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Adverse possession is really a thing: Dorchester homeowner wins ownership of land she had long cared for that somebody else claimed
By adamg on Thu, 03/14/2024 - 1:17pm
The Dorchester Reporter reports on the victory of a resident of Harvard Street in Dorchester to keep ownership of her backyard - which she had thought was hers and which she maintained from the day she bought her house in 2010 from a family that had fenced off and maintained the land since 1978, to fend off a local developer who said the land was his.
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Comments
What a great story.
With a great ending.
is it?
The article frames it as "she took care of the land" when really she (and the previous owner) was using and taking advantage of the land. City records almost certainly documented the lot size in their assessing data and GIS maps of plats. That information isn't secret.
While adverse possession makes sense, but it's not right for her to claim that it was "her backyard" when the entire time is was actually someone else's backyard until a judge ordered it deeded to her.
It was the Poindexter's
It was the Poindexter's backyard since after the fire in 1978 when the Watts family abandoned it. When she bought the property from the Poindexter's it was already fenced off and well maintained @anon. Did you read the linked article?
What do you think adverse possession is?
That's entirely how adverse possession works, it's not adverse possession if the land doesn't legally belong to someone else the entire time.
Please read the article
The city came after the Poindexters when they put up a fence, and there was a judgement that essentially validated their claim to the parcel because it gave them the right to put up that fence.
Taxes on the land
If the homeowner was paying taxes on that backyard for the past 14 years, and the previous owner since 1978, that land damn well should be considered hers.
If she hasn't been paying taxes all this time, I expect a new assessment will be made up and property tax adjusted accordingly. Hopefully not retroactive. That would suck.
Lol, that absolutely would
Lol, that absolutely would suck, you started my friday with a laugh
Successful adverse possession
Successful adverse possession claims are really rare. It does suck that this one is driven mostly by a NIMBY desire to prevent new housing in her backyard. That said, the law is the law and she owns it now. I hope she eventually builds on it like she said she wants to someday.
Citation needed.
Citation needed.
Trolling the depths
She's a "NIMBY" who converted her own home into multifamily, multi-generational units and rental property?
And what have you contributed?
Read the article please
She wants to put housing on that land, too.
Survey and Title Insurance
are the only protection for a buyer. The presence of a fence is a huge red flag, especially when the assessors map and the plans, if any, don't match what appears on the ground. Someone here chose to ignore it. Even with the facts, Ms. Monteiro is a rare example of a homeowner having the resources to pay for an adverse possession claim.
This I can agree with @ anon.
This I can agree with @ anon. Are you the same anon from the other posts? This is getting confusing.
No
No opinion on the parties. Just really amazed by the story. It is a perfect example of why due diligence means taking details and conditions very seriously in every transaction.
Does this developer own Shanti restaurants?
If so, I'm going to stick with Himalaya Bistro for now.
From a casual Dorchester
From a casual Dorchester observer.
Over the past decade Shanti Acquisition has purchased a bunch of land in Dorchester and Mattapan and used their city connections to get some project approved, but except for some $million+ town houses in Lower Mills, they've hardly built anything. From the top of my head, there is one trashy lot on Aspinwall St in Codman Square, one on Bowdoin St and a dilapidated building on Blue Hill Ave in Grove Hall that's been a complete eyesore for years.
All these properties have turned into multi-year neighborhood blight. Typically, Shanti uses their city connection to get a proposal approved and then try to resell the land (unsuccessfully mostly) for five to ten times what they paid for it. A trashy lot at 126 Bowdoin St was purchased 3 years ago for $300k and is currently on the market for almost $3 million.
The intimidation attempts against resident Carla Monteiro seem in character and I am glad that she won her case. Local pols and city folks may want to be more careful when cozying up with questionalble developers like this; sooner or later it will backfire.
Shanti: great Indian food, lousy developer. They should stick to the restaurant business.
Sources:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/12/03/marijuana/grove-hall-cannabis-bus...
https://www.baystatebanner.com/2022/03/24/abutters-lose-against-connecte...
https://www.compass.com/listing/120-bowdoin-avenue-boston-ma-02121/15102...
Sharks in the city. Which
Sharks in the city. Which campaign do they contribute to? Most real estate bought in city goes to speculators....look for LLC in the P&S.
Yes!! This is a moodlifter.
Yes!! This is a moodlifter. Good for her!!
the granddaughter of a former
Where was the due diligence?
Good to know as we are
Good to know as we are entering an urban doom loop. Lots of properties will be for the taking.
Sounds scary
Do you have a bunker you can hide in? Preferably off the grid?
And …
… not in my backyard.
Actually..
The NY Times just featured an article on the doom loop facing many cities. Boston, though cited as one of two cities along with Atlanta in particular peril, is somewhat protected because our system guarantees last year's revenue plus 2.5 %. However, that's across the whole base and the division of that base can change rapidly and dramatically. Expect commercial assessments to drop significantly which will mean less commercial tax collections. In turn, that means residential properties have to pay the difference to the tune of tens of millions of dollars annually. Thanks to the Federal reserve keeping rates artificially low, Boston residents have danced through the raindrops for years. That chicken is coming home to roost whether the city allows you to keep chickens in your backyard or not. I don't know about doom loop, but owners should expect substantial tax increases for the next several years that could severely impact home values.
Dream on
So long as there is a shortage of housing, said doom loop won't occur for a long time.
See also: 2008. Housing prices stalled, then took off again. No crash here.
Y'all need to stop listening to cryptocurrency huckster podcasts and get versed on some Macroecon 101 stuff. Supply and demand.