Ok, this is a kind of long story but I am so angry I need to rant! I just want to scream!
Hubby and I bought our first house this spring. It is a cute little cabin on a Fish and Game owned lake with a boat dock or so we were told. On the real estate description, it said it included the private dock viewed from our back window. Our realtor specifically contacted the seller (who is a realtor as well) and asked if the dock was part of the property and he said yes. As we were cleaning up the dock, however, the next door neighbor came out, asked us what we knew about the dock (which was only what we were told-that it was part of the property) and said they thought it might be theirs. They had fish and game guy come out, when we werent here, and he told them it was adjacent to their property. Well, technically F&G owns 20 feet from the shore but people are responsible for what is attached to their land by an imaginary line from their property. He told them the dock was theirs and they got it permitted on his word.
Well, we then contacted the guy who sold us the property and he sent us an addendum from the previous owners transferring rights to the dock to the new owner (him). He had only owned the house for a year and didnt bother to get the dock permitted. I contacted the lady who had owned the house for 10 years BEFORE him and she said that the dock was built by the previous owner of our house and she had permitted it every year. After she sold the house, F&G kept sending her notices to renew the permit until she told them she had sold the house. She also said that the current neighbors had lived there while she did and there was never a question of whose dock it was she thinks they waited until we bought the house and when they found that we didnt know the history of the dock they pounced. The previous owner also knew the man who owned their house before and she said he knew the dock was not part of his property and did not sell it to them as such. (As evidenced by the fact that they werent sure of ownership)
Anyway, we called the F&G guy AGAIN and he came out AGAIN. After looking at all of our documentation and being given contact information for the previous owners (who were not contacted) he said he would recommend that we just be allowed to move the dock. However, he said it appears that our imaginary line slants over so that we dont even own lake front, more of the end of a little inlet coming off of the lake. Anyway, he sent a report to his superiors and after 2 weeks we received a letter that says F&G arent responsible for determining who owns the dock (although he told them it was theirs and they were able to permit it on his word). The letter goes on to say that it is up to the neighbor to decide if we can move it, etc. He also said that we can build a new dock...however, from the imaginary property line it would have to be a tiny 3x4 structure in a shallow inlet.
Im definitely not one of those people who go around suing, but now my dream house is turning into a nightmare not only does it decrease my property value significantly but I also have a great view of my neighbors enjoying a dock I was sold but now have no rights to!
Hubby and I bought our first house this spring. It is a cute little cabin on a Fish and Game owned lake with a boat dock or so we were told. On the real estate description, it said it included the private dock viewed from our back window. Our realtor specifically contacted the seller (who is a realtor as well) and asked if the dock was part of the property and he said yes. As we were cleaning up the dock, however, the next door neighbor came out, asked us what we knew about the dock (which was only what we were told-that it was part of the property) and said they thought it might be theirs. They had fish and game guy come out, when we werent here, and he told them it was adjacent to their property. Well, technically F&G owns 20 feet from the shore but people are responsible for what is attached to their land by an imaginary line from their property. He told them the dock was theirs and they got it permitted on his word.
Well, we then contacted the guy who sold us the property and he sent us an addendum from the previous owners transferring rights to the dock to the new owner (him). He had only owned the house for a year and didnt bother to get the dock permitted. I contacted the lady who had owned the house for 10 years BEFORE him and she said that the dock was built by the previous owner of our house and she had permitted it every year. After she sold the house, F&G kept sending her notices to renew the permit until she told them she had sold the house. She also said that the current neighbors had lived there while she did and there was never a question of whose dock it was she thinks they waited until we bought the house and when they found that we didnt know the history of the dock they pounced. The previous owner also knew the man who owned their house before and she said he knew the dock was not part of his property and did not sell it to them as such. (As evidenced by the fact that they werent sure of ownership)
Anyway, we called the F&G guy AGAIN and he came out AGAIN. After looking at all of our documentation and being given contact information for the previous owners (who were not contacted) he said he would recommend that we just be allowed to move the dock. However, he said it appears that our imaginary line slants over so that we dont even own lake front, more of the end of a little inlet coming off of the lake. Anyway, he sent a report to his superiors and after 2 weeks we received a letter that says F&G arent responsible for determining who owns the dock (although he told them it was theirs and they were able to permit it on his word). The letter goes on to say that it is up to the neighbor to decide if we can move it, etc. He also said that we can build a new dock...however, from the imaginary property line it would have to be a tiny 3x4 structure in a shallow inlet.
Im definitely not one of those people who go around suing, but now my dream house is turning into a nightmare not only does it decrease my property value significantly but I also have a great view of my neighbors enjoying a dock I was sold but now have no rights to!
