Homeowner In Whittier Neighborhood Finds For Sale Sign In Yard

DENVER (CBS4)- A Denver homeowner returned home to find a for sale sign posted in what she thought was property she already owned. Turns out she wasn't the rightful owner and hadn't been since she originally purchased the property in 1987.

"A couple of months ago I got home and there was a for sale sign in the front yard and I was like, 'OK, I'm not behind on my house payment, I'm not behind on my taxes. What the heck?' " said homeowner Jill Spivy.

Spivy bought her home and the lot next to it 27 years ago. But that lot next to her home is actually divided into two lots and she only owned one of them.

Spivy bought the home on the corner lot in the Whittier Neighborhood and the property next to it because of the space.

"That's my yard, that's the reason I bought the house because of the yard because there was space between the next property," said Spivy.

Someone looking to buy in the area checked into the property lines and discovered that instead of two lots, there were three, and the city owned one of them.

What Spivy thought was a portion of her yard was put on sale and would go to the highest bidder at auction.

Spivy thought at first there must be some mistake.

The previous owner and likely the owner before that believed the home and the adjacent open space were Lot 1 and Lot 2 and sold it as so.

But the City of Denver confirmed there are actually three lots. The city has owned the third lot since the early 50s after someone didn't pay their taxes.

Realtor Anthony Rael said in most cases, home buyers are protected against these kinds of mistakes.

"It's incumbent upon you, the purchaser, to know what you're buying and take the time. You have days as part of your due diligence, to take the time and read the documents, understand the documents, if there is something there that you really don't understand, ask the help of a real estate attorney," said Rael.

Now Spivy is in the process of trying to purchase Lot 3 so she can keep her property intact.

After meeting Spivy, one of the bidders walked away from the deal which cleared the way for Spivy to pay the minimum bid of $62,000 and keep everything she thought she already owned.

The sale still has to be approved. It is unclear at which point someone incorporated Lot 3 into Lot 2.