Home Ownership (misc.consumers.house)

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empty
 
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Default easement vs ownership

What is the difference between ownership and easement?

Our driveway goes through our front neighbor's side yard.
The builder's plot labeled the driveway as 12'x200' easement.
The county counted the area as part of our lot. We are
paying tax, mowing on the drive sides.

We also also have 30'x100' public sewage easement that runs
through our backyard (60' away from our house), from the county.
We are paying tax on that area.

If someone hurts himself in the easement, who's insurance
will pay for it?
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Default easement vs ownership


empty wrote:
What is the difference between ownership and easement?

Our driveway goes through our front neighbor's side yard.
The builder's plot labeled the driveway as 12'x200' easement.
The county counted the area as part of our lot. We are
paying tax, mowing on the drive sides.

We also also have 30'x100' public sewage easement that runs
through our backyard (60' away from our house), from the county.
We are paying tax on that area.

If someone hurts himself in the easement, who's insurance
will pay for it?


Owning it means you have title to it, and should be the one paying
taxes on it. An easement means someone else owns it, but the
person/entity granted the easement has access to the land for a
specific purpose. Typical cases are for utilities or as in your case,
a driveway. The easement typically grants access needed to maintain,
whatever is there, like in the case of the utilities needing to be
repaired, replaced, etc.

In general, unless the easement says something about liability, if
someone slips and falls, it's the property owner's liability. An
exception to that might be if there was something specific to the
easement that created an unsafe situation. Like your drain line was
leaking in the easement area, created a hole, and then someone broke a
leg.

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Keith Williams
 
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Default easement vs ownership

In article ,
says...
wrote:
empty wrote:

What is the difference between ownership and easement?

Our driveway goes through our front neighbor's side yard.
The builder's plot labeled the driveway as 12'x200' easement.
The county counted the area as part of our lot. We are
paying tax, mowing on the drive sides.

We also also have 30'x100' public sewage easement that runs
through our backyard (60' away from our house), from the county.
We are paying tax on that area.

If someone hurts himself in the easement, who's insurance
will pay for it?



Owning it means you have title to it, and should be the one paying
taxes on it. An easement means someone else owns it, but the
person/entity granted the easement has access to the land for a
specific purpose. Typical cases are for utilities or as in your case,
a driveway. The easement typically grants access needed to maintain,
whatever is there, like in the case of the utilities needing to be
repaired, replaced, etc.


That was what I figured to be. I wondered why the builder/develop
stated clearly that my drive way is on my neighbor's easement but county
included the area in my overall lot footage.


In this case you're the one with almost exclusive use of the land
did the builder screw up and put your driveway on someone else's
land and then "fix" it with an easement?). I could go either way
on the taxes but realistically, he doesn't use the land. So...

--
Keith

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empty
 
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Default easement vs ownership

Keith Williams wrote:
In article ,
says...

wrote:

empty wrote:


What is the difference between ownership and easement?

Our driveway goes through our front neighbor's side yard.
The builder's plot labeled the driveway as 12'x200' easement.
The county counted the area as part of our lot. We are
paying tax, mowing on the drive sides.

We also also have 30'x100' public sewage easement that runs
through our backyard (60' away from our house), from the county.
We are paying tax on that area.

If someone hurts himself in the easement, who's insurance
will pay for it?


Owning it means you have title to it, and should be the one paying
taxes on it. An easement means someone else owns it, but the
person/entity granted the easement has access to the land for a
specific purpose. Typical cases are for utilities or as in your case,
a driveway. The easement typically grants access needed to maintain,
whatever is there, like in the case of the utilities needing to be
repaired, replaced, etc.


That was what I figured to be. I wondered why the builder/develop
stated clearly that my drive way is on my neighbor's easement but county
included the area in my overall lot footage.



In this case you're the one with almost exclusive use of the land
did the builder screw up and put your driveway on someone else's
land and then "fix" it with an easement?). I could go either way
on the taxes but realistically, he doesn't use the land. So...


The easement is the only way that we can get out of our lot when the
subdivision was developed. It was not a fix.



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v
 
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Default easement vs ownership

On Tue, 07 Mar 2006 13:22:46 -0500, someone wrote:


That was what I figured to be. I wondered why the builder/develop
stated clearly that my drive way is on my neighbor's easement but county
included the area in my overall lot footage.


Cuz they made a mistake?

Cuz for valuation purposes they felt the value was the same as if you
owned it outright (being that you own the use of it)?

What did they say when you asked them? (And if you haven't asked
them, why ask US to explain why THEY did something????)


Reply to NG only - this e.mail address goes to a kill file.
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v
 
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Default easement vs ownership

On Tue, 07 Mar 2006 11:11:56 -0500, someone wrote:

If someone hurts himself in the easement, who's insurance
will pay for it?


The person's whose fault it was that the injury occurred.

If the utility company was in there with a backhoe exercising their
easement rights, and swung the bucket without looking and hit
somebody, why would you the "owner" (or your insurer) have to pay for
that just because it was your property?

And if you caused someone to be hurt there, why would the Utility (or
their insurer) pay?


Reply to NG only - this e.mail address goes to a kill file.
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ameijers
 
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Default easement vs ownership


"empty" wrote in message
...
Keith Williams wrote:

(snip)

The easement is the only way that we can get out of our lot when the
subdivision was developed. It was not a fix.

They shoulda made it a 'flag' lot- little strip of road front, and long
skinny driveway, with the rest of the lot out back. Wonder how they will
assess you for any road repaving? Have you read your easement? Are you
obligated to split road assessments with the fellow up front?

Personally, if I was going to be there a long time, I'd try to work a deal
with the front guy to split off the driveway and attach it to your parcel,
as long as that didn't put him under the minimum lot size for building.
Land-locked parcels with access easements are a PITA at sale time, and they
scare off a lot of people. Have you verified with front-door neighbor that
he ISN'T being taxed on the driveway? Might not be a bad idea for both of
you to visit assessor, and clarify things. Guy that did the workup for your
place may have screwed up. The back 100' of my yard is a 'casual use'
easement into the overflow area of a graveyard, with about another 20 years
to run. I basically ignore it, but some of the neighbors put pole barns on
their easements, which my reading of the easement paperwork doesn't allow.
(About 5 lots in a row have them.) I don't think I'm paying taxes on it, but
really haven't checked that hard. I think the original easement was a
freebie from the megacorp that bought the graveyard, to score brownie
points, but in the unlikely event I am still alive and here when it runs
out, and they ask for money, I'm gonna tell them 'Mow it yourself'. On the
other hand, since they will never use the land, if they offered it to me for
a token price of a few grand, I might buy it just for how it could improve
the resale in case the next owner does want a pole barn. Sure wish they
hadn't put up that damn cyclone fence along all five lots outlining the
easement area- it keeps the deer out of my back yard, which I was looking
forward to when I bought the place.

aem sends....

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empty
 
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Default easement vs ownership

ameijers wrote:
"empty" wrote in message
...

Keith Williams wrote:


(snip)

The easement is the only way that we can get out of our lot when the
subdivision was developed. It was not a fix.


They shoulda made it a 'flag' lot- little strip of road front, and long
skinny driveway, with the rest of the lot out back. Wonder how they will
assess you for any road repaving? Have you read your easement? Are you
obligated to split road assessments with the fellow up front?

Personally, if I was going to be there a long time, I'd try to work a deal
with the front guy to split off the driveway and attach it to your parcel,
as long as that didn't put him under the minimum lot size for building.
Land-locked parcels with access easements are a PITA at sale time, and they
scare off a lot of people. Have you verified with front-door neighbor that
he ISN'T being taxed on the driveway? Might not be a bad idea for both of
you to visit assessor, and clarify things. Guy that did the workup for your
place may have screwed up. The back 100' of my yard is a 'casual use'
easement into the overflow area of a graveyard, with about another 20 years
to run. I basically ignore it, but some of the neighbors put pole barns on
their easements, which my reading of the easement paperwork doesn't allow.
(About 5 lots in a row have them.) I don't think I'm paying taxes on it, but
really haven't checked that hard. I think the original easement was a
freebie from the megacorp that bought the graveyard, to score brownie
points, but in the unlikely event I am still alive and here when it runs
out, and they ask for money, I'm gonna tell them 'Mow it yourself'. On the
other hand, since they will never use the land, if they offered it to me for
a token price of a few grand, I might buy it just for how it could improve
the resale in case the next owner does want a pole barn. Sure wish they
hadn't put up that damn cyclone fence along all five lots outlining the
easement area- it keeps the deer out of my back yard, which I was looking
forward to when I bought the place.

aem sends....



I checked my files again last night. I have no easement documents. The
county included the driveway in my lot footage. The driveway is not in
the neighbor's footage in the state/county record. Which means I am
paying the tax for the road.

I maintain the driveway (asphalt). We cut the grass along the driveway
side. The neighbors never step into the driveway. BTW, the driveway
is in the middle of my two front neighboor's lot. It is not clear the
easement is from which neighboor. Or half from each of the two front
neighboors.

Never the less, the builder told us it is an easement. The survey map
indicated that is "Private Ingress/Egress driveway" for us. We are not
worried at all that the easement will going away. The are quite a number
of houses in the subdivison that are like ours.
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Tomes
 
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Default easement vs ownership

"empty" wrote in message
...
ameijers wrote:
"empty" wrote in message
...

Keith Williams wrote:


(snip)

The easement is the only way that we can get out of our lot when the
subdivision was developed. It was not a fix.


They shoulda made it a 'flag' lot- little strip of road front, and long
skinny driveway, with the rest of the lot out back. Wonder how they will
assess you for any road repaving? Have you read your easement? Are you
obligated to split road assessments with the fellow up front?

Personally, if I was going to be there a long time, I'd try to work a
deal
with the front guy to split off the driveway and attach it to your
parcel,
as long as that didn't put him under the minimum lot size for building.
Land-locked parcels with access easements are a PITA at sale time, and
they
scare off a lot of people. Have you verified with front-door neighbor
that
he ISN'T being taxed on the driveway? Might not be a bad idea for both of
you to visit assessor, and clarify things. Guy that did the workup for
your
place may have screwed up. The back 100' of my yard is a 'casual use'
easement into the overflow area of a graveyard, with about another 20
years
to run. I basically ignore it, but some of the neighbors put pole barns
on
their easements, which my reading of the easement paperwork doesn't
allow.
(About 5 lots in a row have them.) I don't think I'm paying taxes on it,
but
really haven't checked that hard. I think the original easement was a
freebie from the megacorp that bought the graveyard, to score brownie
points, but in the unlikely event I am still alive and here when it runs
out, and they ask for money, I'm gonna tell them 'Mow it yourself'. On
the
other hand, since they will never use the land, if they offered it to me
for
a token price of a few grand, I might buy it just for how it could
improve
the resale in case the next owner does want a pole barn. Sure wish they
hadn't put up that damn cyclone fence along all five lots outlining the
easement area- it keeps the deer out of my back yard, which I was looking
forward to when I bought the place.

aem sends....



I checked my files again last night. I have no easement documents. The
county included the driveway in my lot footage. The driveway is not in
the neighbor's footage in the state/county record. Which means I am paying
the tax for the road.

I maintain the driveway (asphalt). We cut the grass along the driveway
side. The neighbors never step into the driveway. BTW, the driveway
is in the middle of my two front neighboor's lot. It is not clear the
easement is from which neighboor. Or half from each of the two front
neighboors.

Never the less, the builder told us it is an easement. The survey map
indicated that is "Private Ingress/Egress driveway" for us. We are not
worried at all that the easement will going away. The are quite a number
of houses in the subdivison that are like ours.


If the tax map shows that the property is your property, then I believe that
you own it. Also look at the deed, where they detail what the property
lines are in surveying terms. I have a flag lot too, and both the tax map
and the deed are clear on this.
Tomes




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Handyman Jack
 
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Default easement vs ownership

One can own a piece of property and have an easement across that same
property. An easement is for legal access to land for a stated
purpose--in your case, the driveway. However, your neighbor COULD
actually own the land (or a part of it), and you still have easement
rights to gain access to your out-parcel of land that would have no
entrance from a dedicated street/highway.

When a builder sub-divides an area, he must grant easements for those
lots without access from public thoroughfares. The ownership of the
property will be stated in your deed in "meets & bounds"--described in
feet from a "POB"--(point of beginning), usually an iron pin hammered
into the soil, and often covered by a few inches of soil. At the
county seat/courthouse/hall of records, etc. there will be a plat map
of the land area that shows the lots and blocks of a subdivision.
With that information one can find the exact points where his property
joins another's.

The public sewage easement might also be YOUR property, but you would
be enjoined/prevented from building on that space (as in the case of
your driveway, too).

You should contact your insurance agent for verification of coverage
for accidents/injuries, etc. on your property.

In my own case, I own about 3/5ths of the 12' alley at the rear of my
property. There is a "utility company easement" for utility company
workers, but the land is still private property owned by me and my
neighbor on the other side of me. I must maintain the grass, just as
people do for that area between a sidewalk and a street.

Hope this helps. My business degree in real estate from No. TX State
Univ. was in 1981, so I'm a bit "rusty" on some specifics.

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