Insurance on easement question

[Jeff DeVore]

I have a neighbor that is selling a lot she split that wants me to grant her an easement across about 15 feet of my property to access her lot. We've halfway worked out a deal with the tenative buyer but I was wondering how this might affect my homeowners policy having an easement across my land. They are hoping to sign paperwork this weekend and I can't get ahold of my insurance agent. Does anybody out there know if this will affect my homeowners policy and if my rates might increase because of this? Thanks, Jeff.

[Jeff Kerr]

Hmmm. This is an interesting question. I never thought of this.

I have the same situation and my insurance company has never said a word.

Mine may be a little different. So I live on a small court with 4 houses. I have one of the front lots and my neighbor across the street has the other. I own half the private road and my neighbor owns the other half. The 2 houses in the back of the court own about the last 20 feet of the 400 ft. road.

Now what we have is a legal document drawn up by a lawyer that says I have to grant access accross my land to the houses in the back. I believe the legal term is "ingress" and "egress"

Good Luck

[Mitchell Andrus]

Sounds like any costs involved should be paid by the person who benefits from the arangement the most - at a minimum.

First, what's in it for you? Second, what happens when you sell your property? Is your buyer going to have a problem with the easment? Does it diminish the future value? What if the owner of the lot misuses his privilage? Can you close the easment for good cause? Who's responsible for maintenance and compliance with local codes, real estate taxes, imposed improvements, drainage issues? Can you get a hold-harmless if the neighbor slips on ice or trips on a tree root on your land? What if yu get hurt on it for her lack of maintenance? Who trims the trees before they fall on a car, owner or lessee?

Does the easment encroach on your ability to enlarge your house because of lot coverage calculations/floor area ratios? Does the easment change your road frontage calculations? This is a gotcha calculation you need to know.

What use does the easment allow, dis-allow? Long term parking? Uses other than traffic? Placement of underground utilities/sewer? What happens when you need to set foot on the piece? Can you run wires overhead/underground in the future if needed?

Why not sell the piece to her?

If obtaining the easment is a condition of the sub-division, you have a seat at the table. Easments are typically a burden to the property owner. Determine a value and stick to your guns.

I've been on my town's planning board - this can get ugly really fast. I've seen this kind of thing run for two years before reaching a resolution because of the lawyers.

[Matt Meiser]

If you can't get in touch with your insurance agent, then I would wait. Mitchell brings up a lot of good points I didn't think about, but liability is a big deal these days.

[Jeff DeVore]

Mitchell, you bring up alot of interesting questions. The easement would be for a single family dwelling. The neighbor splitting the lot already has a different access to the property that is not asthetically appealing and would leave a road paralleling my access four feet away and comes within 6 feet of her existing home. The seller isn't interested in buying the extra parcel from me. If needed the new owner/builder could use the existing access but it would make the whole neighborhood look more pleasing if I granted access through the private drive I share with my other neighbors. We already have a road maintenance agreement that the new owner would have to sign on to but I'm not sure about the maintence of the piece that she would have to cross my property. The contractor that wants to buy the parcel said he is willing to compensate me for the amount that it would cost him to put a road in. In fact I have made a deal with him to forego the compensation and trade me wholesale contractors wages for helping me fix up a different house that I own and need to get on the market as soon as possible. He has also agreed to a 30 foot buffer between the house and our boundary line and also agreed to face the new house in such a way that their garage would be closests to our fenceline. If he had to use the access he already has by the way the lot is configured the new house would be much closer to our property line. We're trying to make it a win win for both sides but I want to protect myself against future problems and don't want to have to pay for yearly extra insurance premiums to let them cross my property. Sorry so long and thanks for all the ideas, Jeff.

[Jeffrey Schronce]

As the legal owner of the property your homeowners section II coverage would automatically include coverage (liability and medical payments to others). There is no exclusionary language in the policy for easements or access roads utilized by others. There is no special endorsement necessary and certainly not a premium bearing endorsement. I would not add the neighbor as an additional insured under the policy.

I am 100% sure on this.

[Jeff DeVore]

Thanks for the info Jeffrey, Jeff.

[Jim Becker]

Do check with a real estate attorney about ALL the aspects of granting this easement, including any effects to your property before you agree to anything in finality.

[Mike Wilkins]

Don't do anything until you consult a real estate attorney. They specialize in land/property/real estate matters, and will help work out the issues. And possibly advise on any insurance matters.
Better safe than sorry.

[John Shuk]

At the very least I would want an irrevocable covenant placed in the title of the new parcel as to maintenence and assosiated costs for the easement. I live on a private road with 3 neighbors and all have these. It is frustrating at best dealing with different personalities and financial situations. It still can be a problem getting together when work is needed but at least the agreement is in place if it has to get nasty.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Lease the access don't grant an easement.
Establish a long term lease. This way you will always have some measure of control over who builds what there.

And your property will generate income.


Go see local counsel about assembling a lease.

[Rob Russell]

Jeff,

If their garage would be closet to you, that means the sound of garage doors opening and closing at odd hours it what you would hear.

Rob

[Rob Wright]

Easement vs. lease - that is tricky.

As an surveyor/engineer we deal with owner's wanting to do this all the time. I understand that this is a win/win in your mind. I would never advise a client easement vs. fee title in this situation.

A lease - if revoked may create a land locked non accessible parcel. Usually land court would say that there may be an implied easement across the property.

Wait for the attorney.