Whos right and who's wrong

Contact both surveyors and ask how they arrived at their results.

Could be an Adverse Possession issue. I'd have a real estate attorney look at the new survey for interpretation and legal advice.

The best way to determine who’s right is to have a licensed land surveyor compare both surveys and confirm the actual property line. The fence company generally relies on the survey provided to them, so they may not be responsible for a boundary discrepancy. I’d avoid moving the fence until the property line is officially confirmed.

If both surveys differ, neither side should assume they’re automatically right. Review the legal property descriptions and have a licensed surveyor clarify the boundary. Until it’s resolved, avoid moving or altering the fence. If necessary, consult a real estate attorney to determine your rights.

Lesly, Keith and Alla have already pointed you at monuments, and Nick raised a boundary line agreement. Both are right, and that is the correct shape of the answer. Here is the specific question that turns "monuments" from a concept into something you can actually act on this week. A boundary survey is a retracement of an old written record. The surveyor picks physical evidence on the ground, an iron pin, a stone monument, a road centerline, a recorded subdivision corner, and holds it as the truth, then measures from there. If your surveyor held one pin and their surveyor held a different one, both can measure perfectly and land two feet apart. Neither was careless. They just disagreed about where to start. So your first move is not a lawyer. It is a question, in writing, to both surveyors: - Which monuments did you hold, and why those? - What is your basis of bearing? - Which recorded deed and map did you retrace? A licensed surveyor has to be able to answer that, and once you put the two answers side by side you will usually see immediately where the conflict is. Sometimes one of them will simply concede. If that does not resolve it, you have two realistic paths. The cheap and durable one is a boundary line agreement. You and the neighbor agree on a line, sign it, and record it. It binds both properties from then on, it costs a fraction of litigation, and title companies and lenders will accept it when either of you sells. In New York these are often written so the existing fence can stay where it is until it is replaced, and then the replacement goes on the agreed line. That framing lets everybody save face, which is most of what makes these settle. The expensive path is litigation, a quiet title or ejectment action under New York's Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law. Real money, real time, and a neighbor you still have to live next to. Three things to do right now: - Do not move the fence, and do not let the neighbor move it either. Moving it before the line is settled looks like an admission and it destroys evidence. - Pull out your owner's title insurance policy from when you bought. Boundary and encroachment claims are sometimes covered, and if they are, the title company may owe you a defense. That is a free phone call and people almost never make it. - Consider hiring a third surveyor for an independent retracement, and tell them up front there are two conflicting surveys and you want their opinion on which monuments should control. I am a real estate professional and not an attorney, and New York has its own rules here, so once you have both surveyors' answers I would spend one hour with a Rockland County real estate attorney before you sign anything. My name is Zoltan Peresztegi and I work the South Bay and Palos Verdes Peninsula in Los Angeles County, so I cannot walk this line with you, but if you want an introduction to a strong agent in Rockland County who deals with survey issues regularly, say the word and I will make it. Zoltan

This comes down to whose survey is actually accurate, not who put the fence up first. Surveys can conflict for real reasons, older records, different reference points, equipment differences, or a genuine error on either side. Your fence company following a survey doesn't make it correct, and their new survey doesn't automatically override yours either. Get a licensed surveyor neither of you has used to do a fresh boundary survey. That settles it independently instead of comparing two documents that disagree. Don't move anything or agree to anything verbally with the neighbor before that. If it confirms you're over by 2 feet, that becomes a conversation about a boundary line agreement or adjustment. If it confirms your side, you'll have clear documentation going forward. Loop in a real estate attorney once you have the new survey in hand before agreeing to anything. Nick Nikolov Brokered by HomeSmart Houston

Lesly, neither survey wins just for being newer. Surveys disagree more often than people expect, usually because the two surveyors started from different monuments or read an older deed description a different way. So the honest answer to who's right is that nobody knows yet. Ask the neighbors for a copy of their survey and lay it next to yours. Look at what recorded plat or deed each surveyor cites and where each one sets the corner pins. If both cite the same plat and still land two feet apart, one of them made an error, and bringing in a third surveyor is usually the cheapest way to settle that. Please don't move the fence before a New York real estate attorney reads both surveys. I'm licensed in California, and boundary and adverse possession rules vary a lot by state. Alla Novytska, Realtor®, JohnHart Real Estate, DRE #02254775

Lesly, neither side is automatically right just because they have a survey. If the two surveys disagree by two feet, have the licensed surveyors compare their findings, property markers and recorded documents. If they still disagree, you may need a real estate attorney to determine the correct boundary before moving the fence.

You should not assume that you are taking 2 feet of your neighbors’ property simply because their new survey says so. Since your fence contractor followed the existing county/property survey, the best step is to obtain copies of BOTH surveys and have an independent land surveyor compare the deeds, recorded maps, property monuments/corners, and survey results. The newest survey does not automatically override the previous one. Good luck! Keith Jean-Pierre Managing Principal The Dapper Agents Real Estate Operations in ALL 50 States