For years, man's 23 acres are nonexistent

[The Straight Story]

For years, man's 23 acres are nonexistent

ovember 29, 2004


DON KOHLBAUER / Union-Tribune
In 1962, Fred Gruner bought 50 acres north of the San Diego River and south of the Silverwood wildlife sanctuary. Now, he wants help from Congress because part of it doesn't exist.
WASHINGTON – For almost 40 years, Fred Gruner paid taxes on 23 acres of hilltop land in Lakeside that – on a clear day – boasts grand views of the Coronado Islands.

There's just one problem: The land doesn't exist.

Thanks to a federal mapping error more than 100 years ago, the acreage exists on paper, but not in reality.

Now, the 85-year-old former construction company owner is seeking redress from Congress, hoping that Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-El Cajon, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., will rectify a government mistake that has robbed him of the retirement income he banked on.

"Through no fault of mine, an erroneous federal government land survey has caused me to lose much of my land that I thought I had owned for decades," said Gruner, who wants the federal government to give him land somewhere else or pay him for the land, which could be worth as much as $460,000.

"I don't want to make a profit from the government. I just don't want to lose."

In 1962, Gruner spent $18,000 for nearly 50 acres in Lakeside, just north of the San Diego River and south of the Silverwood wildlife sanctuary.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20041129-9999-1n29land.html

[unblock]

1. i guess i'm supposed to feel sorry for him

and i suppose i do.

but the rest of us buy expensive title insurance for precisely this reason.

[Jack_DeLeon]

6. Please explain to us...

what title insurance is?

[unblock]

7. title insurance pays off in the event there's a problem with land ownershp

you can't get a mortgage without title insurance and you should never buy property without it.

it protects you if it turns out that the seller's legal right to sell the property free and clear to you as specified isn't as expected, e.g., the case cited in the article, or if some previous lender or owner or tax authority still has some legal right or claim to the same property.

it does NOT protect you if the house turns out to be defective or anything, just if there's a legal problem in the sale.


given how much money is involved in the typical real estate transaction, and given that some unknown legal problem from years and years ago good mean you entire investment including any upgrades is 100% worthless to you, you'd be nuts not to get title insurance.

[lenidog]

2. Let me get this straight

He didn't buy title insurance, he didn't get his own survey of the land and he bought it in 1962 and is just now trying to sue. I hate say this but he blew it and no one owes him anything except for the guy who sold him the land originally and probably knew all about it.

[Rockerdem]

3. The old GLO surveys were a little shaky

If you ever want to know why a square mile never is, look at the old Government Land Office Surveys. But a lot of the old private surveys weren't much better. I researched one old one, and the guy used (and recorded) broken beer bottles for property corners. Most of the time they used wooden stakes or piles of rocks. And a chain and a compass guaranteed gross inaccuracies.

On a personal note: I bought a cheap piece of land in an area where lots were ALL screwed up. And old survey had placed all of the other landowners on land that weren't their lots. I did a few years of part-time research during low employment periods, and discovered the nature of the error. I also discovered two missing neighboring lots, contacted the heirs of the last known title holders, and had them quitclaim the questionable parcels for a song. After presenting the evidence to the county officials, they changed the assessor maps and began taxing me. I also did a legal modern survey. Next month they become 100% official. I'm embarrassed to post how much I made, because it almost feels like theft.

[karlrschneider]

4. You ended up better than I did...in 1974 I bought 5 "manzanas" in Costa

Rica while down there on business (for a very cheap price...that's about 8 1/2 acres...and a beautiful location right on the Pacific coast)...didn't have a chance to go back for a couple years and when I did, someone had built a hotel on it. Well, to shorten the obviously long story, I didn't have the time or resources to go through whatever horrific legal machinations that would've been required - wasn't worth the hassle. :-(

[prof_science]

5. So...

how much did you make? :P

[elehhhhna]

8. I had a client year ago, a teacher in Chicago--she inherited some

family land in the deep south & never saw it until she retired. Lo & behold, there were OIL WELLS on the property! The oil co claimed they'd tried to find the owners (a simple records check aat the courthouse would have done it...)

Long story short, she got paid back-royalties for all the the previous pumping and is now a millionaire!

Moral: LOOK at your property. You might be surprised!

[Rockerdem]

9. Sorry

That's confidential. However, there was a hidden cost: countless hours spent researching and learning about real estate law and practice. By the end of my research, I had not only picked up free property, I had received a real estate education and became a near expert in surveying. Along the way, I convinced county assessors, solved a missing property mystery that had baffled county and private surveyors, instructed a subpar closing attorney about the some finer points of trust law, and convinced over a dozen people to sign deeds that I had composed myself. I almost went into withdrawal when the matter was finally settled.

PS. There's only one thing more important than buying title insurance when it comes to land: reading the preliminary title report and asking a lot of questions about the "exceptions", and the encumbrances.