The decision to purchase a home is often a major milestone in an adult’s life. It is critical that you ensure you are taking necessary steps to protect yourself throughout this process. One of these steps is doing your due diligence on the property.
During this process, some homebuyers may discover that there is an easement attached to the property. You must understand what this means and how it affects your property rights.
An easement doesn’t take away ownership
An easement is a legal requirement to allow another party to use a portion of your property for a specific purpose. There are different types of easements, each of which grants specific usage to specific parties.
- Private easement: Between two parties for personal need
- Utility easement: With a utility company to run lines or pipes or have access to certain parts of a property
- Easement by necessity: Allows someone required access to part of the property
While these types of easements vary greatly, the outcome is the same. They all allow a second party to use part of your property. This does not take away any of your ownership, but it may change how you can use those specific areas of the property. For example, if your neighbor has an easement by necessity to use your driveway to access their driveway, you can’t install a security fence around your driveway that would prevent them from accessing it.
Because easements can have such a big impact on property usage, you must understand the effect any easements on the property may have. This is only one part of the due diligence that you should do before you purchase a home. It may be beneficial for you to work with someone familiar with these matters so they can assist you in determining exactly what to expect.
