What is an easement?
If you’ve ever purchased real estate it’s quite possible that the property may have been subject to an
easement. Easements are common and a lot of properties have them without the owner even being aware of it.
The easement is something that is included in the legal description as well as other documents when you purchase real estate but you may not be aware of it unless you read the fine print.
An easement is a property interest that allows the easement holder to use property that he or she does not own or possess.
It does not allow the easement holder to occupy the land, or to exclude others from the land, unless they interfere with the easement holder’s use.
The person who owns the land is allowed to use the easement and they can also prohibit everyone else from using it except for the holder of the easement. A common example of this that I see when appraising homes is a driveway that goes across one person’s property to get to another one.
This is not uncommon when a portion of a larger parcel is sold off and the easement is put in place so that a driveway can be created to provide access to the interior lot from the street.
Another type of easement can involve public utilities such as for power lines or sewer drains. In these instances the owner has full use of the easement but they have to allow access to city employees or workers who may need to do repair work.
Do easements affect property value?
For the most part easements do not create a negative effect on your property value unless it severely restricts the use of the property. Most property owners still have full use of the property and do not experience any negative consequences.
Because easements are common, many properties may have them. The more common a certain type of easement is the less impact it will have on value because buyers have come to know about it and accept it.
To determine if the easement has any type of positive or negative effect on property value it would be necessary to look at what other properties are selling for that do not have the easement.
By comparing non easement sales with easement sales you’ll be able to determine if the homes with the easement sold for more or less than the others. Sometimes there may not be any sales available in your subdivision so it is acceptable to go to other neighborhoods in the immediate area that have homes that are similar in age, style, quality and price to see what is happening there. By doing this you’ll get a good idea of how other buyers reacted to the presence of easements.
Another method to determine the market’s reaction to the easement is to look at past sales of the subject property. By comparing its previous sale price to what other similar homes sold for at the time of the sale you can get some context for how the easement might influence the sale price.
If you’re fortunate enough to have data on both of the above methods you can compare the two indicators and reconcile between the two.
When attempting to find out exactly how the market reacts to an easement there are several things you will want to consider:
4 Things to consider about the potential impact of an easement
- How common are easements in your area? If every property in the neighborhood has an easement they may be so common that no one cares about it and it has no impact because it’s known and expected.
- How big is the easement? A large easement on a small parcel may be more negative that a small easement on a larger parcel. This may also affect the utility of the lot, meaning that you may not be able to get maximum use of the lot because the easement takes away from the useable area.
- What impact does the easement have on the use of the property? Does the easement take away from the useability of the lot by being larger than typical?
- What are the terms of the easement? If a municipality has an easement over your property it would be good to know exactly how much access they have. Having limited access would probably be better than free reign over the property. You would also want to know if you can build on the easement or if there are any other restrictions.
Question
Can you think of any other questions regarding easements? If so then leave your thoughts below and we’ll keep the conversation going. As always, thanks for reading.
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I bought a property 4 years ago. The owner claimed there was no waterline easement on his property. The owner did not register a waterline easement at the registry of deeds. 2 years after buying the property the neighbor claims he as a waterline easement on my property, and he registered the easement at the registry of deeds. 2 property title searches were done, one by my lawyer, and one by my bank. Because the owner did not register the easement nothing was in his file at the registry of deeds about this easement. What can I do about this ?
I am not qualified to make any comments regarding something like this. I would think your lawyer would be a better person to ask.
I have a stormwater easement running through my property. Over the years it has caused severe erosion to my property. I cannot find anything on the deed that mentions this or who is responsible for maintaining it. What can I do to get some answers and help
You may want to check with the city or local government to see if they know who is responsible for it.
I am looking to buy a property and just learned that there is an easement that bisects the property lengthwise for about 1000 feet, as the driveway used to be a common driveway for two properties. The easement is recorded and legal and allows the neighbor to drive through the property gates and pretty much half way in before turning south to access his own property. It is not currently being utilized by the neighbor. I am trying to find some guidelines for what a reasonable offer would be in terms of how much to deduct from the asking price based on the existence of this easement, which was not disclosed or discovered by either the appraiser or the title company. It not only gives the neighbor access, but requires that the property owner not build any structure within 25 feet of either side of the easement.
The value is going to be very specific to the property and the area it is in. It seems that if the easement is not necessary to access the neighbor’s property (maybe because its now accessible from another location) it may be possible to do away with the easement.
Would the presence of an easement affect the property value of the servient tenement? Why? What about for the dominant tenement?
If the property that the dominant tenement can have access due to the easement then the value of their property can be enhanced because of the access. This may or may not negatively affect the property of the party giving the easement. It will depend on where the easement is on the property. If it affects it in big way then I would assume this would be considered in the compensation.
Hi Tom,
We are looking into purchasing a home and found there is water line easement on the property. The water line run under the driveway to the house behind us. The easement document isn’t super clear about who is responsible if the water line brakes. Would an easement like this have a negative affect on the property value?
Thanks in advance
I’m not an attorney or a title expert and do not know the details of exactly how this might work but I would assume that the agreement should state who is responsible. If the burden of maintenance is on the property owner this could impact its value. I think I would try to look at all of the documents to determine each party’s responsibilities.
I am entering into an agreement with the county I live in for a forest conservation easement. My property is zoned agricultural and cannot be subdivided. No change in zoning will occur. The mortgage company indicated that the property might be devalued as a result of the easement. Personally I do not see how that is; the property cannot be subdivided or re-zoned. Of course the easement will restrict the use as trees will be planted and there is compensation involved from the county. Is it common for lenders to devalue a property due to an easement? I realize this will vary from state to state.
Tim, you bring up an interesting question. The bank, of course, is worried about a decrease in value of their collateral. From what you say it does not appear to me that there would be a decrease in value, however, this is something an appraisal on the property could determine. I’m sure there are other situations where an easement may decrease property value, however, I think this has to be determined on a case by case basis. If the bank will not allow the easement because of their concern an appraisal may show that they have nothing to worry about.
Thank you for your reply. I am supposed to get input from the lender next week; I have been in touch with the top appraiser in our county and he does not seem to think it would decrease the value. However, I am consulting with a lawyer as well. I appreciate your response. I can keep updating as I get information.
Sounds good and good luck!
Hello, so far the lender thinks that the portion of my property subject to the easement is going to be de-valued by 100%, i.e. a dollar for dollar devaluation, using the total amount of compensation I would receive from the county under this program. I am talking to a real estate lawyer; this seems pretty unreasonable. So that is where I am right now.
Thanks for the update, Tim. Good luck and hope things work out in your favor.
Hi, I moved onto a property of 6acres that lines up against a private road that apparently belongs to a neighborhood. The easement from my property line to the road is about 4 feet. I am having a lot of problems with the neighbors for walking my horse along this private road but on the side of my property. They call the police if I use this road with my car to access my land behind my house and drive onto my property. Recently they dug in 2 poles on each side of the private road entrance with a half gate, not closed, but open and posted a no trespassing sign on it. The side of my property, they dug that pole in a lot closer to my side to prevent me being able to walk along my fence line to fix the fence. If I needed to fix my fence or wanted to walk around the fence line to get to the back that’s not fenced, I would have to actually step onto the road to walk around the pole. I am so frustrated and very bothered to a great deal that they are going to this extent to be ugly and to inconvenience me. What are my rights and what rights do I have to an easement they claim doesn’t belong to me but belongs to the ones who live on that street. My question is why cant I walk on my side on the property or can I?
Sorry to hear about your problems, Shannon. I’m afraid I’m not qualified to answer your question, however, I would recommend taking a look at the survey of the property if you have one. The survey should give you the boundaries and allow you to see what part of the land you are allowed to be on. In addition to this, you might want to consult with the title company and possibly a real estate attorney. I’m sorry I’m not able to help more.
You are not alone! A few years ago, we purchased a house with an acreage near Sedona, Arizona. So we built a horse boarding facility with all permits in place, yet our neighbors, just like yours, go nuts when we pass with our horses behind their house! You would think, who wouldn’t love to see a few horses by their backyard just once in a while?! So, yeah, go figure.
Tom, another great article that is spot on. Another reason to have a reliable title company to look into these issues.
Thanks Shannon. I agree, the money spent on title work is well worth it.
Hi, this may sound confusing but I’m going to try to explain.
I live in a 2 family house. There is a 2 family house next door and we share the driveway. 45 years ago, the owner of the property next door built a carport that extended approximately 4 feet onto this lot. Everyone got along fine until the owner that built the carport put the house on the market. The owner of this house offered to give him an easement so it would be on record for anyone that may buy the house with the carport.
The owner with he carport verbally stated that he wanted the easement but delayed hoping to sell the house before the easement was recorded. Of course, this is where it goes downhill. When the owner of this house purchased the property 10 years ago, the title search and survey never caught the encroachment. Nobody knew about it. Since the easement that was offered never came to fruition, the owner of the person selling the house was served with a “notice of no easement” to ensure that future title searches would flag the encroachment.
This enraged the person trying to sell the house because he had been using the land for 45 years. Out of anger, he built a fence on the property line and cut 5 feet off of the carport. This left the carport too small to park a car and now the land on his property is only wide enough for a motorcycle at best. He gave up all vehicle access to the driveway.
The question is this. Why put up a fence? He had been driving over the land to gain access to the carport for 45 years. People seem to have different interpretations on who is allowed to use the driveway since he has been using the land for so long. Does putting up the new fence mean he has given back the right to continue using the land? Very confusing.
Now the owner of this property has more room for parking and never has to deal with people going over the land. Obviously the land has a better market appeal. Properties in this area have very small driveways. Some houses have no driveways.
For the record, I’m an appraiser and so is the owner of the house that offered to give him the easement. Don’t judge us, we just can’t seem to agree on the possible value of getting the parking back and whether or not the fence should have been built at all.
Everybody seems to have a different opinion. This would be an interesting case study.
Wow John, that seems like a headache. I’m not sure I have an answer but I guess the best case scenario would be to try and do what the original owner wanted originally. Hope everything works out.
Thank you for the post on easements Tom. Very well covered. One thing that your readers might find interesting is that when the easement becomes disputed, the appraisal can be expensive. In past appraisal assignments, I’ve been asked to only find the value of the easement and in those assignments, the cost of the appraisal has been almost as much as the value of the easement.
Great point Gary. Most people don’t realize that most easements are not work much, however that totally depends on the situation. Thanks for your real life story.
Nice job Tom. It’s always good to consider easements. How would you recommend owners finding out if they have easements on their site?
Great questions Ryan. There are several ways to find out if your property has an easement. You can look at your legal description and/or title work as I have seen them listed there. If it is a utility easement you should be able to call the utility company or go to your court house and ask to see a map of utility easements in your area. In addition, if a survey was done on the property it should also show where it is located.