A pre-closing survey sometimes turns up a fence, driveway, or shed that crosses the property line. Buyers often assume a small intrusion is a minor issue.
Under Mississippi law, the size of an encroachment does not necessarily reflect the size of the legal problem it creates. Knowing what a survey is designed to show, and what still needs sorting out before closing, can prevent an inherited dispute.
Mississippi’s surveying standards, updated in 2025, require boundary survey plats to identify visible encroachments onto or from adjoining property and to show their extent. A recorded deed states what property a document purports to convey, but it does not show where that boundary actually falls on the ground. That gap is exactly what a survey is meant to close, and it can surface improvements no one realized were misplaced.
For covered residential transactions, Mississippi’s disclosure statute requires sellers to complete a Property Condition Disclosure Statement, which asks whether the seller knows of any encroachments, easements, or boundary disputes. That form reflects only the seller’s own knowledge, though, and does not substitute for the buyer’s own survey or title review.
Long-standing encroachments raise a separate question: adverse possession. Under Miss. Code § 15-1-13, ten years of qualifying possession can shift title, but Mississippi courts have made clear that a fence alone is not enough.
In Double J Farmlands, Inc. v. Paradise Baptist Church, the Mississippi Supreme Court explained that possession must be hostile and obvious enough to put the record owner on notice. In Clanton v. Hathorn, the court upheld a landowner’s right to exclude others even over a small driveway and sewer-line encroachment, rejecting the adverse-possession claim.
The right fix depends on the specifics of your situation. Sometimes it’s a recorded easement, other times an agreed boundary line, a corrected deed description, or new purchase terms altogether. At O’Brien Law Firm, we can look at what your survey turned up and help you figure out the smartest way to handle it before closing day arrives. Give us a call at 662-672-7619, or reach out through our contact form.
Homeowners filing Chapter 13 often assume the mortgage payment listed in their plan stays fixed until the case ends. It usually does not.
Property taxes, insurance premiums, and escrow shortages can raise the amount needed to keep a mortgage current, even while the bankruptcy is still pending. Understanding why that happens, and what a servicer must do to notify you, can help a debtor avoid falling behind without realizing it.
11 U.S.C. § 1322(b)(5) allows a Chapter 13 plan to cure a mortgage default over time while the debtor keeps making the ongoing payment. That provision addresses the old default. It does not lock in the payment amount going forward. Mississippi’s Chapter 13 plan form reflects this by asking whether the mortgage payment includes escrow and whether it will be paid through the plan or directly to the servicer.
Servicers use escrow accounts to pay taxes and insurance on the borrower’s behalf. Under Regulation X, the servicer performs an annual escrow analysis and can collect one-twelfth of the year’s anticipated expenses each month, plus a modest cushion. If a shortage exists, the servicer may spread repayment over at least 12 months or, for smaller shortages, collect it within 30 days. That can create a two-part increase: a higher ongoing escrow amount plus a temporary shortage repayment, even though principal and interest stay the same.
When a qualifying payment changes, Bankruptcy Rule 3002.1 generally requires the mortgage holder to file and serve a Notice of Mortgage Payment Change at least 21 days before the new amount is due. If the numbers are disputed, a debtor or trustee can ask the court to determine the mortgage claim’s status under the rule’s newer procedure.
A payment increase does not necessarily mean the plan failed or the servicer made a mistake. But continuing to pay the old amount after a valid notice can create new arrears outside the original plan. At O’Brien Law Firm, we can review a Notice of Mortgage Payment Change against the servicer’s escrow analysis and help determine whether the Chapter 13 budget or plan needs adjusting. Give us a call at 662-672-7619, or connect with us through our contact form.
