What an easement can and can't take away
Access, utility and drainage rights each read differently. Where to find them in a title report, and which to ask about before you bid.
An easement is a right someone else holds over your land: to cross it, to run a line through it, to drain water across it. You still own the ground. You can't block the use the easement describes.
Where they hide
Start with the exceptions in the title report, then the deeds it cites and any recorded map. Some easements appear only as a line on a map or a phrase in an old deed, so read the documents, not just the summary.
A path or road that has been used openly for years can matter even if nothing was ever signed. Rules on that differ, so ask rather than assume.
Questions to ask before you bid
- Who holds the easement, and for what use?
- Where exactly does it run, and does the survey show it?
- Who maintains it, and who pays when it breaks?
- Can it be moved or ended, and by whom?
- Does it change where you can build or fence?
What you can do about one you dislike
Ask the seller for every recorded document. Order a survey that plots the easement on the ground. Ask the title company which exceptions it will insure over. Then decide whether the price reflects what the easement takes.
Some can be relocated or released with the holder's signature and a recorded paper. That is easier to negotiate before closing, when the seller still wants the sale.