Driveway Easement Abuse

Here is an real example of Driveway easement abuse

“I bought a piece of property and I recently had it surveyed and it appears my neighbor’s driveway is on my property. what are my rights against my neighbor and by the way she has been a real jerk about it when I brought it up.”

If you have the same issue like this you need to call a lawyer. I mean obviously if the lady’s being a real jerk even I would tell you this. Even if she wasn’t being a real jerk you are going to need to get a lawyer involved to draw up documents even if you had an agreement an easement or whatever it may be. But you’re need to get a lawyer involved, you’re need to make sure that this particular issue is litigated. So who has rights to that property, especially the driveway? so you know you’re coming and going you know the access to your property is gonna be really important.

When you go to sell it, that’s something that you would have to disclose that a buyer would be buying if it’s subject to the easement. so there’s a lot involved here. because that defect can affect the quality of your property. and you cannot transfer title with that problem. So that’s why it’s really urgent that you  call an attorney and get that issue moving because you’re basically hands are tied for a while if you ever decide you want to sell.

Related : Need To Sell House Fast For Cash?

What is the legal definition of an easement?

It is a non-possessory right to use the land of another. It means that a person or an entity has given another person or an entity the right to use their land. They have not given up ownership of their land if they were giving up ownership they would be drafting a deed and executing a deed. so an easement can be limited in scope, meaning it can be used only for a specific purpose.

easement

Examples of easement

So for example boat ramps. That’s a common example. There can be an easement over someone’s land to use the boat ramp. you don’t own the land that the boot ramp is on but you have the right to take your boat down the boat ramp you have the right to use it. so that you can get access to the water. it can be limited in duration.

So another example is road construction, road winding. so the department of transportation comes in. yes. They do take the fee for simple land from a lot of the landowners. but for the adjacent land that the DOT did not take, they acquire something called a temporary construction easement. That means that they have the right to go on the landowner’s land for a certain amount of time, usually for two years or whatever time frame they set for the purpose of those construction activities. so that easement will no longer exist after the time is up or after the construction has ended. usually whichever comes first.

There’s a misconception that an easement is giving up the ownership of your land. what you’re doing instead is allowing someone the right to use it often for a limited purpose or a limited time. easements can be specific to one owner or they can run with the land. 

Related links

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/easement

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-an-easement

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