Legal Guidance: Private Road Usage Agreement

[ClassyJumper]

I am sure the answer is to get a real estate attorney but has anyone been pressured to sign a private road usage agreement? Trying to get a feel for what the process is if I don’t comply. Long story short there is landlocked property to the west of my land that is under contract. My access is off the main road and it affects me 0%. My two neighbors (and land under contract) use this road which is apparently atleast partially my land.

I would prefer that surveys get done and a proper easement be settled rather than this 30 year agreement which I feel is just the buyer/seller being cheap instead of doing the right thing. Am I completely off base in my thinking? Please help if you have been through something similar.

[LilRanger]

You should get a real estate attorney. Laws on property use differ wildly, so someone who knows your area is best.

You might want to ask them if a contract/agreement is better than a lawsuit, or better than a prescriptive easement. There’s a lot to consider, including damages if the road doesn’t already exist and whether it’s in compliance with fire and emergency access.

Meeting with an attorney in this case is probably money well spent.

[clanter]

if you are not the party selling the landlock particle you have no obligation to provide access, not legal advise but some one would have prove to me who has nothing to gain in the transaction just what the hell they are thinking

My son owns a landlocked 65 acre farm, the access is by easement across private property, he had attempted to buy this easement but was quoted a mid six figure cost, so he will continue to use the dedicated easement that he maintains

@ClassyJumper

use this road which is apparently at least partially my land.

ask them to remove that road off your land

[LilRanger]

Have you seen the property records for your land? Is there an easement recorded?
Is there an earlier agreement for this request?
@clanter has a good point, are they trying to get access from you because no one else will agree?

[OnAMission]

Going to guess that b/c the land is under contract the title company has figured out there isn’t a legal access so they are trying to put one in now. In my world, if you did a useage agreement that you’re all on everyone would have to pitch in for maintaining the road/plowing/etc and since that affects you not… you’d be doing the buyer a solid but opening yourself up to costs in the future to maintain a road you don’t use. You could potentially have it written in that you incur no costs to maintain the road but that would feel a little bit like putting a toe on a slippery slope. Also in my world, you could sell or endow the easement and stay out of any agreements and everyone downstream has a legal right to use the road/access to get to the property but nobody is agreeing to maintain it. Now’s the time to check out your records to see what easements are on your property now; if there are none then you’ve been doing your neighbors a solid but that might need to be tidied up. It would be nearly impossible to finance land that was landlocked but if there were cash sales… can happen. For me, I’d start with a title company with the situation to research your property and if it gets fuzzy go to the Clerk and Recorder for your county. If there is a handshake easement by lore or napkin writing, NOT recorded, there are no legal easements, only solids. lol Again I say, this is in my world, experience and I’m not a RE attorney.

[ClassyJumper]

@OnAMission You pretty much summed the situation up perfectly. There are no recorded easements. From what I understand the property directly behind us is also landlocked but was purchased in cash. The new buyers under contract wants to build and be able to get a mortgage.

They have been dirty and manipulative since the getgo and now I have no desire to be cooperative.

Property values have gone through the roof where I live and now everyone is just trying to cash out.

[OnAMission]

Same here which is why I’ve tripped over these things before in my job. If you’re ok with the neighbors you already have perhaps status quo will work for a while but if they ever sell this will rise up again. It’s kinda messy and they probably want to stay on your good side. It might be interesting and very proactive to talk with a RE atty and just find out how this will function going forward and what changes might protect you best.

[JanM]

I would say no to any easement. However, the two existing neighbors should do a survey, and if their road is on your property, look at options. You don’t want to end up with someone getting an easement because they used it for a certain amount of time.

[beowulf]

You should call your local Planning and Zoning Board. Not only will they be able to tell you about any sort of easement or the legalities surrounding it, they ought to know that these potential buyers are considering building on an otherwise landlocked property.

[pluvinel]

@ClassyJumper

My two neighbors (and land under contract) use this road which is apparently atleast partially my land.

I would recommend you stop allowing people to use a road that is on your land.
Google “adverse possession.” You might have already lost claim to this land.

You need a lawyer.

You might want to talk to a title company and ask what a “title abstract” would cost.

An abstract of title is a written chronology of all recorded documents and proceedings related to a specific piece of real estate. It shows the names of all the owners, how long each held title, and what each paid for the property. The classic title abstract goes back in history to the earliest available records—sometimes as far back as the original land grant or patent deed from the U.S. government.

The Abstract of Title in Real Estate: What Is It? - Deeds.com

[atr]

Ah. The joy of easements… In this State, you can’t actually deny someone reasonable access to their landlocked property.

Doesn’t mean the easement has to go where they want it to be, though.

[HorseLover65]

I don’t know where your land is, but I can tell you from experience, get something formal in place. In the state of Michigan, my partner has lost 40 acres to adverse possession, had unapproved removal of sand from another 40 acres and is now having issues with 3 sets of neighbors over a hand-shake easement on another 40 acres. Everything is hunky dory until it isn’t. Good luck

[Kinda_Kooky]

I would recommend speaking to an attorney. And not agreeing to an easement.

There is a very poorly written one for a piece of our land that has never been used, but could become a problem. We will try to get it removed eventually.

Your State law matters greatly concerning this.

Imagine a development or apartments go in, etc. Things change like zoning and easements are not attractive features when you talk about selling.

Just some echoes and things to consider. Unless the easement is written completely in your favor, they can be hard to get rid of. In some cases, an official road can be created. Beware!

[pony_grandma]

We went to look at a piece of pasture land with a good barn and found out it had an easement straight down the middle to a property behind it. Nope nope and NO. That was 25 yrs ago and it never did sell.

[ReSomething]

Everyone talks about adverse possession as if a fairy comes down and changes your lot line description for you. It doesn’t, but it does mean that you can spend far too much money you didn’t want to or plan to spend on surveying, RE attorney time, and sometimes needs going before county planning and/or ultimately a judge.

Plus every state is different and uses different wording, and getting a surveyor out takes months. It took us over a year to modify our lot line from initial sale to our ultimate seller, previous guy was uninterested until the prices shot up, then wanted to sell it all or nothing.

Make them do it right.

[pluvinel]

@ReSomething

Everyone talks about adverse possession as if a fairy comes down and changes your lot line description for you. It doesn’t, but it does mean that you can spend far too much money you didn’t want to or plan to spend on surveying, RE attorney time, and sometimes needs going before county planning and/or ultimately a judge.

All you said is absolutely true…but no one said that a magic fairy comes down and changes your lot lines.

Adverse possession just a legal process that can put a person’s lot lines in jeopardy…which thus requires spending moneys to deal with the legal system.

Knowledge is power…I suggested that OP become knowledgeable about the process for adverse possession in her state to nip this question in the bud before it escalates further.

[ClassyJumper]

I think we are going to start with a survey. Can think of 2,000 things I rather do with the money but hoping we can just rule ourselves out of the issue altogether. Here’s hoping

[beowulf]

@ClassyJumper

I think we are going to start with a survey. Can think of 2,000 things I rather do with the money but hoping we can just rule ourselves out of the issue altogether. Here’s hoping

Somewhat tongue in cheek but… my grandfather used to say the best way to get a survey done is cut down your neighbor’s tree. They’ll pay for the survey to prove you wrong

[ClassyJumper]

Well in an unfortunate plot twist… the survey revealed that we own the entire road and several feet on the other side . Any advice on how to proceed from here?

[pluvinel]

@ClassyJumper

Any advice on how to proceed from here?

You need to get a real estate attorney. You are in the driver’s seat here. You are not a party of the sale of the property so you are under no obligation to either party. However, there may be laws that apply. There have been good suggestions

@clanter

ask them to remove that road off your land

@OnAMission

Going to guess that b/c the land is under contract the title company has figured out there isn’t a legal access so they are trying to put one in now. In my world, if you did a useage agreement that you’re all on everyone would have to pitch in for maintaining the road/plowing/etc and since that affects you not… you’d be doing the buyer a solid but opening yourself up to costs in the future to maintain a road you don’t use.

This may be a sign of what is in store if you go forward and cooperate

@ClassyJumper

They have been dirty and manipulative since the getgo and now I have no desire to be cooperative.

@ClassyJumper

Property values have gone through the roof where I live and now everyone is just trying to cash out.

You could to sell a 20 foot by xxx feet parcel of land for them to build an access road. Locate it where it is convenient to you…then price this at some exorbitantly high price…or a price that makes it worth your while. That way you are “cooperative.”

But back to needing an attorney…

@atr

In this State, you can’t actually deny someone reasonable access to their landlocked property.

@Kinda_Kooky

Your State law matters greatly concerning this.

Good luck going forward…I would be interested in how this resolves.