Surprise surveyor sparks property lines dispute

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4 Utah) - What would you do if you built a new home and found out you have more property?

That's what Mallory Rogers and Steven Carter say happened to them on their dream home.

[brotherbruns]

Word to the wise: when a company tells you they aren’t liable and offer to split the cost with you 50/50, press them.

[petertimmins]

The fact that the builder says he has zero liability or responsibility, then immediately says he will split the cost 50/50 to me indicates that the builder knows he is responsible and is trying to pass it on to the homeowners.

[wanderoinc]

I can't understand why anybody would buy a house with a HOA...

[charlesgoodwin]

As a surveyor, never trust someone building a fence to tell you where your property line

[Cory_Springer]

As soon as I heard "home owners association" I stopped caring.

[nowhereman]

Never buy a house in a HOA. Unless you like dictatorships.

[aomanchutube]

Hmm second time this week that I must repeat... "Do not buy a property governed by an HOA"... You own the property and you live there, it's just not yours yours.

[daveshaw]

"We arent liable..."
"...we will pay half"
Yea..somethings not adding up
Sounds like they knew full well they would have to pay full but tried to cut their losses hoping the homeowner was stupid

[hotbrasst]

As a surveyor, I can say that fence companies do not care about our stakes. I am constantly correcting fences.

[unclesmrgol]

Basic rule: Never subject yourself to an HOA.

[Redplanetlover]

Actually it is on the homeowner. I'm a surveyor and the builder has a responsibility to put the house in the right place but as the fence was not put up by them they have no liability. That piece of rebar is not a legal pin and the foreman is not a surveyor so anything he says about property lines is meaningless.

[tuomasholo]

Steer clear of HOA unless you like Karen telling you what to do.

[UranusGaseous]

When you hear "Our lawyers says we are not liable but we will pay 50% to fix the mistake.." you know they know they f'ed up and just trying to minimize the cost of their mistake.

[outdoorfreedom]

I lived in one HOA community and for the most part it was pretty good. Rules, yes and some of them were beyond stupid. For example, my neighbor had artificial plants in two big pots on the side of her gate. The HOA has residents that walk or drive around the area looking for rule breakers so they made her remove the fake plants. Instead, she filled them with cheap wind fans like a kid would have. Those were OK but no fake silk flowers from the high end art store!

[MJCLAXDEN]

Call #1 to builder. After a return call like that, call #2 to my attorney. Call #3 to the title company to drop this shit bomb on their desk to get fixed.

[socommaster]

Why would anyone want to live in a HOA?

[Obamaistoast]

A current survey is always a must in the sale negotiation.

[maxxmaxwell]

I'm sorry. I've owned and bought property b4 and I ALWAYS get s survey for MY property.

[phoenixmistertwo]

This is why all homeowners should study their final plats, site plans, and asbuilts before purchasing any property. Also, getting an independent surveyor to do this is even better.

[dtom]

Why would the home owner customers accept an apology that came only because the builder did not want their incompetence and rude customer care to be on the news?