{"id":4103,"date":"2024-06-07T07:25:25","date_gmt":"2024-06-07T11:25:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/?p=4103"},"modified":"2024-06-16T10:01:26","modified_gmt":"2024-06-16T14:01:26","slug":"is-the-deed-still-good-after-erosion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/is-the-deed-still-good-after-erosion\/","title":{"rendered":"Is the Deed Still Good After Erosion?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Boundaries of waterfront property can change. And today, more and more, homes near beaches or tidal rivers are losing land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The issue? Climate-related sea level rise. The impact? U.S. coastlines will see tides rise by about a foot between now and 2050, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s a century\u2019s worth of change in less than 30 years.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This trend, as you might imagine, is beginning to create serious problems for deed holders with properties near the water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Rising Sea Levels, Falling Tax Revenues<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Gradual loss of property diminishes its value. And the loss of waterfront property doesn\u2019t just devalue the land of individual deed holders. It causes a broader financial erosion, too. It reduces the revenue on which local governments depend.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, rising sea levels can cause a total property loss. As sea levels keep rising, governments will wind up with abandoned homes on their hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is there any answer for this multilayered problem? Oceanographer William Sweet, who studies sea level rise for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, says the best thing we can all do is to care about Earth\u2019s climate, and live accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou reduce emissions, you reduce your likelihood of higher sea levels,\u201d Sweet told The Washington Post.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Coasts Encroach<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The Washington Post<\/em> also discussed projections that 25,000+ Louisiana properties could literally go underwater by 2050 \u2014 making Louisiana the undisputed land loss leader. After Louisiana, the states with the most land at risk are Florida, North Carolina, and Texas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expect rising seas to impact thousands of New York and New Jersey properties in the years ahead, too. More than 2,500 Maryland buildings are in the path of swelling tides. Inland, neighborhoods on tidal rivers (like Philadelphia and D.C.) are feeling the rise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, sea level researchers have found some 650,000 U.S. homes likely to lose their current boundary lines by 2050. Many neighborhoods already struggle with the scourge of repetitive flooding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Erosion and the Deed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Boundary lines appear on a home\u2019s deed. Some boundaries are created by water. Erosion<\/em> describes the wearing away of dry land by the gradual action of water. The general rule is this. The gradual, imperceptible movement of a water boundary changes the property acreage (as opposed to a  sudden change, which doesn\u2019t change the property lines).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As land slowly submerges under the high-water mark, the state becomes its title holder. That\u2019s a general rule, accepted by the U.S. Supreme Court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Know the legal vocabulary:<\/p>\n\n\n\n