Property Easements: What They Mean for You and Your Home
When purchasing a home, you might come across the term “property easements.” These legal rights allow someone else to access your land for specific reasons. Easements might not always be obvious. However, they can have significant effects on your property and its value.
Understanding property easements is important for both homebuyers and current homeowners. It helps in knowing who can use your land and for what purposes.
What Are Property Easements?
A property easement grants the right for someone who is not the legal owner of the land to access or use it for a certain purpose. For example, a utility company might need an easement to maintain power lines on your property.
While you retain ownership of the land, the easement allows specific individuals or companies to enter your property without seeking permission each time. Easements can impact the privacy and usability of your land, depending on the type.
Types of Easements You Should Know
Easements in Gross
Easements in gross are typically given to utility companies like electric, gas, or water suppliers. These easements grant them the right to use a specific part of your land to install, maintain, or repair infrastructure like power lines or pipelines.
These easements are common and usually do not affect the overall usability of your land. However, it is important to be aware of them during property transactions.
Easements Appurtenant
An easement appurtenant benefits a neighboring property owner. If your neighbor cannot access their property without crossing your land, they may have an easement appurtenant.
The easement gives them the right to use a portion of your property to access theirs. These easements can also involve shared access to public trails or roads.
Historic Preservation and Conservation Easements
Some properties may have easements in place for historic preservation or conservation. A historic preservation easement restricts changes to the property in order to maintain its historical integrity.
Conservation easements are designed to protect the natural features of the land and prevent development or alteration.
Easements by Prescription
An easement by prescription occurs when someone uses your property for a long period of time without your permission and can gain legal access to it.
This type of easement can develop if a neighbor regularly uses a portion of your land and meets specific requirements, such as continuous and open use.
How Easements Affect Property Buyers and Owners
Property easements can directly impact your decisions as a buyer or owner. For homebuyers, it is important to conduct a title search to uncover any existing easements before closing on the property.
The presence of an easement might affect the property’s value. This depends on how the easement limits the land’s use or access.
As a homeowner, you must also be aware of any new easements that may arise. Your neighbors might gain the right to use your property for access or utilities. This potentially affects your privacy or ability to make improvements.
How Stone Building Solutions Can Help
Stone Building Solutions specializes in engineering services, including construction monitoring, structural assessments, and others, to help homeowners and property buyers navigate complex property issues.
If you’re concerned about how easements might impact your property, our team can provide detailed engineering evaluations to assess the potential effects.
Additionally, with our experience in public adjusting, we can also help address any related claims or disputes that may arise. Contact us today.