What is an Easement?
For better understanding, an easement can be seen as a legal right granted to another person or entity by a legal authority to use your land for a specific purpose. We are saying here that if someone is granted an easement, the person can use their land in a certain way. However, it should be noted that an easement only permits someone to use part of somebody’s else property for specific purposes; they do not become the owner of such property. Easements are usually granted to utility companies, government entities, or neighboring property owners. For example, a utility company might need to access an electrical pole on your land, or you might need to use a part of your neighbor’s property to reach your garage. It all depends on the situation. Easements are different from leases or rentals because they do not involve payments for the use of the property. The property owner has given someone else the legal right to use their land in a specific way.
An easement is a right that allows a third party to use your land for a specific purpose. The most common easement is a right of way, allowing one party to cross your land without trespassing. For example, a right-of-way easement with a utility company will enable them to maintain overhead wires without disputes from the homeowner. You can find any easements on your property title. Additionally, you may inherit pre-negotiated easements when buying a home in Canada. Continue reading to become an easement expert with as little as five minutes.
What Are The Types of Easements?
There are several types of easements, and in this section, we shall look at some of them:
- Easements for utilities: This easement gives utility companies such as electricity companies, telephone service providers, broadcasting Companies, etc., the right to use part of your land for the benefit of everyone in the community. It should, however, be noted that this easement does not give utility companies the absolute right to do whatever it is that pleases them on your land. The easement only covers things that are beneficiary to the community at large. Lastly, contrary to the common misconception, Utility easements will not affect the value of your property!
- Right-of-way easements: This easement grants someone the right to cross your property to reach their property. For example, if your garage is not easily accessible, you may need to use a part of your neighbor’s property to reach your garage.
- Easements for drainage: This easement caters to water flow in drainages. In that, it gives a person the right to make use of another person’s drainage
- Easements for access: Assuming that someone is trying to gain access to a property that, unless they pass through yours, they won’t get access to such property. This type of situation is exactly what easement of access caters to.
Kindly note that each easement we have briefly discussed above affects property rights differently, so it’s important to understand the terms of any easement on a property before buying it.
How to Know When There’s an Easement On Your Property
When buying a property, you must check if there’s an easement. This assessment is something you can do all on your own. Hence, this section will show you how you can go about that.
- Check the property deed: To check if there is an easement on your property, you should refer to the property deed. A property deed usually indicates if there is an easement on a property.
- Look for signs of an easement: Another solution is to check for utility poles, pipelines, or other physical signs that indicate the existence of an easement on your property.
- Scan through public records: You can also visit your local county to check if they have any recorded easements on your property.
- Lastly, you can ask your new neighbors: This is the easiest way to know if there is an easement on your property. All you have to do is ask your neighbors for information (since they’ve lived in that area longer than you) If you have concerns about an easement affecting your new property.
What are the Consequences of Having an Easement on Your Property?
Having an easement on your property can have several consequences, they include:
- Limitations on using your property: One of the negative impacts an easement can have on your property is that it can limit how you use your land/property. For example, if a utility company erects a communication tower on your land, it will take much land, thus limiting how you use your land.
- It may or may not affect the value of your property: We are sitting on the fence here because only some easements can affect the value of your property. For example, your neighbor using your property to reach his garage will not reduce the value of your house. The only time the value of your property could pummel as a result of this is when the Utility company installs heavy machinery on your property.
- Maintenance and repair costs: You may be responsible for the maintenance and repair of the easement, which can be costly.
Buying a Home With Easements
– If you are interested in purchasing a property that has an easement attached to it, it is essential to learn as much as you can about what this means and what limitations it places on your use of the land. It is also crucial to understand how to search for existing easements on titles so you can make informed decisions when buying real estate.
Selling a Home With Easements
– If you are selling a home with easements, it is important to understand its implications for the buyer. You should always consult a legal professional before selling a property with any existing easements.
– When selling a home with easements, you will need to disclose all of the limitations this places on the buyer’s use of the land. It is also essential to find a buyer willing to accept these limitations.
– If you cannot find a buyer who is willing to accept the easements, you may need to renegotiate the sale price or consider cancelling the sale altogether.
How to Remove an Easement from Your Property
If, after buying a property, you realize that an easement is affecting you negatively, then you should have it removed. So, below are ways you can have an easement removed from your property:
- Negotiate with the easement holder: if you need to remove an easement from your property, you should consider talking to the easement holder.
- Seek legal advice: If the negotiation doesn’t materialize into anything significant, you should contact a real estate attorney for guidance on removing the easement.
- Buy the easement: You may not know this, but you can buy an easement from the holder to remove it from your property. This method is less cumbersome but will cost you much money.
- Terminate the easement: You can terminate it if it is no longer used for its intended purpose.
It should be noted that not every easement can be removed. For example, utility easements such as power lines, telecommunication towers, etc.
How to Remove an Easement from Your Property
If, after buying a property, you realize that an easement is affecting you negatively, then you should have it removed. So, below are ways you can have an easement removed from your property:
- Negotiate with the easement holder: if you need to remove an easement from your property, you should consider talking to the easement holder.
- Seek legal advice: If the negotiation doesn’t materialize into anything significant, you should contact a real estate attorney for guidance on removing the easement.
- Buy the easement: You may not know this, but you can buy an easement from the holder to remove it from your property. This method is less cumbersome but will cost you much money.
- Terminate the easement: You can terminate it if it is no longer used for its intended purpose.
It should be noted that not every easement can be removed. For example, utility easements such as power lines, telecommunication towers, etc.
CONCLUSION
An easement is a legal right that can affect how you use your property. It is important to be aware of any easements associated with your land and understand how they may impact you or your use of the property.
