Real estate transactions can be very complicated, and there are multiple types of legal issues that buyers and sellers will want to be aware of. Easements are one issue that will affect how a piece of property can be used. If easements are not properly disclosed during a transaction, real estate litigation may be required to address this issue.
Understanding Easements
An easement is a legal agreement that gives a person, company, or organization the right to use someone else’s property. Easements come in several forms, including:
- Public easements - A portion of a person’s property may be set aside for public use. These easements may address utilities, ensuring that the government or private utility companies can access a property to install or repair power lines, water lines, or other types of utilities.
- Private easements - A private individual may be given permission to use someone else’s property for certain purposes. For example, a person may have been granted the right to hunt and fish on someone else’s property, or a person may have been allowed to enter a neighbor’s property to access a lake or river.
- Easements by necessity - A person may need to cross over another person’s property to enter their own property. These easements can ensure that a person will not be denied access to property that is landlocked.
Some easements may apply to a piece of property, and they will remain in effect after the property is sold. In other cases, easements may be granted to a person or organization, and these will usually remain in effect as long as the original owner owns the property. Easements may be affirmative, meaning that they grant permission to use the property for specific purposes, or they may be negative, meaning that they restrict the property owner from making changes to the property, such as constructing a building that will block a neighbor’s access to the property or their view.
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