Built on Wrong Property 37

[TigerGuy]

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/hawaii-property-owner-left-stunned-095700264.html

This seemed more like a failure than a pub discussion. Developer and builder construct home on the wrong property and sue property owner to give up ownership.

Isn't this why we hire qualified surveyors and designers? To make sure things are done correctly, I would never dream of just thinking, "yep, this looks like the property."

 

[mfgenggear]

What a mess, if I was the owner of the property, I would have taken a reasonable offer, and moved on. Even though the builder and developers are responsible. The owner of the building has recourse against the builder and developers.

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

another one came up in my feed today.

https://www.ladbible.com/news/us-ne...perty-built-daniel-kenigsberg-267438-20240703

 

[FacEngrPE]

The Fairfield CT incident is the result of a fraudulent property transfer.
This is why title insurance is a necessary part of purchasing property even when not required by a lender.

https://www.bankrate.com/mortgages/what-is-title-insurance/[/URL]]Title insurance offers protection from flaws in a property's title, including liens, ownership disputes, falsified or forged documents and encroachments.

A lawsuit was filed by sky top partners (the developer) in July 2023, a copy of the lawsuit filed in the Superior Court in Stamford is attached Additionally the owner has filed both state and federal lawsuits demanding the lot be cleared of the "Improvement", additional damages, and legal fees.

Links

https://www.ctinsider.com/columnist/article/fairfield-real-estate-scam-fbi-18574404.php

I can speculate from this listing

https://www.movoto.com/fairfield-ct/51-sky-top-ter-fairfield-ct-06825-930_170514298/

this property is still tied up in litigation.
The address is 51 Sky Top Ter, Fairfield, CT 06825 is in the court filing.

 

[Heaviside1925]

If anyone in the US has lived in oil country, these stories may have a familiar ring to them. There's a common law concept of unjust enrichment. Land guy contacts property owner. "Hey, we think there's oil under your property and we'd like to give you a generous $100,000 for your mineral rights" landowner says no. Land guy comes back and says "My company would like to offer you a 1/64th stake in a producing well if you lease us your mineral rights" Landowner still says no. Land guy may be authorized to keep negotiating up to at most a 1/16th (I've seen higher but rarely). Homeowner still says no. Ten years later, landowner is contacted by an oil company lawyer. "We accidentally drilled into the oil deposit under your property, but I'm prepared to offer you a cash settlement for the oil." Landowner says "No, that my oil! I'm entitled to be compensated for all of it." Lawyer says "Ok, we'll see you in court." Landowner lays out their claim before the judge and the judge agrees that the landowner should be compensated for all of the oil. Then the oil company, in turn, produces the cost of developing the well, the cost of drilling the well and the 10-year cost of operating the well. This of course will be a very high figure. This is where unjust enrichment comes into play. For the landowner to recover the cost of the oil "accidentally" removed from their property, they are in turn required to reimburse the oil company for their costs. Of course, the landowner will not be able to afford those costs, so the judge will point to the oil company's offer to the landowner of a cash settlement and or a stake in the oil well. The judge will use other "like" oil leases in the area as go-by to determine what's "fair". The landowner will likely go home with a cash settlement and a small stake in the well, typically about what the land guy had offer them 10 years ago. I am not sure if this still goes on, but I know it did as late as the 80's. All this makes me wonder if the real estate developers have taken a page out of the oil companies' playbook.

 

[spsalso]

Seems like the extractor of the oil under the property might be required to put it back--to "make him whole".

Sort of a corollary to the Hawaii story.


spsalso