Who knows. I had the land and house inspected and the inspector said the septic was in the backyard and probably needed pumped.

[iheartnrds]

Jurisdiction

Georgia

So.... I just bought and moved into a house that was built in the 50's. It hasn't had many updates since then so I am assuming the septic system was put in then, too.

My neighbor, came up to my husband yelling about property lines and how she bought land that was once owned by the owner of our house. Our house used to sit on 1 whole acre. Now it sits on 1/2 of an acre. The lady told my husband how she pitched a fit for 1/2 of the land because she felt entitled to it because her family used to own the property and the old man who died would never sell it to her. He died and the whole acre sold at auction. She started yelling about our well flooding her 1/2 of an acre that she bought 2 years ago and can't do anything with it because it stays flooded. She owns 56 acres behind us yet she wanted this extra 1/2 acre.

Anyways, the owner, that I bought it from sold her half of the property and he rented out the property with the house on it. Fast forward, 3 years after the auction and my husband and I now own the property. We were looking for our septic tank because we are assuming it hasn't been pumped ever. We followed our main drain to the property line and a beautiful patch of green grass but we didn't go any further, into her property. I'm assuming my septic system is on that property and I'm assuming it's my septic system flooding her property.

She has already just randomly paid for a property survey and yelled at us to not accidentally mow her land. What rights do I have? I'm not all that experienced with stuff like this.

 

[adjusterjack]

What rights do I have?

You have lots of rights. Listing them all here would be inefficient.

Among those rights is the right to hire an attorney if your neighbor decides to litigate about something other than hot air.

As for the septic being on the neighbor's property, you could have, and should have, found that out before buying the property. Sorry, but any financial consequences for that failure of due diligence is on you.

 

[iheartnrds]

It was inspected. The inspector said it was in the backyard. Turns out nothing is where the inspector marked as the septic tank.

You didn't answer my question and made me feel more bullied for asking what I could do, as far as getting my septic tank pumped. Have a good life

 

[Zigner]

It was inspected. The inspector said it was in the backyard. Turns out nothing is where the inspector marked as the septic tank.

You didn't answer my question and made me feel more bullied for asking what I could do, as far as getting my septic tank pumped. Have a good life

I could hear that whine over my tinnitus!

 

[Foamback]

It was inspected. The inspector said it was in the backyard. Turns out nothing is where the inspector marked as the septic tank.

You didn't answer my question and made me feel more bullied for asking what I could do, as far as getting my septic tank pumped. Have a good life

Bullied is a really easy word for the victimized to bandy about

 

[adjusterjack]

You didn't answer my question and made me feel more bullied for asking what I could do, as far as getting my septic tank pumped.

Apologies for putting it on you then, now that I see your comment about the inspection.

It was inspected. The inspector said it was in the backyard. Turns out nothing is where the inspector marked as the septic tank.

Then you might have a malpractice claim against the inspector for what it's going to cost you to resolve the issue.

 

[welkin]

What rights do I have? I'm not all that experienced with stuff like this.

First of all, don't panic. These types of land disputes are very common, especially when land gets subdivided without consideration of preexisting infrastructure like a septic system or a well, or a utility service line.

Common law recognizes a category of implied easements that give a property owner the right to use another's property even though there is no granted or expressed easement recorded. I will explain without getting too much into the law.

In your case, the house was on an acre of land that contained both the house and the septic system. When that parcel was subdivided into two one half acre plots, the house was on one and the septic system was on the other. But since, at one time they were one property, and presumably both have existed for 50 years, you may be entitled to one of several types of easements to continue using the neighbor's property. That would be a prescriptive easement (SOL only 7 years), an easement by prior use, or an easement by necessity. They all have different requirements, and they all need to be granted by a court.

The first thing I suggest you do is to obtain all the deeds, going back 50 years, for your property (before the subdivision and after) and the deed when your now neighbor bought the half acer. You can do that online or at your county's registrar's office. That will tell you if an easement was granted or not. Then you take those deeds and consult with a land use attorney in your area.

In addition, I would contact the title company that issued the title policy even if you didn't take out your own policy. And lastly, check with your local health department about any records they may have about the installation of the septic system when the house was built. That may become important if you want to file any claims against the inspector. If you can find those records, then so should have the inspector.