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Seller Moved Property Pins On Both Sides Of The Property.

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I purchased a cabin in Maine in 2022. Before closing, the Sellers wife disclosed to me that her husband had moved the property pin on the north side of the property. She said that she had talked to the neighbor and he was fine with deeding me the small triangle. I said this was fine as long as she paid for a survey and the legal fees associated.

It took 2 years to get a survey, (pandemic backup) and the survey revealed the Sellers husband has moved the boundary pins on the southern side as well.

My well, and garage access as well as electrical easement are outside of this boundary. The property to the southern side is owned by a family trust.

The garage and well have been there for over 20 years, And the neighbors on the southern line knew about the build and the drill, but didn't say anything because they weren't sure what the property boundaries really were (very few properties have surveys in Downeast Maine)

Yes, its a mess, and the Sellers are pretty non responsive. My realtor suggested I make a claim for my title insurance, who, after taking 6 months to respond, sent me a 10 page denial letter, correlating every bit of information I sent him in his document.

This was a huge disappointment, as every realtor has said that this is the fix-all for this kind of mess. But as I understand it, even if I win I would lose. (they pay the purchase price, but you lose the property? no appreciation)

There are a lot of parts that Ive been researching. since the driveway access and the well have been in use for over 20 years, I could file for adverse possession. But no one is sure whether the clock resets once I purchased the property. While the Sellers are at fault, the husband in in mental decline and they haven't involved him in the discussions for fear of upsetting him, the sellers wife doesn't want to deal and tends to do nothing. Its been three years and I'm losing patience with everyone, since the effort to remedy this situation is left to me.

As I mentioned, I'm in rural Maine, there aren't many lawyers that specialize in real estate, and the only one I know of is friends with the Sellers. (He couldn't have walked me out the door any faster). Being rural Maine, there is also the prejudice of people from "away" and legal decisions tend to favor the locals with generations of family.

submitted by /u/M2Maine
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