How To Find Out If An Easement Exists

Does Your Holding Have An Easement On Information technology? How To Find Out

Posted Oct 1, 2021

I have often seen people make the mistake of assuming that one can hands determine the being of an easement by simply searching the public records for a document called "easement." Owners, prospective owners, real estate brokers, and even attorneys are not immune from making that mistake. This web log post will help you consider the different ways easements tin can be created and how y'all can go about looking for them.

Easements are rights to apply someone else'south land for a specified purpose. Well-nigh typically, easements are created by an express written document which gets recorded with the county accountant/recorder'southward role. Once it is recorded, the world is on find of the easement. However, the documents which corroborate the existence of an easement will not ever be chosen "easement," and will not necessarily e'er exist recorded. In the case of an express easement, the easement can be created either by a grant or by reservation, and grants are more common. A grant of an easement occurs when the owner of the property to exist encumbered past the easement grants to someone else the right to use the grantor's property- usually a neighboring owner. If the merely rights being granted in the act are easement rights, then the deed will usually contain the word "easement" in the proper name. Just ofttimes overlooked is the creation of an easement by reservation. In that case, the possessor of property transfers buying of the property to someone else, but reserves an easement in favor of the owner. Most of the time in that context, the word "easement" appears nowhere in the championship of the document, but the easement rights are mentioned in the body of the document. Therefore, when you are searching for easements, look for reservations as well as grants, and practise not assume that what appears to exist just a "act" has null to do with easement rights.

Easements tin can also be created when properties are subdivided or platted. The person subdividing will usually want to ensure that all newly created parcels have admission, advisable utilities, and sometimes other rights. If you are researching belongings within a subdivision, there is a good chance the plat map may evidence easements not mentioned in other recorded documents.

Another way to search for easements is to enquire a title company to provide a title written report. By and large, the report volition mention all of the easements the title company has found which burden the property. However, brokers and property owners should not assume that championship reports are ever exhaustive, nor are they legally authoritative. Title reports often fail to mention easements that be for a number of reasons. Sometimes it is by mistake, and other times, the championship company has fabricated a decision to not include the relevant easement in the title study. Therefore, title reports should be viewed as a good starting point for mitigating run a risk, only should not be seen every bit the final give-and-take on what encumbers championship.

Finally, property owners and prospective purchasers should call up that easements are not always written, non always recorded, and can arise in other ways. I of the almost common examples is prescriptive easements, which ascend when someone uses another's property adversely and continuously for at to the lowest degree ten years and run across certain legal requirements. In that circumstance, at that place will commonly be no agreement or recorded document in the public records. Sometimes easements can likewise arise by implication, such equally when an owner sells office of their property which would be landlocked if there were no easement over the holding being retained. Determining whether property is burdened by an off-the-record easement will well-nigh oft involve obtaining a survey and gathering facts to determine whether an easement was validly created.

The lawyers at Beresford Berth have experience representing property owners, brokers, and prospective purchasers in easement matters. We would be happy to aid y'all with your litigation needs or in resolving your insurance dispute.

To acquire more about easement matters, delight contact Beresford Berth at info@beresfordlaw.com or by telephone at (425) 776-4100.