okiesurveyor

One of the most misunderstood aspects of land ownership in Oklahoma (or anywhere) is adverse possession. It is a very complicated legal issue and should always involve a qualified real estate attorney. Many people believe that possession is 9/10ths of the law. In real estate, this is not true. Before adverse possession can ripen into fee ownership, several things must happen. Only one of which is occupying the land in question for 15 years. This article is not comprehensive and should not be taken as legal advice but only as a starting point if you think you have a claim or if an adverse claim is being made against your land. Five elements muse be met before an adverse possession claim can be made. Even then, the claim must go through the court system to make the claim into a fee ownership (deed). It does not just happen automatically, even if the criteria below are met. The five elements are listed below with a brief (non-lawyer) explanation: Actual : This means you m...

This is one of the most common misconceptions among landowners today. In an earlier blog I wrote about evidence that surveyors use to retrace a boundary location. Fences certainly can be part of that evidence. That does not mean, however, that a landowner should assume that a fence is built on the property line. Fences have been built for many reasons, containing livestock or pets, providing a visual barrier, even just plain ol’ decoration. Sometimes a fence may be built to mark a boundary line but my experience says this is more often the exception than the rule. Many properties have utility easements or building setback lines along their perimeter and fences are often built along those lines instead of the actual property line. If you didn’t personally build the fence in question, it would be better to assume that it is NOT on the property line. At least that way you won’t get yourself into trouble later for building your fence on the adjoiner’s property. Many landow...