Neighbor Is Claiming Ownership Of Driveway And Offering Us Cash For An Easement.
My wife and I are located in Virginia, and ~3 years ago bought a detached house on about a tenth of an acre. We noticed when we got the survey of the property that one of the adjoining off street parking lanes between our house and the neighbor was basically 98% on our property. After I think about 2 years we did finally say something and she has since stopped using the spot and we have been using it exclusively since then.
Today we received a letter form a lawyer representing the neighbor claiming ownership of the spot. The lawyer never actually says it but I'm assuming this is an adverse possession claim. They are citing google street view images and neighbor testimony as proof that the spot has been use by her and I believe her mother since basically the 1950's. We are being offered $5,000 cash for an easement to avoid litigation.
I guess my question is. Is this worth fighting. We aren't an incredibly high income household though I think I could afford consultation. I know the amount of time the neighbor has been using the property is a big deal, but I'm wondering on how a transfer of ownership and then establishing the line effects that timeline? We had the property surveyed and payed based on an appraisal of that property, and I'm pretty confidant that a second off street parking space on a fairly busy residential street has more than 5k of value towards our property value. She essentially didn't argue, other than some comments about having used it all this time, when we finally confronted her and then she immediately moved her vehicle and we have used it since.
Thanks!
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