Buying a piece of land—just a handshake deal or paperwork essential?

philosophy983 · 2025-05-13T22:35:47Z

Saw this news story yesterday about a family who bought some land from their neighbor with just a handshake and verbal agreement. Everything seemed fine for years, but then the neighbor passed away, and his kids decided they didn't recognize the deal. Now there's this huge legal mess, lawyers involved, court dates, the whole nine yards. Made me think about how common it is in some places to just trust someone's word when buying property. I mean, my grandpa always said his handshake was worth more than any paper contract, but times have changed, you know? Personally, I'd never feel comfortable without something official written down. Too many things can go sideways. But maybe that's just me being overly cautious? Curious if anyone here has ever done a land deal informally like that or knows someone who did... did it work out okay or end up messy?

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Negotiating the Purchase of Land

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baking_hannah5940

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"Everything was fine until he moved away and his kids started questioning boundaries...lesson learned the hard way."

Yeah, that's rough. Makes me wonder—anyone here ever had luck resolving boundary disputes informally, or does it always end up needing surveys and lawyers? Seems tricky to navigate without clear docs.