We purchased a property four years ago from a cousin's estate. On having it surveyed we found
That a thirty by forty foot piece of one of the back corners was not part of the property, but it had been occupied and maintained by the owner's family for over fifty years. They had planted shrubs
And a tree on the piece of ground early on and the tree is now guite large proving that they occupied the property for a long time. The parcel in question is part of a thirty three foot by two
Hundred fifty foot lot. Part of that lot is occupied by a church. The township assessers office
Says the church owns it but they never occupied or maintained it or otherwise took possession of it, in fact when I asked the church officials about it they said they did not know they owned it.
I would like to claim it by adverse possession, New Jersey law would apply. The church bought
Seven lots when they accquired their land, but after title searching the original lots that they bought I can't find a deed that shows that they own the two hundred and fifty foot by thirty foot
Lot that is in question, and is part of the thirty three by forty foot parcel I would like to have added
To my deed. There are registered deeds for the other six lots showing that the church owns them,
But none for the parcel in question. I have tried to title search the lot for which no deed exists
With no luck as yet. My question is can I claim adverse possession against an unknown owner?
Also, how do I find a lawyer with extensive experience in adverse possession? I had retained a lawyer who is supposed to be a real estate lawyer to no avail. I also called a lawyer referral
Service and they said they do not have lawyers listed in that much detail. Any help or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Paul

Hello Paul:

Where do you get a lawyer?? Patience, my man, patience... We have a NJ real estate lawyer right here. She'll be along in a moment. She's the best!

excon

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I'm here, but I'm sorry to say that I don't know any attorneys in NJ who handle adverse possession cases. However I did a Google search and came up with Maintaining an Action for Adverse Possession and Easement by Prescription in New Jersey - Gibbons P.C.
Which is an article written by an attorney in NJ on how to proceed with a case for adverse possession. He happens to be a partner at one of the biggest firms in NJ. You can try to contact him and maybe get a consultation. If his fee is too expensive he may be willing to recommend an attorney in your area who can handle it for a more affordable fee.

Good luck!

It snds like before you do anything. You might need to think about having the property surveyed. The easement that has kind of grown into your property. Because it snds like a simple easement that was surrendered long ago to your family. They just didn't deme it nesassary to go through the expence of recording it. Back then they didn't worry about things that.

Have the property surveyed if its in the middle of yours and the churches property then split the lot in off and Have it surveyd into your property as an easement.

Really I think your looking in the wrong spot try researching abandoned easements in New Jersy and see if you have any luck there.
Hoped this helped. Please let us know what you find. Jc

Oh goodness I can tell its Monday, I forgot to give you a little tip adverse possession can cover a lot of different things. I think what you really want to look for is a lawyer I that handles easements, and from easements to adverse, give that a try and maybe your problem won't be so tuff on you.

Happy Hunting

Jc

Your chance of adverse possession is slim but the person who sold the land would have had a better chance if they were there for 20 years. You have only owned the land for 4 years so don't could your chicken just yet. You only own what the survey shows.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pcav

We purchased a property four years ago from a cousin's estate. On having it surveyed we found
that a thirty by forty foot piece of one of the back corners was not part of the property, but it had been occupied and maintained by the owner's family for over fifty years. They had planted shrubs
and a tree on the piece of ground early on and the tree is now guite large proving that they occupied the property for a long time. The parcel in question is part of a thirty three foot by two
hundred fifty foot lot. Part of that lot is occupied by a church. The township assessers office
says the church owns it but they never occupied or maintained it or otherwise took possession of it, in fact when I asked the church officials about it they said they did not know they owned it.
I would like to claim it by adverse possession, New Jersey law would apply. The church bought
seven lots when they accquired their land, but after title searching the original lots that they bought I can't find a deed that shows that they own the two hundred and fifty foot by thirty foot
lot that is in question, and is part of the thirty three by forty foot parcel I would like to have added
to my deed. There are registered deeds for the other six lots showing that the church owns them,
but none for the parcel in question. I have tried to title search the lot for which no deed exists
with no luck as yet. My question is can I claim adverse possession against an unknown owner?
Also, how do I find a lawyer with extensive experience in adverse possession? I had retained a lawyer who is supposed to be a real estate lawyer to no avail. I also called a lawyer referral
service and they said they do not have lawyers listed in that much detail. Any help or reccomendations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Paul

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Hello All
Since I posted my question I've done more title searching , and found that a lot of the parcels
surrounding mine were taken by the township for back taxes, including the one I bought. The family I bought it from bought it from the township in the early fifties between 1952 & 1956. In 1950 Pennsauken township sold two lots and part of the parcel I'm interested in to the church.
But according to the deeds they only sold 145 feet of a 255 foot lot, (which is the one in question) to the church. I've found a deed that states there was a strip of land 330 foot long
x 33 feet that consisted of two lots one 75 x 33 the other 255 x 33, 145 foot of which comprises
the parcel mentioned above. A little calculation shows that leaves 110 foot unaccounted for.
Forty foot of that is the part that cuts the corner off my lot. The other 60 feet being behind my
neighbors . I have yet to figure out how this is going to affect me. According to this it appears to me that ownership of the piece I want is still vested in the township, thou the township assessers office told me it's owned by the church. Figure that one out!

There is such a thing as tacking whereby if the parcel to be claimed by adverse possession is occupied by more than one
person continuously without interruption the times can be combined. Whether this applies in N.J. I'm not entirely
sure, but I think it does. The problem now seems to be that adverse possession doe not apply to government entities.

I appreciate your responses,
Thank You
Paul

Good to hear Paul. Its surprising what you can learn once you start digging.just don't dig up any of the towns old skeletons.

But honestely good luck in your search,hope it works out the way you want it to
JC

I've finally discovered that the parcel is owned by the township. Will probably buy it.
Thank you for your responses.

Paul