Landlocked Lot
Looking at a landlocked site at a good price for what I in tend to do....build a cheap rental house. Of course the lot is priced low because it is landlocked. Any ideas on how to jump through the required hoops to get an easement? I know that I can go to court to force access to a the property by law, but the cost would be prohibitive for a single building lot. I suppose I could make an offer to purchase "subject to" getting an easement and then knock on a couple of doors with a post dated check and offer to purchase the easement. if a reasonable amount could be agreed upon.
Look into the possibility of purchasing a strip of land from a neighboring property that accesses the road. Check with the zoning people first to get straight on the minimum frontage width requirements for a "flag lot". I think the value of your property would be better assured with its own frontage instead of access by easement.[ Edited by NancyChadwick on Date 12/06/2004 ]
Is the owner of the landlock parcel the owner of any of the properties that are causing the landlock? If so, then by NC law, they are required to "supply" the easement to the property.
Roger
What state is the lot in? Did you check and see if there is an easement. I know that sometimes you have to check the old records (manually). Also, check the state law regarding landlocked lots. In some states that is not allowed and you do not have to go to court to get access
Does the lot have access now, even though it may be through someone else's property?
If so, then talk to your lawyer about a prescriptive easement.
Be very carefull when thinking about automatic or forced access. In VA, and in many other states, access is meant in its strictest possbile form. It has been construed in VA to mean that you have the right to walk across anothers property to gain "access" to your property. Note this does not mean drive your car across anothers property. Access is access.....it doesn't always mean the same thing especially to lawyers and judges...like it or not.
whoever eventually sold the land locked parcel has to give access...so if you bought it from somebody that had the parcel as backland, they owe you access in one form or another...creative ways to get around it...buy a helicopter...other than that...if somebody doesn't want to give you an access easement, your going to have to take somebody to court to get it
Make your purchase contract contingent on being able to buy a strip of land from a neighboring property out to the road. Then you'll have a flag parcel with its own, independent access.
You will have to seek assistance form the county or city and be able to prove what is called impracticable access.
Their are a number of complexities involved and can be vary costly.
Almost Every Property is Subject to Easements of one form or another even in the country.
Search to see if any easements are on the property utility easements, above or below ground, for power lines, phone lines, water pipes, sewer pipes, gas lines and TV cable lines.
Especially look for legal or implied right of individuals to pass over a neighbor's property, such as for a driveway as this is called a prescriptive easement. The legal tests to acquire a prescriptive easement over the property of another owner are (a) open (obvious, not secretive), (b) notorious (clearly visible), (c) hostile (without the landowner's consent) and (d) continuous (without interruption) for the number of years required by state law. States have varying time tests.
An easement by necessity can be created to reach a landlocked property that has no access to a public road. Creating such an easement usually requires legal action against an adjoining neighbor. The common law theory is all properties should have access to a road, either directly or over an adjoining property. Sometimes property is subdivided along roads, but the result is there are millions of landlocked properties where owners "forgot" to provide access. Because landlocked properties have virtually no value, an easement by necessity can usually be created over an adjoining property if; at sometime in the past, it had common ownership with the landlocked property. Extensive title research is needed to prove past common ownership. A court "quiet title" action is usually needed to create an easement by necessity unless the adjoining owner is willing to cooperate to create the easement access.
[addsig]
Bud, if your going to steal a part of somebody elses article, at lease give them credit for it!
http://houseandhome.msn.com/Homes/HowEasementsAffectYourProperty.aspx
Why not just post the link? Why cut and paste and give no indication your taking credit for someone elses work?
Quote:
On 2004-12-09 18:06, rmdane2000 wrote:
Bud, if your going to steal a part of somebody elses article, at lease give them credit for it!
http://houseandhome.msn.com/Homes/HowEasementsAffectYourProperty.aspx
Why not just post the link? Why cut and paste and give no indication your taking credit for someone elses work?
First of all this same information is posted throughout the Internet in excess of 300,000 locations. The information can not be copy righted as is common definitions throughout the title searching industry, as listed in blacks law dictionary, as taught in colleges and universities as stated in just about any professional title research book and the list goes on.
How about helping this poster with the question?
Before throwing stones make sure you have your facts straight. Bark up another tree!
Thanks for the link as it provided some other great information as well.
[addsig]
JohnMichael,
Actually, most of your prior post--word for word--can be found in the Bob Bruss article through the link that rmdane2000 posted. I doubt that Inman News and Bruss would agree that their material is not copyright protected.
Returning to the Pimp's question (not sure its a username I'd have chosen, but what the hey? Although it does raise the question about the first names of your siblings)
Anyway, this is a subject which has considerable variation between the states. Florida, for example, has a very specific statute regarding the creation of easements which requires that suit to declare such an easement must be filed in a timely fashion after the first conveyance of the land which creates the landlocked status. I don't recall at the moment exactly what the time frame is (I think it was something like 15 years but I could be making that up) but I researched it once for a parcel I was looking at. Bottom line-- in that case-- was there wasn't anything you could do to force the adjacent landowners to give you an easement in spite of the common law tradition of easements by necessity.
Which brings us to the next complicated part of the answer. Much as I hate to disagree with authorities of the stature of Bruss and Michael the relevant easement in this case is not an easement by Prescription but rather an Easement by Necessity.
In order to gain an Easement by Necessity you must first search back through the chain of title to find out which transaction subdivided the parcel and left your lot without access. Under Common Law practice (although your state law may vary) when an owner divided the lot in such a way that the interior lot was left without access to the road he automatically (by necessity) created an easement across his property so that the land-locked parcel could be accessed. Let us assume that your lot were square with four seperate adjacent parcels. The easement by necessity is created not via the closest route to a street but by which of the four parcels was divided to create your lot.
Unfortunately, even if you live in a state which allows Easements by Necessity it may or may not do you much good. The various state courts have taken a wide variety of stances regarding exactly what kind of easement is thus created. The most extreem have ruled that, since this right traces its origins to ancient English common law practice it creates the sort of easement that would have been appropriate at that time-- i.e. you have the right to walk across the serviant parcel to get to yours. No driveway, only a footpath. Others have been more generous and you must, of course, research to see what the practice in your state has been.
That said, you point out that the cost of a lawsuit for declaration of an Easement by Necessity is prohibiitive in this case and hope to negotiate some amicable solution with an adjacent landowner. Even under such circumstances knowing which lot represents the serviant lot should you sue is a good idea. Then you can go to that landowner, explain the facts, suggest you both save the money of a suit and that you will pay him what the lawyers fees would be to "voluntarily" agree to the easement.
Lawyers love Easement by Necessity cases, by the way. A great chance to brush up on archaic terms and concepts.
Once I sold a parcel of development land. The landowner had a house that sat back from the existing road, and the builder wasn't buying that house--it was an outparcel that the seller would be selling separately. The land contract provided that the builder would permit the seller to use his existing driveway for ingress/egress until the new road was constructed, since the driveway of the existing house ultimately would front on the new road.
Closing takes place and the builder records the plan. Then the former landowner puts his house up for sale and hires me. I put my for sale sign out at the existing road by the driveway. One night shortly thereafter, the builder yanks it out of the ground and takes the position that the seller (and I) had no "sign easement".
The moral of the story:
Don't buy the property with just an easement by necessity. If you want to buy this property, make it contingent on your being able to purchase title to an access strip. Even if you get the easement, you better make sure that that easement gives you use rights beyond just ingress/egress and that the easement path isn't narrow.
Make sure you hire a real RE attorney which the landowner in my deal didn't do.