Tying to sell and my house is on the neighbors property - MN

[Steve R.]

I purchased this property in 2011 from a bank as a foreclosure. It is in the country and has a couple acres. I lived in it for a couple of years and then rented it for the last 5. This year I decided to sell, so I fixed it up, put it on the market, and got an offer. The only thing the guy wanted was a survey so I figured, why not? Well, that opened up a big can of worms. According to the survey, the house, the buildings, the driveway, the septic, all of it is on the neighbors land. I've talked to my title person, county assessor, real estate attorney, and any body else I think may know what to do, and no one has been able to give me any advice that I can act on. I'm going to lose this sale if I can't get this straightened out. Do any of you in MN know what actions need to be taken to get this straightened out?

[Wayne Brooks]

Just to make sure..... verify that the legal description in Your purchase matches the legal description in; the foreclosure action, the original mtg from the previous owner, and in the deed where the previous owner purchased.

Surveyors rarely make this kind of mistake, but that is also possible.

If all the previous legal descriptions are the same, dating back to when the house was actually built, are we to assume that whoever built the house just “guessed” at where to build it?

Assuming there was no simple typing/scrivener’s error, then making a deal with the neighbor seems like the only solution.....maybe a prescriptive easement.