Real estate is often the most valuable asset that an individual owns. Those who become homeowners often jealously guard their interest in their primary residence. The home where they live may be the single largest factor contributing to their overall personal wealth.
Real estate holdings can be a source of financial assistance later in life or can be the biggest contributor to someone’s legacy after they die. Occasionally, an individual’s real estate holdings may be vulnerable due to the conduct of others.
Sometimes, an outside party might start using a piece of real estate or a portion of it as though it were their own. Eventually, those outside parties might try to assert ownership over the parcel. Tennessee’s adverse possession laws sometimes give outside parties a legal claim to real estate that originally belonged to someone else.
There are two adverse possession rules
Tennessee recognizes two different adverse possession scenarios in which an individual might lose their interest in real property. The first is a standard scenario in which one party starts using a vacant home or unimproved parcel that adjoins their own property. They do so without the consent of the original owner. They may cultivate the property or erect fencing on it.
Eventually, they could go to court and ask to take ownership based on adverse possession rules. Under Tennessee state law, adverse possession claims based solely on the use of the property require 20 years of open adverse possession. After two decades of using someone else’s property, the squatter infringing on someone else’s land rights can ask the courts to become the legal owner of that property.
Other times, the party trying to claim someone else’s real estate may only have to wait seven years. When there is a deed that inaccurately declares one party the owner of a parcel or a portion of a parcel that belongs to someone else, the actual owner of that property must take prompt action. Otherwise, the inaccurate deed greatly speeds up the adverse possession process.
Those with claims based on color of title or inaccurate deeds can seek adverse possession of a property after as little as seven years. It is therefore of the utmost importance for property owners to take timely action when someone infringes on their land or records an inaccurate deed. Real estate disputes related to adverse possession and ownership conflicts can sometimes cost people their interest in a property.
Taking timely action to resolve title disputes is typically in the best interest of those who have invested in real estate. A review of the law with the assistance of a skilled legal team can help people determine if they need to take action to protect their interest in a property.