New NC Member-Adverse Possession-Tacking-Easement by Prescription

[Annette Howard]

Hi,

I have 55 acres of land, mostly wooded.  Should I be worried about Adverse Possession or Tacking or Easement by Prescription, if I have several relatives who have deer / dove hunted in the back acreage for over 20 years?  And, has used my dirt road by my house, to get back there. (One of the relatives has an adjacent property)  Just started real estate classes, and I learned the mnemonic OCEAN.  They must have used the property Openly, Continuously, Exclusively, Adversely, Notoriously.   However, I acquired the property around 2005 - 2007.  Does the 20 years start over with me, a new owner of the land?  How would you suggest I handle things?  Should I post my property with lots of POSTED no hunting signs and tell them to take their deer stands down?  Or,  should I give them permission in writing,  just for this year, to take care of the Notorious portion of OCEAN?  Also, I am considering selling my land to buy rental properties.  Is this a good idea?