Q: My neighbor is claiming that my fence and HVAC air handlers are on her property. Fence was installed over 20 years ago
The county does not have an actual plat map or site plan for the property. The fence was in place when we purchased the home and assumed to be proper property line.
A:
(1) Hire a licensed land surveyor and get a definitive determination of your property boundarie. If that shows the fence and hvac are on your land, provide your neighbor with a copy and make it clear the matter is settled as far as you are concerned.
(2) If the survey shows the fence and hvac are on your neighbor's property, determine (a) who erected the fence (the owner of your property or the owner of your neighbor's property), and the date it was erected, and any surrounding circumstances to show that the neighbor did or did not give permission; and (b) determine how easy or expensive it would be to relocate the hvac and/or fence so it is not on your neighbor's property (assuming the fence was not erected by your neighbor or your neighbor's predecessor owner); and (c) decide whether you want to defend, prosecute and/or litigate an adverse possession lawsuit/quiet title action to establish that the land under the fence and hvac now belongs to you.
Fences on residential properties require a permit in Anne Arundel County, as in most counties. Whether the permit requirement was in effect at the time your fence was installed may need some research, but assuming that it was, and assuming the contractor/homeowner pulled a proper permit for the fence (they do not always do so), that will prove the date it was erected and who it was who erected it.
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