LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — 9 Investigates a battle between neighbors in Lake County.
At issue, who owns a strip of abandoned land between two rural homes.
Investigative reporter Karla Ray spoke to the property appraiser who said it's unlike anything his office has ever dealt with.
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One of the homeowners said it may be too late to stake a claim to the land that's right in front of their house.
On a dirt road just south of Lake Minneola High School, a strip of land overlooking a lake between two homes has neighbors in dispute.
Alex DiGiovanni is the son-in-law of the couple who owns one of the homes that's now surrounded by land in question.
A judge just granted the strip of land to a man who lives across the way.
Both neighbors filed claims of “adverse possession,” more commonly known as “squatters rights.”
The move allows people to obtain property after paying taxes on abandoned land for seven years.
Lake County property appraiser Carey Baker shared a map that shows an area outlined in blue that shows the portion the family is claiming, directly in front of their property, and in red shows the area their neighbor also filed a claim for and was just granted a quiet title for by a Lake County judge.
Baker said because of the judge's ruling, the family would have to file a new adverse possession claim on the portion of land not encompassed by the quiet title or challenge the court ruling with a lawsuit.
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