how to get an easment granted without spending thousands in attorney fees

Negotiate a Price: When negotiating a private easement you should research local records to get an idea of the price for such an easement. For example, if you are allowing a third party the right to enter your land and access your pond temporarily, you may wish to charge them only $100 for the year.

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What do you need to know about easement attorneys?

How to get rid of a real estate easement?

How long do you have to pay for an easement?

Feb 10, 2016 · You should call or write the property owner and mention that you want to get an easement on their property. Ask for a time to meet so that you can discuss this possibility. It is usually more productive to negotiate face-to-face. You can read non-verbal cues when you …

What is an easement by necessity?

Easements implied by prior use – Easements implied by prior use is the law’s way of honoring informal easement-like arrangements that were likely intended to run with the land. Easements arising from prior use must generally satisfy each of the following elements: (1) One larger …

Can an easement be created through use alone?

Easements can be created through use alone. For example, if you have routinely used a neighbor’s driveway to access your own camp, then you might have created an easement simply through routine use. You should meet with an attorney to discuss whether an easement has already been created.

How to negotiate an easement?

1. Survey your land. Before negotiating for an easement, you should check whether or not you actually own the land you want to use. For example, you might be storing equipment near the boundary line of your property. You should double check to see if the land you are using is actually part of your parcel.

What is an easement in Oregon?

This article has been viewed 88,839 times. An easement is a legal right to use property you do not own. A common form of easement is the right to use a driveway which run across your neighbor's property.

What is an easement?

An easement is a legal right to use property you do not own. A common form of easement is the right to use a driveway which run across your neighbor's property. This kind of easement may sometimes be referred to as a “right of way.”. However, you do not have to be a neighboring land owner to get an easement.

What is a common easement?

A common form of easement is the right to use a driveway which run across your neighbor's property. This kind of easement may sometimes be referred to as a “right of way.”. However, you do not have to be a neighboring land owner to get an easement.

Can a property owner grant an easement?

The property owner can grant an easement for any purpose or for a limited purpose. You should explain the rights created. For example, you could say, “Grantor grants Grantee the right to use the driveway for entering and exiting Grantee’s property only.”.

How long does an easement last?

Easements can also last until a specified event happens. For example, if you are building your own driveway, then you might want an easement to use your neighbor’s driveway until your own is completed. If the easement is to last indefinitely, then state, “The easement is a perpetual easement.”.

How to remove an easement?

If you own a piece of property that is subject to an easement and have issues with the way that your land is being used by the easement holder, you may be able to take steps to either remove the easement or limit the way the easement holder uses your land. Some of the remedies available to people who own property that is subject to an easement include the following: 1 The issuance of a court order restricting the way that the party with easement rights uses the land. 2 Monetary damages for any losses that you experience due to the easement or the use of the land. 3 A removal of the easement in its entirety.

How to enforce easement rights?

Alternatively, if your property is benefited by an easement and the servient (non-benefited) property owner is interferring with your easement rights, you may be able to pursue the following: 1 Enforcement of your easement rights. 2 Monetary damages for any losses you have suffered as a result of the servient property owner’s erroneous restriction of your use of the easement.

Why are easements important?

Because easements tend to impact the value and usefulness of your property. If your property is burdened by an easement, the easement may complicate and hinder the uses to which you can put your property. Alternatively, if you or your property is benefited by an easement, that may expand the potential uses of your property and make it more valuable.

What is an easement in gross?

Easements in gross – These easements give benefits to specific parties, regardless of what property they own. The party that benefits from an easement in gross usually cannot transfer those rights to another party. This kind of easement is common when, for example, a utility company wants to install power lines or gas lines on a property.

Can an easement be transferred to another party?

The party that benefits from an easement in gross usually cannot transfer those rights to another party. This kind of easement is common when, for example, a utility company wants to install power lines or gas lines on a property. That specific utility company owns the easement and often cannot transfer its easement rights to anyone else.

What is an appurtenant easement?

Easements appurtenant – Instead of benefiting a specific person, this kind of easement “runs with the land” and therefore benefits whoever owns a particular property. In other words, this kind of easement is inseparable from the subject property, and passes from one owner to the next as the property is transferred unless something operates ...

What is an example of an easement?

A common example is a driveway easement .

What is an easement by necessity?

As mentioned above, an easement by necessity is an easement that is created by law to allow a person to have a right of access to their property. If your land is subject to an easement by necessity you cannot interfere with your neighbor’s use of the easement to access their home. In addition, some utility companies or cities are granted easements ...

What is an easement?

An easement gives a person the legal right to go through another person’s land, as long as the usage is consistent with the specified easement restrictions. Although an easement grants a possessory interest in the land for a specific purpose, the landowner retains the title to the property. Easements may be given to anyone, such as neighbors, ...

What is an easement by prescription?

It is an implied easement gained under adverse possession. Meaning, someone other than the property’s original owner gains use or ownership rights to that property.

What is a prescriptive easement?

Easement by Prescription: This type of easement is also known as a prescriptive easement. It is an implied easement gained under adverse possession. Meaning, someone other than the property’s original owner gains use or ownership rights to that property. As long as a person has actually used the land or property openly and continuously ...

What are some examples of easements?

Common easements include public utilities, power lines, and cable TV (though these are often underground).

What is landlocked land?

Landlocked land is land that cannot be accessed except by traveling over other property. As such, the law creates an easement by necessity to allow the landlocked owner access to their own property by way of the other landowner’s property; and. Negative Easement: A negative easement creates an obligation or a restriction to where ...

Donald G. Messinger

Without knowing the purpose of the easement, the number of properties involved, shared expenses for maintenance, taxes, and other use issues, and the limitations (if any) on the usage, it is impossible for an attorney to guess at what another attorney might charge...

Larry E. Powe

You need to be more explicit. For example, is there a survey of the 2 properties to better describe the contiguous proximity? What is the prupose of the easement? Is it mutual? If so, the 2 owners could split the expense of preparation.

Thomas R. Morris

It's impossible to say exactly, because you have not furnished enough informtion to estimate the work involved and if it is complex one won't know what's required before getting into the project. Find a good real estate or commercial attorney you cantrust and get him or her working on it.

Adam A Studnicki

Different lawyers charge different amounts. Some charge hourly, others may agree to a flat fee. You can interview several lawyers and ask them about their fees.

Can you get your attorney's fees reimbursed?

You can avoid the “American Rule” and get your attorneys’ fees reimbursed if your contracts provide that the prevailing party in a lawsuit is entitled to fees. This provision is easy to include, and you should always insist on such a provision if you are concerned about recovering attorneys’ fees.

Do you have to pay your own attorney fees in California?

California follows the “American Rule,” which provides that everyone has to pay their own attorneys’ fees – even if you win at trial. Imagine getting sued for something frivolous, having to pay your attorneys thousands of dollars to defend yourself, winning the lawsuit and then hearing you can’t recover your attorneys’ fees. Also, consider the toll on a small company forced to pursue a case where only a few thousand dollars are at issue and then learning it cannot recover its attorneys’ fees. Sometimes the fees can equal (or even surpass) the amount at stake. A larger company can often “out gun” the smaller company in litigation, driving fees so high the smaller corporation is forced to abandon a valid claim because it cannot afford to litigate.

What is the Code of Civil Procedure Section 998?

Before trial, parties can offer to settle their cases pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure Section 998, which punishes a party who rejects a reasonable settlement offer. Sometimes, this even includes expert fees and attorneys’ fees if the contract has an attorneys’ fees provision.

What happens if your insurance company denies your claim?

If your insurance company denies your claim in “bad faith,” and you sue to force your insurance company to pay, you may be entitled to recover your attorneys’ fees, even if your policy is silent on the issue. Recently, Klein & Wilson received a $1 million verdict for a client whose insurance company refused to pay a covered claim. Before proceeding to the phase of the trial where punitive damages and attorneys’ fees would be decided, the insurance company agreed to settle the whole case for $1.5 million.

What is a government contractor bond?

Government contractors whose contracts involve expenditures of more than $25,000 must file a payment bond . The prevailing party in any action against the surety on the bond must be awarded reasonable attorneys’ fees. This means that if you are involved in construction in the public arena, there may be a place for you to recover your attorneys’ fees if you are forced to sue for payment.

What is an appurtenant easement?

An "appurtenant" easement is an easement that essentially attaches to the relevant properties or "runs with the land.".

What is an in gross easement?

An "in gross" easement is granted to an individual or entity, and them only. If they sell or otherwise dispose of the property, they retain the rights granted by the easement agreement. Accordingly, future property owners are not benefited by this type of easement.

What is the importance of an easement agreement?

It is extremely important that an easement agreement contain a complete and accurate description of each of the affected properties. A full legal description is ideal, but even when this is not available, some description is necessary, even if only described by address, visual depiction or reference to the owners.

What is easement area?

The easement area (in other words the portion of property to which one party is granted permission to use or access) should be depicted visually. Such a depiction need not be elaborate, but a clear "drawing" of the relevant easement area will help provide clarity and avoid potential disputes.

What are the two types of easements?

There are essentially two types of easement rights that can be granted to the benefited party. An "in gross" easement is granted to an individual or entity, and them only. If they sell or otherwise dispose of the property, they retain the rights granted by the easement agreement. Accordingly, future property owners are not benefited by this type of easement. Put simply, it is an agreement applicable only to the parties that have entered into that agreement—a personal right to use of the property. An "appurtenant" easement is an easement that essentially attaches to the relevant properties or "runs with the land." In the event a property owner sells its property, the easement rights ‘survive' that sale and will benefit the future owner. This distinction is critical in any easement agreement and should be addressed squarely. Simple language is sufficient, such as the following: "This easement shall be an appurtenant easement and shall benefit future owners of the properties," or "This easement shall be in gross for the benefit of Party B and Party B only and shall not be deemed to run with the land."

What is a benefited party in an easement agreement?

To this end, the benefited party should insist that the easement agreement include language that protects its right to undisturbed use of the easement. If such language is not included, the owner of the property may have the right to continue to use the property in a fashion that makes the benefited party's use impractical or impossible. A simple covenant not to disturb the benefited party's use of the easement might read as follows: "Party A agrees not to unreasonably interfere with the exercise of the Easement Rights by Party B or its guests, agents, invitees or licensees." Furthermore, if exclusive use of the easement area is desired, this must be explicitly spelled out in the easement agreement.

What is an easement?

An easement is the legal right of a non-owner to use a specific part of another person’s land for a specific purpose. B. What are the purposes and benefits of easements? Easements are used to provide non-owners with rights of ingress, egress, utilities, and drainage over a specific portion of another’s land.

How are easements created?

They can be created in deeds, easement agreements, subdivision declarations, and condominium declarations, all of which are recorded in the land records (the “Public Records”), just like deeds and mortgages. The better practice is to create an easement using an agreement or declaration, rather than a deed, because easements created in deeds typically do not adequately address all of the issues pertaining to easements. Whatever document is used, it must be executed before two witnesses and a notary public.

What is an easement in a subdivision?

In subdivisions, easements in the subdivision’s declaration of protective covenants are what provide homeowners with the rights to use the subdivision’s common areas – parks, clubhouses, pools, playgrounds, tennis courts, walking paths, horse trails, private roads, etc. C.

What is an appurtenant easement?

1. Appurtenant Easements. These easements exist for the benefit of adjoining land – a perfect example of which is an ingress, egress, utilities, and drainage easement that crosses over a parcel of land that separates the property being benefitted by the easement from a public road.

What is negative easement?

View, solar, sunlight, and air easements are often referred to as “negative easements,” since they prevent the owners of the servient estates over which the easements run from constructing buildings or other structures that would obscure views, sunlight, or the movement of air.

How long do appurtenant easements last?

Easements in gross, however, unless they are utility easements given to companies that provide such services, typically only last as long as the individual benefited by them is alive or otherwise uses the easement. However, all easements can be limited to a certain period of time, according to their terms.

What is the interest in land called?

This interest in land is called an “easement.”

Lars A. Lundeen

An easement is one thing, an agreement to maintain the road in some fashion is just that, an agreement, which I recommend you get in writing and drafted by your real estate attorney. Call local counsel and get a price range from different attorneys.

Jeffrey Patrick Guevin

Is the Town suggesting that you grant them the easement and they will upgrade the road classification? While the easement would probably only be a couple hundred dollars, it seems you'd do well to have a written agreement with the Town.

Is it legal to remove an easement?

Easements are legal — and sometimes not so legal — rights to the use of property granted to a nonowner. These grounds to terminate easements are all legally viable, but they're often opposed by one party or the other. It almost always requires some sort of overt legal action or procedure to remove an easement.

Why does an easement cease to exist?

Abandon the Easement. An easement can also cease to exist because it's unable to be used any longer. In the case of the utility company, it might erect a fence around its site before construction is completed with the fence encroaching into the easement area.

Can an easement be used to cross your land?

Although most easements "run with the land" or pass forward to new owners of the involved properties, circumstances such as these can render an easement of no further use. You might give a utility company an easement to cross your land to get to a site where it's doing major repairs or establishing a new power plant. You can create an easement to end on a specific date or with a certain event, such as the repairs or construction being officially completed — assuming the utility company has created other access to its location.

What is a prescriptive easement?

A prescriptive easement is the result of a somewhat complicated legal concept known as adverse possession. The parcel of land beside Joe's rural home has been vacant and unused for as long as he can remember — maybe even decades. One day he decides to build a garage there because he has no room to add one to his own property. He's adversely possessing the adjacent land and he's broken the law because he doesn't legally own it, but that's an issue in and of itself.

Can an easement terminate a party wall?

In the case of an easement created for a party wall — a wall on the property line that serves both properties — the destruction of the party wall would effectively terminate the easement.

Who is Jim Kimmons?

Jim Kimmons wrote about real estate for The Balance Small Business. He is a real estate broker and author of multiple books on the topic. Easements are legal — and sometimes not so legal — rights to the use of property granted to a nonowner. These grounds to terminate easements are all legally viable, but they're often opposed by one party or ...