Landlocked Property Access?

[wildcat junkie]

- Utility companies often have easements but do not own the land

- if there is no ROW, the owner can establish a prescriptive easement, but the cost to do so may outweigh the cost savings on the property.

I suspect there is some access easement. A title search will confirm but you are probably looking at $500 or more for the search.

Landlocked property does not necessarily have access or easement. There is 20 acres adjoining my property. It could only be (legally) sold to somebody that owns adjoining property. Been there, done that.

I both purchased & later sold the property to another neighbor that owned adjoining property.

That doesn't prevent an unscrupulous seller from selling landlocked property. It can leave you holding the bag if you go to sell it & the potential buyer does his homework.

Even though it is illegal, it will be a "civil matter" & you know what that means. $$$$$ for the lawyers should you are the one that gets caught "holding the bag"!

Do the research & consult an attorney before you buy landlocked property if it is surrounded by private property. Furthermore, a certain amount of road frontage is often required for a building permit. In my tiwnship, it is 100'.

Public land is another story. You have the right to cross public land to access landlocked property. I don't think you can get a building permit though.

[dbHunterNY]

Sure fire answer...look who's paying for the taxes on said land

 

yea it isn't always that simple either.  for example: on one property there's an acre of woods cleared and fenced off with a cell tower on it.  the cell tower company leases that acre of land, my father owns it, and they pay the taxes on it, as that separate acre of land is assessed for half a million by itself, last i knew.

[moog5050]

Landlocked property does not necessarily have access or easement. There is 20 acres adjoining my property. It could only be (legally) sold to somebody that owns adjoining property. Been there, done that.

I both purchased & later sold the property to another neighbor that owned adjoining property.

That doesn't prevent an unscrupulous seller from selling landlocked property. It can leave you holding the bag if you go to sell it & the potential buyer does his homework.

Even though it is illegal, it will be a "civil matter" & you know what that means. $$$$$ for the lawyers should you are the one that gets caught "holding the bag"!

Do the research & consult an attorney before you buy landlocked property if it is surrounded by private property. Furthermore, a certain amount of road frontage is often required for a building permit. In my tiwnship, it is 100'.

Public land is another story. You have the right to cross public land to access landlocked property. I don't think you can get a building permit though.

 

 

Thanks Wildcat.  I will consult a lawyer.  lol

[dbHunterNY]

Ok lawyer called back yes you have to be able to access your land in NYS via easement by necessity . But he would not pay one dollar for such land....

Now I got lost in all the legal talk , but he would want to see evidentiary proof of an existing easement. If you had to establish one plan on spending a ton of cash.

Name all adjoining land owners sue them for the easement , you show best route based upon distance , topography and so forth . He went on for several more minutes but youget the point.

 

that's what i thought in that you have to have access in NYS.  i think the evidence of an existing easement he brought up because even if one is said to be in writing, there's something about easement or ROW being abandoned and would no longer be just grandfathered in as part of any original title.  i think that hardly ever happens though unless somewhere along the line it's bought by an adjacent land owner that has and uses a better means to access it.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Thanks Wildcat.  I will consult a lawyer.  lol

I just PM'd you my address. send me a check for a new Keyboard, Mine is covered in coffee with that comment. LMAO

[growalot]

Even though it is illegal, it will be a "civil matter" & you know what that means. $$$$$ for the lawyers should you are the one that gets caught "holding the bag"!

 

 

 

That is what title insurance is for...you won't get compensated for improvements or building but you will get purchase costs back...

[wildcat junkie]

Thanks Wildcat. I will consult a lawyer. lol

Well smarty a lawyer will usually give you an answer to a simple question such as legality of the sale W/O charge.

[wildcat junkie]

That is what title insurance is for...you won't get compensated for improvements or building but you will get purchase costs back...

We are talking about a small parcel of landlocked land here. It probably doesn't have an abstract & getting a title search & abstract done can get expensive.

Being that it was sold for taxes, it would be highly unlikely that it has an abstract.

Edited May 12, 2015 by wildcat junkie

[moog5050]

Well smarty a lawyer will usually give you an answer to a simple question such as legality of the sale W/O charge.

 

 

Sorry Wildcat, not breaking your chops, but I AM A LAWYER.  Not that you have any reason to know that.  All in good fun.

[orion]

"Ok lawyer called back yes you have to be able to access your land in NYS via easement by necessity"

 

Don't understand this, WHO has to give them a right of way? Don't think I'm giving up a 50' strip of land through my property for someone to get to there's! You buy landlocked I always thought you need to get a right of way usually through purchase.

 

 

[growalot]

Sorry I missed the property size being mentioned...I can tell you we bought 3 separate but contiguous parcels and they were all under 25 acres every single one was with an abstract ..titles searches and insurance on all but the 24 acres...for that had just 2 owners both diseased and family member to each other. Now if he were to purchase and wanted to resell at some point.... having all that in play now will be recouped in a sale later...Costs also depend on the lawyers,and title companies one deals with.

 

 

Now this is a good read for those wondering about the easement.....

 

http://www.landsalesco.com/easy-steps-accessing-landlocked-property

Edited May 12, 2015 by growalot

[moog5050]

 §  335-a.  Easements  of necessity. The owner of any lot, plot, block,
  site or other parcel of real estate being a subdivision  or  part  of  a
  subdivision  of any larger parcel or parcels of real property shown upon
  a map of said parcel or parcels of real property and of its  subdivision
  or  subdivisions,  filed  in  the  office  of the county clerk or of the
  register of deeds of the county where the property is situated, prior to
  the sale or conveyance of such lot, plot, block, site or  other  parcel,
  or subdivision thereof by the seller thereof, upon which map any road or
  street  is  indicated  or  shown  as giving access to or egress from any
  public road or street to such lot, plot, block, site or other parcel  of
  real  estate  thereon  indicated or to any part thereof, sold or granted
  after such filing, and the owner of any lot, plot, block, site or  other
  parcel  of  real  estate, the conveyance whereof shall specifically give
  the right of access to or egress from the same by any  private  road  or
  street  over  lands  belonging to the maker of such conveyance and which
  road or street is described in such conveyance, may, when  necessary  to
  the  enjoyment  of  the lot, plot, block or site or other parcel of real
  estate so sold or conveyed and when the same is not bounded by a  public
  road,  lay,  beneath  the roads or streets indicated and shown upon such
  map or described in such conveyance as giving access to or  egress  from
  any public road to such property so sold or conveyed as aforesaid, wires
  and  conduits  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  the  said property with
  electric light and telephone service. Such wires or  conduits  shall  be
  laid  only  on  condition that the private roads or streets on which the
  owner has the right of access to or egress from such property  shall  be
  restored  as nearly as possible to their original condition and that the
  person or persons entitled to the fee of such private roads  or  streets
  or  having  an  easement  over  the same shall be compensated for actual
  damage occasioned by the laying of such wires or conduits.
    Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to affect in any manner lands
  acquired by the city of New York for  the  purpose  of  construction  or
  development of its water supply system.

 

FUN READ.  lol

 

The long and short of it is:

 

Easement by necessity:

 

1. When property is divided in a way that leaves a part of the property

without access to a road (i.e., landlocked), an easement of ingress and

egress (“way by necessity”) is implied across the other part(s).

 

2. An easement by necessity exists only as long as the need exists. In other

words, if the landlocked property later has direct access to another public

road, the prior implied easement by necessity would go away.

 

 

Regardless, the property ceases to be a deal if you need to prove an easement by necessity by hiring a lawyer.  Have a title search done and/or make your offer contingent on a recorded easement for access.

 

[Nomad]

Thanks Moog, that goes right along with what my lawyer told me . Basically yes you have a legal right to an easment to get to,your land, establishing that will be costly and the land owner whose land it crosses often will be a prick about it.

Even thought they should know that if they boarder landlocked land there is a chance the easement will cross there's ...... Something they should have turned up as well when they bought theirs .

[moog5050]

I think the rule is really intended to further a public policy against making land useless or unmarketable.  The state encourages the ability to transfer land.  Hence the rule against perpetuities.  Another one of those bar exam questions that rarely arise in the real world.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_against_perpetuities

 

This rule has stumped many a law student.

[Nomad]

"Ok lawyer called back yes you have to be able to access your land in NYS via easement by necessity"

Don't understand this, WHO has to give them a right of way? Don't think I'm giving up a 50' strip of land through my property for someone to get to there's! You buy landlocked I always thought you need to get a right of way usually through purchase.

From my talk with my lawyer it goes like this. The landlocked piece has a legal right to access if there is no easment he has to establish one. He needs to identify and name all adjacent land owners , he also needs to show the route of the easment based upon distance, topography and other factors .

Now the landowner whose land it crosses may try to prove another route is best , but the court will rule on which piece the easement crosses based upon what is presented to him/ her.

I own land my wife's family owns thousands of acres and is buying more all the time, I'm surprised when you bought your land your lawyer never pointed out that it boarded landlocked land and an easement could be forced upon you .

[wildcat junkie]

All this for 7.84 acres?

[Doc]

Interesting discussion. I may actually own one of these landlocked parcels. My land is separated with two individual deeds. All deed transactions were established prior to 1976. That would be the date that NYS established its Wetlands Act. All existing access (driveways) to properties that crossed the existing wetlands are grandfathered in. However, my 2nd parcel never had a driveway and is cut off from the road by wetlands. So in effect, it was NYS that made the property landlocked via the Wetlands Act. So is it NYS's responsibility to allow access (driveway) to be installed even though it would violate the Wetlands Act? They are the entity that made the parcel landlocked.

 

Ha-ha ..... the situation gets more and more entangled .... lol.

[jrm]

Timing on this is interesting. I am helping my son with a real estate transaction. The standard sale contract legal form has a specific provision stating the property must not be landlocked. Odd that I read that just a few days ago and saw this topic.

I think the rule is really intended to further a public policy against making land useless or unmarketable.  The state encourages the ability to transfer land.  Hence the rule against perpetuities.

While off topic, the comment about perpetuities make me wonder. (I ran into it when working on a project a year or so back). How does that reconcile with deed restrictions? I have alway understood that a deed restriction has no expiration date... it stays on the deed indefinitely. For that matter, the easement the power company has also seems to be in perpetuity. Anyone know how that works?

[moog5050]

JRM - the rule prohibits future interests that vest more than 21 years after the death of any life in being at the time the conveyance is made.  While its pretty confusing, deed restrictions are already vested and not future interests and the same with power company easements.  The idea is not allow one person to limit the future rights of the property so far in advance as to lock it up.  I am sure my property professor would say that I am not 100 percent correct with this description, but its close enough.