Grant Deed ?

[justalayman]

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.

Unless there was some malicious intent involved, you will rarely get legal costs from the other party.

 

[GoIllini]

2nd justalayman on the neighbors game. Repaint the line. It may be a little passive-aggressive, but it's funny to watch- and it works.

My Dad has had a similar situation. For the past five years, a neighbor has always parked his boat trailer on the backyard of my Dad's summer cottage. Instead of getting angry, Dad would always just move it back to the neighbor's side of the property line. Finally, the neighbor saw him doing this and came out and started yelling. Dad agreed to pay for the property survey if they both agreed to abide by it. Whaddayaknow, Dad was right and the neighbor backed off.

Sometimes, you don't know why a neighbor does something stupid. So you fix the problem, laugh to yourself a little, and have him keep repainting the line until he wants to explain to you why he thinks the original line was wrong.

 

[Fishtank]

I can't repaint the line because the guy parks his car right on the "new" yellow line ..

suing the guy is the only way I can do now .

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).

 

[Fishtank]

the lawyer didn't say how much it would cost us , but if I spend thousands and win the case, I would just go for it ..

if it's a few inches of a parking space, maybe I will try to forget it , but it's like 1-foot (maybe even more)..

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.

 

[Fishtank]

you know what ? I offered to pay for the survery to fix the line , noone in the building said "OK"... even the manger and the guy who repainted the line just kept saying the grant deed was incorrect .. Later, the guy threatened with suing me .. Can you believe that ?

He stole my 1-foot (maybe a little bit more) of parking space and wants to sue me ? it just blows my mind ...

2nd justalayman on the neighbors game. Repaint the line. It may be a little passive-aggressive, but it's funny to watch- and it works.

My Dad has had a similar situation. For the past five years, a neighbor has always parked his boat trailer on the backyard of my Dad's summer cottage. Instead of getting angry, Dad would always just move it back to the neighbor's side of the property line. Finally, the neighbor saw him doing this and came out and started yelling. Dad agreed to pay for the property survey if they both agreed to abide by it. Whaddayaknow, Dad was right and the neighbor backed off.

Sometimes, you don't know why a neighbor does something stupid. So you fix the problem, laugh to yourself a little, and have him keep repainting the line until he wants to explain to you why he thinks the original line was wrong.

 

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

He's gotta move his car at some point. Just repaint it when he's gone.

Get the survey done and the letter from the attorney. Then sue in small claims court for costs incurred to regain your property.

 

[land_rover_king]

How do you know you did not already lose the space you are claiming because of the same 5 year rule?

I am playing devils advocate here, but lets say that the part of the space you are claiming was lost long ago. How can you be sure of that? Did you ask people in the building that lived there longer that you when the lines were painted originally and if other people ever parked cars there?

Maybe where the line is painted does not even matter, but if I were you i would go ahead and get a surveyor and check all the lines and then sue him in superior court. Small claims is not going to matter in California, because if he loses, he can just pay for a lawyer and appeal it to superior court and you will have to start all over again. I bought a self-help book from Nolo books about going to small claims court when I had my issue and then just gave up realizing how much work was involved.

Good luck.

 

[justalayman]

land_rover_king;2747478]

I am playing devils advocate here, but lets say that the part of the space you are claiming was lost long ago. How can you be sure of that? Did you ask people in the building that lived there longer that you when the lines were painted originally and if other people ever parked cars there?

because the OP's deed still says it's his. If the neighbor actually took ownership of the disputed area, he would have had to have sued in a quiet title action where actual ownership would be transferred and reflected as such on the title.

Maybe where the line is painted does not even matter, but if I were you i would go ahead and get a surveyor and check all the lines and then sue him in superior court.

the paint line would be comparable to a fence in a lot line dispute. It does stand for something here.

Small claims is not going to matter in California, because if he loses, he can just pay for a lawyer and appeal it to superior court and you will have to start all over again.

small claims does not deal with property disputes.

 

[Fishtank]

it's hard to wait for him to drive a car because I moved out already..I have to work and can't keep an eye on him ..

Thanks for your advice .

He's gotta move his car at some point. Just repaint it when he's gone.

Get the survey done and the letter from the attorney. Then sue in small claims court for costs incurred to regain your property.

 

[Fishtank]

there was no line between his (parking) space and mine at the beginning..The guy just bought the space next to mine that wasn't a pariking space at first... When I met the guy , he promised he would pay for painting the line, but he never did it .. Eventually I did it .. He never complaint about it and parked his car inside the line (for a few years)...After I moved out , he removed the line and repainted it .. I complaint to the association. The manager just goes along with him and refuses to get involved ..

How do you know you did not already lose the space you are claiming because of the same 5 year rule?

I am playing devils advocate here, but lets say that the part of the space you are claiming was lost long ago. How can you be sure of that? Did you ask people in the building that lived there longer that you when the lines were painted originally and if other people ever parked cars there?

Maybe where the line is painted does not even matter, but if I were you i would go ahead and get a surveyor and check all the lines and then sue him in superior court. Small claims is not going to matter in California, because if he loses, he can just pay for a lawyer and appeal it to superior court and you will have to start all over again. I bought a self-help book from Nolo books about going to small claims court when I had my issue and then just gave up realizing how much work was involved.

Good luck.

 

[Fishtank]

Thanks for your information.

because the OP's deed still says it's his. If the neighbor actually took ownership of the disputed area, he would have had to have sued in a quiet title action where actual ownership would be transferred and reflected as such on the title.

the paint line would be comparable to a fence in a lot line dispute. It does stand for something here.

small claims does not deal with property disputes.

 

[land_rover_king]

because the OP's deed still says it's his. If the neighbor actually took ownership of the disputed area, he would have had to have sued in a quiet title action where actual ownership would be transferred and reflected as such on the title.

the paint line would be comparable to a fence in a lot line dispute. It does stand for something here.

small claims does not deal with property disputes.

What are you talking about...."a quiet title action?" That assumes the title has defects to begin with. I Think you are just looking up words on the net now and throwing them around too loosely.

 

[justalayman]

What are you talking about...."a quiet title action?" That assumes the title has defects to begin with. I Think you are just looking up words on the net now and throwing them around too loosely.

I think you should probably start looking up some words and learning what they mean.



While it is also used to cure a defect in the title, it is also used to gain title if one is claiming adverse possession. The claimant seeks to quiet the title by having the courts record their claim as superior to all other claims, including a person who is the true owner at the time.