Ingress/Egress easements

[Tractor_Barn]

I moved back here from Plymouth. Looked out around Howell a few years ago. Found some parcels I liked but the wife (now ex) didn't want to get so isolated. I'm living on 42 acres now...Good Luck.

 

[rancar]

Chuck,

<font color=blue>I'd prefer my "dream" homesite not to become a nightmare!</font color=blue>

Best thing to do, if you can, is to look for a clean parcel with road frontage and clear and direct utility ROWs. If you have this, you should have no problem getting title insurance. Then, the 'dream' home could rise without this nagging thought in the back of your mind about easements and wondering if someone will come along someday and want to put a road through your vegetable garden /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif.

Bob

 

[DocHeb]

Make sure that you can get a septic and driveway permit for any property that you're considering. Our septic was "perked" nine years ago, and Washtenaw County, MI has tightened the restrictions on septic since that time. It would be an unbuildable lot now. It took a fight and research into the original approvals to get a septic permit and approval to build. Also, the driveway permits in the same county are quite restrictive - make sure you understand them and are sure you can get a driveway that fits within the line-of-sight restrictions. The logical place for our driveway (and the road commission agreed that it really was the logical site) didn't meet the 530 foot sightline required. We had to get a variance - it delayed house building for four months, and the longer driveway will be $3000 more.

 

[OverlyRun]

We depend on an easement that is in our title for use of the road that gives access to our land. When we bought it, I offered to lay down crushed stone on the part of the roqad that is used by my neighbor as well as by me, and carrying on to our lot. I also donated some culvert so he could direct some run-off under the road we share. Everything is hunky dory and we both have better access.

On the other hand, my father has an easement across his front yard....the guy who used to cut wood down behind him came in only once or twice a year on a small cat pulling a log sled. He died a few years back and the son now drives big trucks through, turning in the front field, leaving big ruts etc. Big problem and a vaguely worded easement that would be expensive to sort out in court.

Seems to me that the formalities can get you about so far, but at the end people have got to sort out how to make it work for both.