That Belongs to the HOA

I once surprised an owner when I told them their back yard wasn’t actually theirs. Getting ready to sell their home, I looked at their existing survey and knew something was off. Apparently, when they bought the house, nobody involved realized that about 15 to 20 feet of the back yard was on land owned by the HOA. It was clear to me, but at the time they bought the house, neither they, nor their agent, nor the title company picked up on it. How noticeable was it? Well, the pool deck was on HOA property and the back yard fence was on the HOA property. It was clear the HOA didn’t realize it either. Did it really cause a problem? Well, no. We just thoroughly disclosed the situation to the buyer and the sale went through without a hitch. I won’t go into it now, but through the legal process of adverse possession, the homeowner could actually take legal ownership of that land if they wanted.