A: Arkansas has a very short adverse possession statute. It says that if a person claims property adversely for seven or more years, then that person may have a court declare that person as the owner of the property. Adverse possession requires that a person have continuous, exclusive, adverse, notorious possession of the property for seven years or longer and pay taxes on the property unless it is adjacent to other property owned by the person claiming adversely.

A: A survey is always preferable; however, most property in Arkansas is sold and bought without surveys. You need to make sure that you and your neighbors agree on where the boundaries are before you buy the property. Even this agreement may not be adequate if there is a problem with the legal description.

A: When the parties agree or when the fence has been there for more than seven years unless the parties on each side of the fence have agreed that the fence is not the property line.

A: A warranty deed is always preferable!

A: The grantor in a warranty deed warrants that the grantor has good and merchantable title to the property, while the grantor in a quitclaim deed conveys only the interest which the grantor has in the property, if any.

A: These two documents do basically the same thing -- secure a promissory note with real property. You are required to sign either a mortgage or a deed of trust when you borrow money in order to buy real estate. The deed of trust names a third party to hold title until the promissory note is paid in full. The mortgage is more commonly used in Arkansas than the deed of trust.

A: Real estate transactions can be tricky and are usually filled with numerous pages of documents -- documents that require your reading, understanding, and signature. Without a lawyer, you are on your own to either read all of these documents or sign them after someone who is not necessarily representing your interest tells you what these documents mean. It is advisable to have a lawyer with you at closing.