In article .com,
wrote:
We have a contract to buy land on five acres in Texas. I want to see
what you all think about this situation:
* The seller checked "no" under "Unplatted Easements".
* There is a power line running 100 ft across the south corner of the
property.
It better have an easement. If it doesn't yet, the power company
could probably trivially force an easement through. It probably does.
In our area, PG&E would never build a line if it doesn't have a
legally waterproof easements (they are no fools).
* No easement at all is shown on/near our property on the tax assessor
survey (this is a 160-acre survey, which seems the best they have).
In our county (in California), the tax assessors survey does not
show all easements. That's because the assessor only cares about
ones that obviously increase or decrease the current value.
* The realtor says the power line is not disclosed because they dont
list "normal easements" and that "all developed rural properties have
them anyway".
In California, this would be nonsense. A title report from a title
insurance company would show them, if they are in the public record.
The realtor has a legal obligation of knowing the information in the
public record, and disclosing it. So the realtor would be guilty of
withholding information. Looks to me like you found a
less-than-honest realtor.
* There is a dirt road along this power line (1995 aerial photo)
servicing a neighbor's house. This dirt road is now blocked by a
perimeter fence and appears overgrown.
* In 2000, according to tax records, this neighbor built a bigger
house, and the tax assessor lists an address for him on another road on
another side of his property, plus the survey map shows a 30' easement
there servicing his house. This suggests the former dirt road is
abandoned.
Neither of which means that it is legally abandoned.
* The power line is ok but I don't want the neighbor using this road to
get to his property.
Then make sure that he has NO easement.
* I'm figuring all easements will appear in the deed at closing, and if
it's unacceptable we can reject on the grounds that it wasn't
disclosed.
I wouldn't be sure they appear in the deed. The may have been
recorded separately from the deed. On our lot, only two easements are
attached to the deed; the other dozen or so are separate documents.
Does this sound ok?
Depends on the level of risk that is acceptable to you. I would in
this situation immediately force the realtor to get a full title
report, with a search of the public record, and then run (not walk)
with it to an attorney who specializes in real estate law. Most
importantly, I would not listen to advice from neighbors, the seller,
or realtors (all of whom have a stake in the matter), or from random
people on the internet (who don't know the situation).
Also, whose permission would we have to get if we wanted the power line
moved, since this would disrupt the neighbor's electrical service?
If the power line has an easement, you have to get the holder of the
easement (either the power company or the neighbor) to agree to
quitclaim the easement. In a real-world situation, you'd have to give
them an inducement to abandon it, for example a few tenthousand $.
If the power line does not have an easement, the question is whether
the user (again, power company or the neighbor) could force a
prescriptive easement, based on existing use. If yes, then see above.
If no, you have to probably threaten both of them with a lawsuit.
Bewa The power company has lots of lawyers. For them, it is much
easier to spend a few tenthousand $ on their lawyers than to spend a
few thenthousand $ on rerouting the power line.
Remember: The cost of running a new power line is typically $10-$20
per foot, depending on the terrain. This means that getting someone
to move a power line will be an expensive proposition, so they'll push
back.
By the way, most importantly: These people are going to be your future
neighbors; you'll live next to them for many years to come. Do you
really want to live in a situation where the tone of the relationship
is set by "I don't want the neighbor using this road" and threats of
lawsuits?
--
The address in the header is invalid for obvious reasons. Please
reconstruct the address from the information below (look for _).
Ralph Becker-Szendy