Expert: Dick Dennis - 4/10/2011

Question
Hello Mr. Dennis,

I am a first time home buyer and I have made an offer on a home and then had an inspection and survey completed.  The survey showed that the church to the right of the property has their air conditioning unit over my property line (the church used to own the property I am trying to buy.)  The survey also showed that the neighbor's fence on the left side of my future property is 6 inches onto my property (for about 5 fence posts.)  I do not really mind either of these things because it's only a few feet in both instances.

The current owners did not have a survey done when they bought the house.  I did have stakes installed when the survey was done.

I am at a loss for what to do.  I really like this property and I am definitely still interested.  I talked to the title attorney I am working with and she said I could try to make them move the fence which she did not recommend since I want to have a good relationship with my neighbors.  She also said that moving the air conditioning unit would be very troublesome for the church and would also cause bad relations.  I asked about possibly writing a letter to both the church and the neighbors that states that they acknowledge I am the owner of the property and that they must ask permission before coming onto my land and that if the air conditioning unit or the fence were removed they could not be replaced on my property.  She seemed to think this was a bad idea and suggested that I since I don't mind about the encroachment that maybe the people who buy the house from me when I am ready to sell won't care either.

However, that approach seems really risky.  I also read a little bit about adverse possession and am mildly worried about that (as the property is in PA the adverse possession rule is 21 years.)

I was just wondering if you have any advice about what to do next?  Is a letter okay?  Is it really nothing to worry about?  Will I even be able to get my FHA mortgage?  I am stressed out and don't know what to do next.

Any advice would be great!

Thank you,
Katie

Answer
There is one main reason why I wouldn't buy that property, Katie, and you hit lightly on it. And that is you do not know how much of a problem you will have sometime in the future when it comes time to sell. You can automatically knock off some of the asking price when that time does come and you don't know if you will need that extra value when it does come time to sell. Just because you like the property, you're giving THIS seller a little benefit and you're turning a blind eye to that eventuality. But you will never know how many people will walk away when they discover the inconvenience there is with the encroachments. I think you should stop being stressed and go find yourself a house you like that you do not have to endure stressful moments. Also, I think the lender will turn you down. Can you imagine what lenders will do to your buyer?I do wish you well.

Dick Dennis
dixiedee13@aol.com