Inherited Building next to lawyer - he thinks he owns part

[Alan Robson]

Hello! I inherited a building from my late mother who had a tenant. That tenant is now gone thanks to COVID (they went out of business). I am trying to find a new tenant, and I am fielding questions regarding property lines. I have a scheduled survey to be done in 8 weeks due to demand (very small town) and until that happens I will not know where my property lines fall. There are no records of the boundaries at city hall. When my mother purchased the property in 2007, the next door neighbor told her that he and his law office own up until a certain point. She never got a survey done, and he told her "if you get a survey done, you will be pissing a lot of people off in the neighborhood" whatever that means. 

Obviously the survey is scheduled, but he is scaring off potential tenants. As they tour the property, the comes out of his office and tells them that he owns the land up until my building, to which people are turned off. 

My question is this: is there any way he can fight a legal survey with some fancy legal work in regards to encumbrances, easements, or the like if the survey is not in his favor and is in mine? 

Thanks!

[Peter Walther]

Do you know if your mother received a title policy when she purchased the property?  If so do you have a copy?  If not go back to the title agent that closed the transaction if they're still around and see if you can get a copy.

Does the neighbor have a survey?  If so ask to see a copy.

While you're doing that get your own survey done, make sure he/she knows there may be a dispute with the neighbor so extra attention can be paid to that common line.

If the neighbor disagrees with your surveyor's findings submit a claim in writing to your title underwriter, not the agent that issued the policy, but the underwriter whose policy was issued.  You should be able to get contact information from the agent or look at the policy and there should be contact in there under the Conditions and Stipulations section or look at the underwriters web site.  Let me know if you have any questions.