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An encroachment occurs when a structure, fence, driveway, or other improvement extends across a property's legal boundary onto a neighboring parcel — an issue that's often invisible until a survey reveals it, and one worth understanding if you're buying or selling a property where it might apply.
How Encroachments Typically Happen
Encroachments often result from informal assumptions about where a property line sits, an old fence built without a survey, or gradual changes over time — like a shed or driveway extension added without confirming the legal boundary first. They're rarely intentional, but they can create real complications regardless of intent.
How Encroachments Are Discovered
A current, professional survey is the most reliable way to identify an encroachment, comparing actual structure locations against the property's legal boundary lines. Encroachments sometimes go unnoticed for years until a sale, refinance, or dispute prompts a survey that reveals the discrepancy.
Why This Matters More for Rural and Larger Properties
Properties around Wilson County with informal historical boundary understandings — old fence lines that may predate a recorded survey by decades — are more prone to encroachment issues than a standardized, recently platted in-town lot with clear, modern boundary markers.
Common Types of Encroachments
A fence built beyond the actual property line
A shed, garage, or other structure partially or fully on a neighboring parcel
A driveway or landscaping extending onto neighboring land
Overhanging trees or structures crossing a boundary, even if the base structure doesn't
What Happens If an Encroachment Is Found Before Closing
If a survey reveals an encroachment during a transaction, options generally include resolving it before closing (removing or adjusting the encroaching structure), negotiating an encroachment agreement or easement formally documenting the situation, or in some cases, adjusting the transaction terms to reflect the issue. A real estate attorney can advise on the best path for a specific situation.
What Happens If You Discover an Encroachment After You Own the Property
If you discover an encroachment after closing — whether it's your structure encroaching on a neighbor's land, or vice versa — options typically include reaching an informal agreement with the neighbor, formalizing the situation with a recorded encroachment agreement or easement, or in more contentious cases, pursuing a legal resolution. Addressing it directly and early tends to result in a better outcome than ignoring it.
Adverse Possession: A Related but Distinct Concept
In some cases, a long-standing encroachment that goes unaddressed for many years could potentially raise adverse possession considerations under Texas law, where a party using land openly and continuously for a statutory period might have a claim to it. This is a complex legal area, and any concerns along these lines should be discussed with a real estate attorney rather than assumed.
Why Title Insurance May or May Not Cover This
Whether a title insurance policy covers issues related to an encroachment depends on the specific policy and whether a survey was completed and reviewed as part of the transaction. This is worth discussing directly with your title company, since survey-related exclusions are common in certain policy types.
Preventing Encroachment Issues When You Buy
Getting a current survey, particularly for larger, rural, or older properties without a recent one on file, is the most effective way to catch a potential encroachment before you close, rather than discovering it later when it's more complicated to resolve.
If you're concerned about a potential encroachment on a property you're buying or selling in the Floresville area, I can help you arrange a current survey and connect you with a real estate attorney if a more detailed review or resolution is needed.
Barbara Peterson Broker/Owner — United Country Real Estate | Texas Ranch and Home Floresville, TX 78114
📞 Barbara: 210-540-6487 🌐 www.txranchandhome.com 📅 Schedule a Free Buyer Consultation with Barbara