that is physically on what he believes now to be his real estate. Alas, even further into the story Red sets Bob straight by turning the property map upside down to instead reveal Red to be the owner of a portion of Bob's property.

How do you prevent this from happening? First, always get a property survey whenever you buy real estate. "Oh, that fence is definitely on the property, but that creaky old shed is not." "Are you sure? How do you know?" "The guy I bought it from said so." Get a survey.

It doesn't matter if you're buying a city lot or 15 acres with a mountain and a stream in the woods. A new boundary survey is the best way to be certain of what is and isn't on your property. Whatever the expense may be, it's worth it to avoid astronomically larger expense later on to move the garage or lose the gazebo to a utility company easement.

I once listed a vacant lot on the river that was next to a rented house. Through the use of county GIS data and aerial photographs the seller and I did our best to point out the location of the property to prospective buyers (right, seller didn't have a survey). In the course of the sale to the eventual buyer, the buyer got a new survey done which revealed, wait for it, the property was smack in the middle of the neighbors yard, firepit and lawn furniture. Who was the most surprised? The neighbor, who had been encroaching for some time (using property that wasn't part of his lease), was so upset that things like survey stakes and my real estate sign started disappearing. The buyer didn't seem phased; the dock, after all, was still in the surveyed lot so he was content to move forward and deal with the neighbor. Had the seller obtained a survey earlier on in the listing period we may have had to deal with the neighbor a bit more ourselves.