Often misunderstood, easements are powerful intrusions into real property (land). Easements grant others access to portions of your property, and if there are easements across the property you wish to purchase, you should fully understand their purpose.
While common easements exist across many properties—electric, gas, water, or surface drainage—their existence may grant access to others to provide service on the utility line or to maintain the flow of drainage. In such cases the authority to which the easement is granted may enter the property to make the necessary repairs, and you, as owner, must grant access. In some ways easements are like having joint ownership of a portion of your property with a complete stranger.
Most easements are harmless and rarely present problems for the property owner and, other than an occasional intrusion, will hardly be noticed. However, there are a few instances where the granting of an easement could allow others regular and continued access across your property. There have been cases where an easement allowed others to walk across property to reach a recreation facility or park, and even cases where driving across the property was permitted.
If you have questions about an easement that crosses property in which you are interested, hire a land surveyor to provide you with an up-to-date survey of the property. Such a survey should show the boundaries of any easements and will provide you with an accurate representation of the property. You can also check the local court house or office of records where land deeds are recorded to check for the existence of easements that have been filed.
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