Title Insurance Easement

Maker102 · Sep 29, 2003

OK guys here is the biggie question of the day. I bought some land and now low and behold there are high pressure natural gas lines on the property. I thought I goofed and did not note they were there when we closed. But after some digging and careful reading their are none noted on the title. I called the gas company and they said they were covered by an easement and gave me the number. I believe they are correct and that the title company did not discover it or note it on my paperwork. Anyone ever have a similar problem? What was the resolution? I talked to the attorney who wrote the policy and according to him he has never had a problem with a claim and he has been writing them for 10 years.

Chet · Sep 29, 2003

I have a high pessure natural gas line traversing my property and am very thankful, because they came right out and tapped a meter and I do not have to buy propane! The line is buried 8-10 feet deep. I did not examine the title when we bought the land for the easement. I would guess that they have one. What exactly are you wanting to do? Have the line removed?? I would venture to guess that would be a no-win expensive legal battle. Chet

Maker102 · Sep 29, 2003

No I am not looking to have it removed, I believe the gas company has the right to the ground from the easement that they quoted. What I am wondering is what has happened in the past with other people when the title insurance company screws up. From my understanding the Title Insurance is a snapshot view of the property when you buy the ground. Well if the snapshot does not include two high pressure gas mains well...... Just wondering if anyone else out there had the same problem and what the final solution was.

MossRoad · Sep 29, 2003

Are you wanting to get out of the deal, since the seller didn't let you know that there were gas lines on the property? If it wasn't in the title, how did you find out they were there?

riptides · Sep 30, 2003

I thought the purpose of "Title" Insurance and Deeds were to protect, you, the current property owner from "false" claims against your property.

As you are the owner of the property now, and an easement has been stated and recorded, I see no adverse circumstance of the Title omission. What can you do to yourself?

Now if the pipes were not present and the company were to claim "easement" and it is not on your "Title" then perhaps
you could do something?

I slept at a holiday inn last night.

-Mike Z. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Bird · Sep 30, 2003

I certainly don't know what, if anything, can be done about it, but it does sound to me as if whoever did the title search failed to do a proper job. The paperwork that came from my title company specifically mentioned all easements.

akman · Sep 30, 2003

We recently settled a claim with our title insurance company for NOT catching a horse riding easement on our property.

The title company was very professional and hired a third party appraiser to asses the claim. It turned out to be a fairly large setlement (much more than I expected), and we came to a great understanding with our neighbors who own the easement too !

Sometimes things actually turn out the way they are supposed to and everyone is happy /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Most Title insurance companies bean count. They plan for the occasional missed deed items like ours. In this case the intern doing the search just wasn't thorough enough.

Good Luck,

Tony

Docsknotinn · Sep 30, 2003

I guess The thing I would do is talk to an attorney. You might be entitked to damages but I dont understand the gas line. I mean are we talkin 10' down one side or are we talkin 40' through the middle of the property. This should have showed on your survey as well. Most counselors dont charge for reviewing a potential case so you have little to losse getting a professional opinion. Dave

Briarwood · Oct 1, 2003

My understanding of Title Insurance is to insure that you have a good and merchantable title. If not, the TI company will do what is necessary to clear the title or pay damages incurred. What are your damages? Was the location or existance of the gas line taken into consideration in your appraisal? Did you pay more than fair market value because the gas line was not disclosed? Would you suffer a loss if you sold the property because of the existance of the line? Does the easement impair you from using the property as you intended? The liability may lie more with the realtor and previous owner for nondisclosure. However, I would certainly first look to the deeper pockets of the title company or at least put them on notice that they erred by not reporting the easement. If I was unhappy about the situtation and concerned about the location of the gas line or its effect on the value or saleability of my property, I would first seek the advice of an attorney. Find one that is familiar with real estate law in your county and state (ask your banker for a recommendation). Don't pick an ambulance chaser that will just muddle up the situtation by trying to make it a pxxxing contest with everyone concerned.
FWIW
John

heehaw · Oct 2, 2003

several years ago, i bought 10 acres with a gas line running right thru the middle...it didn't bother me, but when i decided to sell it, wow, i couldn't believe how many people wouldn't touch it because of the gas line. i didn't know they had a 65 ft easement..i had just figured a 30 ft was probably all they had...that part was my own fault..but i would have still bought it, even if i had known it was 65 ft..i just couldn't see a problem with a buried gas line..but some folks seem to?? if i hadn't known it was there, and found out later, i think i would have been pretty upset...especially when i wanted to sell.
heehaw