Adverse Possession

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Adverse Possession is the situation under which, intentionally or unintentionally, someone takes possession of part or all of your land, acreage or property, using it as if it were their own.

If your property lines have been drawn incorrectly, placing your neighbor’s shed, or pool, or fence over your property line on your land, that too is Adverse Possession, although of course it is not an intentional case.

There are, of course, legal stipulations for proving that Adverse Possession is happening. You are able to call in a lawyer or even the police if the situation is an adversarial one. However, one of the stipulations being that you actually own the land, having proof that you own the land is helped immensely by your putting up No Trespassing signs.

Oddly, this Adverse Possession does, after some time, allow the adverse possessor to actually take possession of the part of the land or property that they are using without having to pay for it.

In Ohio, as in many other states, the offender must be utilizing the part of the property for a period of years (in Ohio 21years), and their presence on that part of the land, acreage or property must have gone undisputed for that entire time.

So be aware of what is happening on your land and where your property lines are.

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