Selling a house, but I can't "clean" the title.... I BOUGHT IT CLEAN!

[Ben Pupa]

Hi all, I wasn't sure whether to post this in Legal or Buy/Sell, but I'll be grateful for any advice you have. 

in 2019 I purchased a property (survey map refers to it as "7B"). During the title search, it was determined an old shed on the property encroached a couple feet over the property line onto lot "7A". I was told it was no big deal as long as the neighbor signed a document giving me permission to keep the shed. She declined, but proceeded to sell her lot (7A) with no further discussion about it. The new owners never mentioned it and I assumed that was the end of it. **My deed references the recorded 1986 survey map, this will be important later!!**

Now in 2023 I am under contract to sell my property, and time is of the essence. The buyer's for my lot (7B) had their title search done, which revealed that my shed doesn't touch 7A at all! A survey for 7A in 2013 shows that my property line actually wraps around the shed. This means I never needed permission from the neighbor to begin with since there is no encroachment. However, since my title references the 1986 map and not the 2013 map, I'm screwed. 

There is a discrepancy between the 7A and 7B recorded maps! Basically, I was never legally granted the 10 square ft (+/-) of land on the back of my shed, but neither was the buyer of 7A. This means it still belongs to the people I originally purchased 7B from, and I cannot sell it. The buyer plans to subdivide my land and resell it, so they require need a clean title. I was just told I should not have had clear title to close back in 2019, but now I'm stuck with the problem.

I have title insurance for my purchase of 7B, and I know they don't "insure" anything that a new survey discovers. However, the "new" survey for 7A was performed in 2013, and my title company had access to that map. 

Obviously I have a lot of questions, but mainly:

What can I do to clean my title?

Did my title company screw up by not referencing the more recent survey in my title?.. or were they not allowed to use the new survey because it was for the neighbor (7A) and not me (7B)?

If they screwed up, how do I "invoke" the title insurance to cover my monetary damages (either loss of sale, or me paying attorney fees to fix this)?

Is it even worth approaching the closing attorney I used 4 years ago to ask about this? or should I just start from scratch with someone new?

I look forward to your replies

-Ben

[Tom Gimer]

Quote from @Ben Pupa:

Here, the newer map shows this box extending my property around the shed. However, my deed does not have this extension, so I cannot sell it. 

Presumably there is something recorded among the land records establishing a new lot line. The most recent surveyor relied upon something to draw those segments.

The legal description of your land may now include 2 parcels found in 2 separate instruments.

Fairly simple fix if this was missed -- a confirmatory deed could be executed by your seller that correctly describes the land and conveys all of it.