How to Amend Existing Property Easement

Amending an existing property easement can be easy, or it can be darn near impossible, depending on what kind of easement it is, and who holds the easement.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A plat of the property, or a legal description of the property.
• The name and contact information of who owns the easement.
• A good real estate lawyer.

1. First, you need to have a legal description of the easement. This is either written out in plain language on your property deed, or its shown or written out on the "plat" of the property filed at your county courthouse. A plat is simply a drawing of your property and normally shows the "metes and bounds" of the property. That is, it shows the corners and dimensions. You can start by getting a copy of your deed and your plat. If there are "Deed Restrictions" (sometimes called "Covenants and Restrictions"), those should also be filed at the courthouse. A property easement can be created in these descriptions, and may not show up on your deed or plat.

2. The second step is to figure out what kind of easement is on your property. It may be an "access easement" whereby someone else has an easement to access or cross your property. Or it may be a "utility easement" where above or underground utilities cross your property. There are a number of different kinds of easements, depending upon which state you live in. If the easement no longer serves its original purpose, it may be relatively simple to get the owner of the easement to abandon it. But if the easement is still used by the owner of the easement, you may need to pay for him to abandon it.

3. Once you have gathered all the information, documents, plats, etc. that you can, you need to contact a good local real estate attorney. There are too many ways to mess up your title to the land you have by trying to do this without legal assistance. If you are an attorney, you probably won't be reading this article, but you're smart enough to know that unless you specialize in real estate law then you still need a real estate attorney. (An eye Doctor won't try to give himself a rectal exam.) If you are not an attorney, then you really DO need a real estate attorney. There is an old saying in real estate law: "You can either pay me now, or you can pay me later when you mess things up so bad that you need me to come back and straighten things out." Believe me, its cheaper to pay them now.

Tips & Warnings

• Its best to go ahead and gather as much information about the property as you can before you visit your attorney. It will save you a trip and will probably save you some money.
• An "easement" is a type of ownership. You may own the land, but someone else owns the "easement." You need to be prepared to compensate the owner of the easement if it still has value to him.

[KingHostile]

on 8/6/2009 Great info easements aren't so easy most times.

[mechelepellebon]

on 11/16/2008 Good advice for property owners. Thanks.

[Doodlebugs]

on 11/15/2008 Good advice. Thanks.