Grant Deed ?

[Fishtank]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California ..

I live in a condo with 2 parking space .. Recently my neighbor removed the yellow line and repaint the line on my parking space .. I told the manager in association that the parking space is deeded to me, and the neighbor couldn't do that ... ( After he painted the new line, the wide of my parking space is from 9.5 to 8.5 ).. The manager and the neighbor kept saying the grant deed from county was wrong and refused to fix the yellow line . They claim that the parking garage is "common area " . Later, the association told the other owners that this matter was only between him and me and they wouldn't do anything ..

Are the manager and the neighbor right ? what should I do ? feel like someone stole my property ...

 

[justalayman]

so, do you have a deed to the parking space? and if so, what does it define as "your property"?

while the association should step in on the matter as a matter of keeping this from escalating, I don't know that they have to. If worse comes to worse, you might have to take legal action against the neighbor if the foot is actually yours.

 

[Fishtank]

I have a document which is a grant deed from County for my parking space ..
The president in the assn told me that he's sick of listening of it , he didn't want to talk about it anymore . I have to deal with the neighbor , not the assn ..

so, do you have a deed to the parking space? and if so, what does it define as "your property"?

while the association should step in on the matter as a matter of keeping this from escalating, I don't know that they have to. If worse comes to worse, you might have to take legal action against the neighbor if the foot is actually yours.

 

[justalayman]

do you mean a deed from whomever you purchased the parking space from that is registered with the county? If so and it supports your position, it sounds like you will have to go to court to defend your property.

I don't know if you would need a surveyor to determine your actual parking space. I have never dealt directly with a deeded parking space to be familiar enough with the situation to be able to say if that would be needed to determine exactly where your space is or not. I suspect it might be necessary though.

 

[land_rover_king]

I am not sure what city that you live in, but I live in a condo complex in Redando Beach, CA. Two years ago, the HOA voted to build a work bench in a common area of the garage. To make extra working space for it they moved all the parking spaces over by a few inches, and since I was by the wall i lost nearly 9 inches!

Of course I was upset, but since they voted to make the work bench, they were not going to vote to undo it and give me my 9 inches back. I went to a lawyer, who charges me $350 and he basically told me that the HOA's are very powerful in California, and unless they are doing something like blocking my parking space, or letting somebody else use it etc...then there was really nothing i could do.

He said he he would love to take my money to fight it, which could run in the thousands, but that in the end, I would likely be unhappy with the result and that it was not worth it.

Anyway, I have learned to live with the space being smaller and most of the HOA members are not big fans of mine for making such a fuss in the first place.....so if you think you might ever want anything else from them, i would just forget about it.

 

[Fishtank]

yes , the deed is from the old owner and is registered with the county ..

do you mean a deed from whomever you purchased the parking space from that is registered with the county? If so and it supports your position, it sounds like you will have to go to court to defend your property.

I don't know if you would need a surveyor to determine your actual parking space. I have never dealt directly with a deeded parking space to be familiar enough with the situation to be able to say if that would be needed to determine exactly where your space is or not. I suspect it might be necessary though.

 

[Fishtank]

the problem is I am going to sell the condo and the association let the neighbor paint the new line that makes my parking space smaller... .. Now the neighbor parks the car on the yellow line .. The real estate guy told us that we couldn't sell the condo in this situation ..

I am not sure what city that you live in, but I live in a condo complex in Redando Beach, CA. Two years ago, the HOA voted to build a work bench in a common area of the garage. To make extra working space for it they moved all the parking spaces over by a few inches, and since I was by the wall i lost nearly 9 inches!

Of course I was upset, but since they voted to make the work bench, they were not going to vote to undo it and give me my 9 inches back. I went to a lawyer, who charges me $350 and he basically told me that the HOA's are very powerful in California, and unless they are doing something like blocking my parking space, or letting somebody else use it etc...then there was really nothing i could do.

He said he he would love to take my money to fight it, which could run in the thousands, but that in the end, I would likely be unhappy with the result and that it was not worth it.

Anyway, I have learned to live with the space being smaller and most of the HOA members are not big fans of mine for making such a fuss in the first place.....so if you think you might ever want anything else from them, i would just forget about it.

 

[justalayman]

the problem is I am going to sell the condo and the association let the neighbor paint the new line that makes my parking space smaller... .. Now the neighbor parks the car on the yellow line .. The real estate guy told us that we couldn't sell the condo in this situation ..

well, you can sell. You must disclose the situation though. Some people will be put off by that and refuse to buy.

 

[land_rover_king]

Actually, what the lawyer told me was that even with deeded spaces, the HOA can reassign them if they vote to do so, I think you are focusing too much on the dimensions of your space, and as long as you can fit a car in there, it really does not matter. I wanted to sue them association and he told me that i would be wasting my time. Believe me, I am with you because I was livid, but in reality, if you are going to sell your place, just forget about it. otherwise, you might find your place tied up in the lawsuit and then you will never be able to sell it.

 

[Fishtank]

it's complicated ...
My neighbor bought the space from the association next to my parking space which is only 7" wide ( according to my floor plan from a grant deed) and he turned it into parking space . at the beginning , he just parked the car inside the line and never complaint about it ... Recently, we decided to sell the place..he removed the line and repainted it that made my parking space smaller than what I supposed to have . ( Now the neighbor has a bigger parking space. )

I really want to sell the place , but if I can't, eventually I will rent it out .

Actually, what the lawyer told me was that even with deeded spaces, the HOA can reassign them if they vote to do so, I think you are focusing too much on the dimensions of your space, and as long as you can fit a car in there, it really does not matter. I wanted to sue them association and he told me that i would be wasting my time. Believe me, I am with you because I was livid, but in reality, if you are going to sell your place, just forget about it. otherwise, you might find your place tied up in the lawsuit and then you will never be able to sell it.

 

[Fishtank]

"refuse to buy" that's what I think ...

well, you can sell. You must disclose the situation though. Some people will be put off by that and refuse to buy.

 

[land_rover_king]

If you can rent it out then, I would just do that, as the rental market is pretty good in SOCAl with all the foreclosures and the difficulty everybody is having in borrowing money to buy houses. This would solve the parking space problem for you anyway if you can afford to do so. I was not in such a position when i got in the dispute with my HOA.

 

[Fishtank]

according to my real estate agent and the lawyer, if I don't fight for it , my 1-foot parking space will be his after 5 years...
So renting my condo out doesn't solve the problem,..
I have to do something to stop it ...

If you can rent it out then, I would just do that, as the rental market is pretty good in SOCAl with all the foreclosures and the difficulty everybody is having in borrowing money to buy houses. This would solve the parking space problem for you anyway if you can afford to do so. I was not in such a position when i got in the dispute with my HOA.

 

[justalayman]

I thought I posted to this thread again but I don't see it.

One suggestion was to play the neighbors game. Repaint the line to where it should be. It's a bit childish but it might engage the HOA to at least step into this.


The other was; sue the guy.

as long as your deed transfers a fee interest in a defined space, the HOA cannot take action to remove take it from you by a simple administrative action. So, you have to determine what is your legal interest in the space (your deed will provide this info), the actual physical location of the space (as I said previously, not sure but typically a surveyor would be the go to guy), and a lawyer to represent you unless you believe you are capable of going pro se (that's something you will have to determine).

 

[land_rover_king]

How much did the lawyer say it would cost to sue the guy?

You need to sit down and decide how much trouble this is worth to you. If you can still fit a car in the space maybe it would be cheaper to negotiate with the HOA or the neighbor and try and make him buy it from you. How much can a few inches of a parking space be worth anyway?

From the details you have already posted, it does not sound like anybody, including the HOA is going to budge on this so if it means that much to you, i would be prepared for a long and drawn out fight....as for myself, when I did the math, it just was not worth it, because if they don't capitulate, then you are going to spend thousands and its not going to increase the value of your condo $1.

Oh, and BTW, what the lawyer told me was that in property disputes, there is no guarantee that you can get the other party to pay your legal costs if you win, especially if he ( in my case the HOA) appeals it.....and you're only going to end up back where you started to begin with.