Property Easements Explained

 

If you own property or plan to buy a home, knowing about property easements is important. Easements and rights-of-way are types of property rights that grant someone the right to use your land for a specific purpose. The way these types of property rights are defined, however, can be confusing. This article helps you understand property easements, including how they are created and how they impact your ownership of your property.

An easement is a type of property right that grants a person or entity the right to pass over or through another person’s land. It typically involves a pathway or passageway, such as a driveway or access road. It can also involve a utility line or other public infrastructure. Utility companies, for example, are commonly granted easements through properties so that they can install and maintain their lines. Other entities, such as municipalities and school districts, can obtain easements to run their infrastructure through private land. For more info https://www.loraincountyhomebuyers.com/

These easements are granted either expressly or impliedly. An express easement is a written agreement between the parties involved, while an implied easement results from the parties’ actions or inactions. The most common type of easement is a “right-of-way” or a “roadway” easement. These types of easements are often seen on property maps and deeds.

The party that holds the easement is known as the dominant estate, while the party whose land is burdened by the easement is the servient estate. The dominant estate must allow the servient estate to use their land for the purposes stated in the easement, and must not interfere with that use.

In order to be legal, an easement must last for a specified amount of time, called the requisite period. The requisite period can vary from state to state. For example, in New York, the requisite period is 10 years.

Unless an easement is expressly recorded in the deed of your property, it must be obtained through the law of prescriptive easements. In this type of law, if a nonproperty owner uses your land for a certain purpose openly and notoriously for a period of ten years or more, they can gain the legal right to access the property through a court judgment.

For example, let’s say that your neighbor starts parking in your driveway without your permission. If you fail to stop them, they may claim a prescriptive easement to the property for using your driveway. This means that you will no longer have the right to use your own driveway.

Before you close on a home, you should carefully review all existing surveys and deeds. You should also take a tour of the property with a real estate professional who can help you identify any existing easements. Be sure to note the size of the easement, its purpose and who owns it. Then you can make an informed decision about whether the easement will affect your enjoyment of the property or your relationship with neighbors.