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Unexpected wrinkle, 2 weeks from closing... WWYD?
I've got an unusual situation that I'm hoping you ladies might consider what you'd do if you were facing this...
DH and close in 2 weeks on a new home. We LOVE this home. We do not want anything to stand in our way of getting this home.
To date, the sellers have been awesome, and super helpful with every question, and it is clear that they have loved this home and it is so well taken care of. We're really lucky.
Tonight, I spent about an hour and a half with the seller, as she offered to walk me through things like how to clean the pellet stove, things to know about the appliances, etc. Awesome that she offered, thrilled that she made time, all of this. She's great, we got along really well, all is good....
But.
She was showing me lots of paperwork about different additions she's done and all her permits and all sorts of things, and she shows me the plotline drawing of the home. She said it cost her about $1000 to get done at some point, and I should hold on to it. Then she says: "you know, one thing that this uncovered is that our next door neighbor's chainlink fence is almost 2 feet onto our property." I asked her if she said anything to him and she said she hadn't. She said that, when they put the addition on the back, if they hadn't been able to get the trucks back there because of it, she would have, but they were able to, so she didn't.
So, now I'm wondering what I do with this information 2 weeks before closing, if anything. I know I don't want to do anything that (a) jeopardizes closing on time (b) makes this woman regret having me over and sharing this info with me and (c) starts out my new relationship with my next door neighbor in a legal battle. BUT, what I don't know is whether or not this might be a title issue, and whether or not it would be a title issue for me if we end up selling in the future. I can't imagine that we won't have the conversation with the neighbors some day, but, i'm trying to figure out what the impact might be to be right now, or upon the transfer of sale.
I don't know how long the fence has been there, but there may be state laws that would govern that, after a certain amount of time, the land becomes the neighbors purely through possession, so i know this needs to be researched, too.
The best I can come up with is to have a conversation with my lawyer that's more "advice, not action" about it, and see what the potential scenarios are. My realtor (who's great) has a vested interest in getting the sale close. My mortgage broker (who's fine) has a vested interest in the sale closing, but the lender's lawyer has an interest in the title being clear and the property being what the property says it should be.
The fact is, if I hadn't been over there chatting with her tonight, we wouldn't have known. My husband and i had a copy of the plot line, but we certainly didn't measure out the distance to verify it ourselves... we'd be closing in 2 weeks none-the-wiser.
I know this is unique, and long, but I'm wondering how you might approach all this?? Thanks for reading through this!
Re: Unexpected wrinkle, 2 weeks from closing... WWYD?
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Thank you -- and that article is REALLY helpful! Thank you!
Also sounds like i can have a conversation with my lender about what my title insurance covers and what it doesn't.
Fact is, this house has 4 neighbors and ALL of them have their own fences... it's worth making sure that my title insurance protects against all of the fences, not just this known one.
DS1 born June 2008 | m/c at 9w March 2011 | DS2 born April 2012
Thanks for providing some alternative ways of looking at this... I'm definitely freaking out less than I was 2 nights ago, and recognizing I have a few options, none of which have to impact my closing (as long as I don't mention it to the lender!)
I'm going to chat with my lawyer tomorrow about options that we can pursue AFTER closing.
Thanks!
talk to a lawyer, but in the meantime, decide if you still want the house even if those 2 feet now belong to your neighbors through adverse possession. if you are cool with that, then don't sweat it too much.