Can you give yourself an easement?

[teg]

It was not a personal easement, it's written in the deeds... Permanently. I would love to get rid of it. Just like the easement I have through two guys property that I call my driveway... pretty sure they would like to remove that easement.

Always wondered if they were to sell the property across the creek, I could buy it and see if I could remove the easement through my property and resell it... At a lost...

 

[two_bit_score]

It was not a personal easement, it's written in the deeds... Permanently. I would love to get rid of it. Just like the easement I have through two guys property that I call my driveway... pretty sure they would like to remove that easement.

Always wondered if they were to sell the property across the creek, I could buy it and see if I could remove the easement through my property and resell it... At a lost...

I could be wrong or misunderstanding you. But just because something was written into a deed does not make it irrevocable. Who was it given to? Has it been used? Obviously if the easement was given to an elect co. and they have poles and lines there it's not going to happen. But, I thought you said the prior owner just created an easement for future use. That indicated to me that maybe it has never been used. Easements, in my experience, are granted to a property owner to another specific party for a particular use and usually for some consideration. But that doesn't preclude the person who holds the easement from signing a quitclaim deed and releasing the easement. What am I missing?

This is also confusing: Always wondered if they were to sell the property across the creek, I could buy it and see if I could remove the easement through my property and resell it... At a lost...

You seem to be saying that someone who did not own your property granted someone an easement on your property? I don't see how that could happen. If it did then a lawsuit to quiet title could be bought and if they had no right to grant the easement it could be revoked.

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[MikeD74T]

I would not know of any reason to reserve an easement unless you were selling the property. I guess you could deed an easement to yourself on property you own in contemplation of selling it later so that you could represent to a buyer that the 'easement is already in place'.

I just wouldn't do it as an easement, myself. I would prefer to do it as a subdivision of the second tract with me retaining ownership of the access and just slightly decreasing the size of the parcel. But that's just me.

The OP may be thinking there were two separate transactions when in fact it was all done at the time of the sale and as part of the deal.

Reserving an access easement is a way to subdivide land too small to otherwise be subdivided. It's easy to do when you own all the land and it will hold up in estates, protecting heirs. Many jurisdictions consider this a corruption of the subdivision process and won't issue building permits on land without owned frontage. Works well for ag or forest backland that may be infrequently accessed.
I bought a property with a deeded unrestricted easement across a corner of a neighbors property. After I bought the neighbor came to me & said I was using the wrong ROW & wanted me to stop using it. I pointed out it was surveyed by his survevor & deeded by his lawyer but I would sell it back to him for $25K. Pretty much ended the conversation & he's since passed on. I only use the ROW enough to maintain it fit for travel. I'd never sell an easement or buy a property with an easement on it. Big debate going on at the other side of the neighbors property. Power company wants a 300' wide ROW extension for new powerline. MikeD74t

 

[two_bit_score]

Reserving an access easement is a way to subdivide land too small to otherwise be subdivided. It's easy to do when you own all the land and it will hold up in estates, protecting heirs. Many jurisdictions consider this a corruption of the subdivision process and won't issue building permits on land without owned frontage. Works well for ag or forest backland that may be infrequently accessed.
I bought a property with a deeded unrestricted easement across a corner of a neighbors property. After I bought the neighbor came to me & said I was using the wrong ROW & wanted me to stop using it. I pointed out it was surveyed by his survevor & deeded by his lawyer but I would sell it back to him for $25K. Pretty much ended the conversation & he's since passed on. I only use the ROW enough to maintain it fit for travel. I'd never sell an easement or buy a property with an easement on it. Big debate going on at the other side of the neighbors property. Power company wants a 300' wide ROW extension for new powerline. MikeD74t

You and I certainly agree that we don't like easements on our property. Like I said there are good reasons for easements but they are not preferable if other methods exist to solve the problem. You can limit easements, generally, by time and transferability. .

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[rkeith]

Short answer is yes. If you own Tract A and Tract B and you have to go across Tract A to get to Tract B then you sell Tract A, the new owner has to give you a right-of-way to Tract B if Tract B is land-locked and the nearest road is through Tract A. Most states have a law that says that you cannot sell land that doesn't have access and they also say that access must be the shortest distance from your property (in this case Tract B) to the nearest road. The access could be deeded property, an easement, a conveyance, or listed as a right-of-way. Usually if an easement, a conveyance, or right-of-way was given it would be listed at the bottom of the deed to Tract A and Tract B's deed would state that access is though an easement, a conveyance, or right-of-way through Tract A. Dimensions of the access would probably be listed on Tract A's deed.

 

[rkeith]

It was not a personal easement, it's written in the deeds... Permanently. I would love to get rid of it. Just like the easement I have through two guys property that I call my driveway... pretty sure they would like to remove that easement.

Always wondered if they were to sell the property across the creek, I could buy it and see if I could remove the easement through my property and resell it... At a lost...

My grandmother went around this issue! Before her sister sold her land she deeded a driveway 12' wide across the property to my grandmother in 1937. Today that driveway is in my name and the business on the road is using it to access their business. After he told me that the driveway was his, I took a copy of the deed to him and showed him that the bottom of his deed said that he didn't have rights to the 12' wide driveway. He is now so nice to me!