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.

A Survey Can Reveal More Than Lot Lines

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.

Disclosure and Possession Also Matter

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.

Resolve the Boundary Question Before You Close

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.

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