Featured News 2013 What is an Easement?

What is an Easement?

An easement is a section of another person's land that you are going to use for a stated purpose. Most of the time, easements involve neighbors. For example, if you have a pipe that runs into your neighbor's property, this can be considered part of an easement. Easements can involve general or specific portions of property. There are many different kinds of easements that can be placed on a property. One of the most common is called a right-of-way easement.

This is an arrangement where one person gives another person the right to travel along his or her property. For example, if four houses all share the same driveway, then this is a right-of-way easement. Also, if a person lives in the countryside and cuts through a neighbor's property to make it to the road faster, this would be a right-of-way easement. It is important you receive permission to use a right-of-way easement before you assume that you can cut across or use their property for your own travel.

Easements can benefit property greatly and can even make homes more valuable. Oftentimes one piece of property would be far from a location if it wasn't for a shortcut through another individual's property. Whenever there is an official easement for travelling, it is written into the deeds for both homes. Future homeowners can benefit from the same easement unless a neighbor requests that it is removed. Men and women are permitted to make unofficial easements which will not be written onto the housing deed. These easements normally expire at a specific time or upon the death of the person who benefits from it.

An easement can benefit an individual or a business entity. Some property owners may grant easements to businesses so that they can erect power lines on the property or bury a gas pipeline on a homeowner's territory. Also, some housing developments have easements which allow builders to create a water storage facility. In addition there are easements which can allow a neighbor to build partially on a neighbor's land, or to create a shared space for a recreational facility.

If you are asked to grant an easement, you may be concerned about how it will affect your rights to your property. A landowner who grants an easement typically can't build on the land that has an easement. Also, the landowner isn't allowed to build any fencing that would hinder access to the area. You will want to know where all easements are located on a property before you buy it and make sure you are aware of the restrictions that are connected with these easements. Before you grant an easement be sure that you are fully aware of the restrictions you are agreeing to and are aware of why the easement is needed.

Easements can sometimes affect the value of a property. For example, if there are several easements on a tract of land, it may limit the choice for building, depreciating the value. If the easement was used to build power lines, real estate agents might view the power lines as a health risk and this might reduce the price of the homes. Also, some homebuyers may not want to purchase a home if there is going to be other businesses or neighbors using the land.

There are times easements can increase the value of a home, especially if the easement is on the other person's property and benefits your home. It is important to remember that if an easement is inactive at present that does not necessarily mean it will stay that way. Talk to an attorney today if you want more information about easements or need more information about how to terminate an easement associated with your property.

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