Easements

[JasperFrank]

I have sometimes wondered what Title Insurance really is. Has anyone ever filed a claim and gotten some sort of compensation? I bought my property cash, no lender, and payed for title insurance. I'm having an issue with Century Link, not maintaining a trunk line that runs though the property. I consider it a fire hazard. This line "easement" is not on any deeds. I know from talking to neighbors that the line has been there since the late 70's. I bought in '94.

 

[dodge man]

Say I sell you a piece of property that i don‘t own, title insurance will cover that if it shows up in the public records.

Easements often don’t show up in deeds. Say I bought the property in 1990 and the power company got an easement in 1995. They don’t file a new deed for me showing the easement. Then I sell the property in 2000 to you. They just copy the description from my deed to your new deed, the easement still won’t show up on the new deed. The easement is public record, it would probably show up in your new title work but do people read that stuff and/or understand it.

 

[sandman2234]

Small lot down the street came up for sale after being sold on courthouse steps for back taxes. It had an easement, that didn't show on sellers survey. (I had seen adjoining property survey that showed it). I made an offer, was accepted except for the part where seller must provide me with title insurance. They wouldn't so I didn't. Told another neighbor about it, who made an offer, which was accepted, but his title insurance company contacted a previous mortgage holder, who had not been notified of taxes due, or tax sale. So they got it back, and upped the price to cover mortgage balance. Now they have no buyers because that neighbor and myself were the only 2 people who could reasonably have an interest in that lot.
David from jax

 

[ponytug]

There is a very strong legal precedent that property is never landlocked. If something like that ends up in court it will end up with access to it. The problem the way in a judge gives it might not be very good. Normally access is given to a landlocked property how ever people have gotten to it in the past, which may not be fair to an adjoining land owner.

Could that be local to your area?

That has not been the case in my, admittedly amateur, observations. Growing up, there was a landlocked parcel near to us, often for sale, and occasionally sold but never developed because the adjacent property owners successfully refused to grant access.

Then there is a landlocked parcel belonging to the county about a mile and a half from me now. It is under a long term "lease" to an adjacent landowner for $1/yr. (We nearly bought the non-landlocked parcel when it came on the market; is 1/8th the size of the landlocked parcel. 40 vs. 300 acres)

Finally, I know of a number of properties south of here that were developed entirely by helicopter, after the state had refused easements (apparently trying to halt development without being seen to ban development). Access continues to be by helicopter. Popular with movie stars I am told...

Admittedly, just personal observations from a couple of states...

All the best,

Peter

 

[mike0000]

I have sometimes wondered what Title Insurance really is. Has anyone ever filed a claim and gotten some sort of compensation? I bought my property cash, no lender, and payed for title insurance. I'm having an issue with Century Link, not maintaining a trunk line that runs though the property. I consider it a fire hazard. This line "easement" is not on any deeds. I know from talking to neighbors that the line has been there since the late 70's. I bought in '94.

I have been saved by having bought a title insurance policy on a flip house I bought years ago. I bought a home, remodeled it and listed it for sale. Buyers title company did a title search and found a vendors lien tied to the property (why my title company didn’t find it when I bought it, I do not know). I only had to present my title insurance policy to the buyers title company and they handled the rest. It didn’t even delay closing on the sale.

Mike

 

[LouNY]

There is a very strong legal precedent that property is never landlocked. If something like that ends up in court it will end up with access to it. The problem the way in a judge gives it might not be very good. Normally access is given to a landlocked property how ever people have gotten to it in the past, which may not be fair to an adjoining land owner.

That depends on your location I suppose. In my area many wood lot parcels are land locked. There access was often strictly over frozen ground. Many farms were down in the valleys and often had more then one small (10-20 acre) wood lot for fire wood or timber but access was limited to protect the property owners next to it.

 

[dodge man]

I am a retired land surveyor and have maintained my license since I retired. I have a continuing education requirement and the last conference I attended a lawyer for Chicago Title Insurance talked at length about landlocked property. I think it’s a nationwide thing where property can’t be landlocked. The problem is if you own a property and no one gives you an easement voluntarily you have to go to court to get one. Sometimes this cost won’t be worth the land or effort.

 

[paulsharvey]

I am a retired land surveyor and have maintained my license since I retired. I have a continuing education requirement and the last conference I attended a lawyer for Chicago Title Insurance talked at length about landlocked property. I think it’s a nationwide thing where property can’t be landlocked. The problem is if you own a property and no one gives you an easement voluntarily you have to go to court to get one. Sometimes this cost won’t be worth the land or effort.

Many landlocked properties have more than one adjacent property, and you would need to show you tried to work things with multiple properties. In the end; you will get an access easement, but it may not be as convenient as you hoped; and not all easements are 24/7/365. I believe the term is 'reasonable access'. So, even though a court might award you an easement, it's better to work it out privately (as in pay the neighbor parcel); and get it recorded peacefully.

This is dealing with 'conventional' property owners; DEP/rail road/WMD, ect, that's a different story. I know FDEP requires, 'sufficient upload intrest' to grant an easement. They own a lot of the bike trails/multi-use trails around here; and 'wanting' to cross the trail is Not sufficient upland intrest.

 

[paulsharvey]

Utility easements are different; and I understand being against them; But if you want power service, and you want your point of connection at the home; how else do you expect them to run it too you? All utilities require maintenance, upgrades, ect; and they would not be able to legally get to it, or frankly have it there at all without an easement.

 

[Jstpssng]

A tract of land which we once managed was originally 1/2 mile square... and according to the deeds going back to the 1800s nothing had ever been carved out of it.
Yet there was 20 acres belonging to somebody else, which included the only road frontage. I chased their deed back to around 1920 where the trail stopped with somebody picking it up from the town as tax acquired property. Based on what I read though, I believe that somebody had squatted on it back arounf the turn of the 20th century and acquired it through adverse possession... then lost it again for unpaid taxes.