WATER LINE RIGHT OF WAY

[BRIGUY]

My house was built in 1989 I purchased it in Jan of 2003. The house originally had a driven well (still there), and my neighbor is still on a well. The previous owner burned up the well pump and didn't like the water (sulfur) anyway. So I am told by the neighbors he asked the town if he could tie into the city water line on the road (600+ foot run). The town said no because their was inadequate pressure there already.

Let me explain how the house sets. There is the main road then my road (perpendicular). My driveway is a 90 deg turn off a dead end (approximately 1/8 mile down). My driveway is about 600 ft long parallel to the main road. So the back of my house actually faces the main road. There are houses on the main road behind me. My lot joins 5 lots on the main road. According to the 1916 tax map and survey my lot and my neighbors lot were actually 8 lots but they were all owned by one person and were never built on.

Any way the town let the previous owner tie into to a different water line on the main road. I found out this summer that One of the houses behind me (elderly couple) let the previous owner run the line through their property. I guess it was a real mess (wash outs etc.) So the elderly couple ended up having a relative who owned a landscaping service fix their yard.

They never charged the previous owner for damage or for the use of their land to run the water line to my house.

The situation is fine right now I am friendly with the people and have even taken a few trees down for them as well as doing some other tractor work for them. Free of charge. I really like them and let them pay me with coffee and pie.

There is no right of way for the water line on my deed and I have never discussed this with the title insurance people.

What should I do? Could I have problems selling my home because of this? What if the old couple sells (he had a stroke a few years back)? What if the new owners want a garage? Or someone wants to tear the little old house down to build a new big one? If my water line is in the way of some improvement what happens?

 

[ShaleniFarm]

Brian,
I may not fully understand your post, but

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( There is no right of way for the water line on my deed )</font>

Wouldn't the R.O.W. be on the neighbors deed and not yours? If so, it wouldn't be a problem if/when they sell. Don't know what happens, if it isn't recorded.

Have a good one,
Neil.

 

[BRIGUY]

I kind of assumed it would be on both deeds.

For example my property has 26 feet of road frontage. My buddy next door has 26 feet also. I have a right of way on his 26' and he has a right of way on my 26' this is spelled out on both deeds. The first 150' or so of our driveway the pavement is 30' wide and we share it. although my recent survey showed that 2/3 of the width of the driveway is on my land.

I guess what I'm worried about is that the way I see it I have no legal right of way for my water supply. What if someone wants to put a building where my water line is?

 

[dummy]

Yes, any and all ROW's and/or utility easements should be annotated on both deeds and surveys. Did you check with the local utility to find out how they allocate access? Someone might have made some assumptions based on "the way we've always done it". Now, would be a good time to get it resolved.

 

[dummy]

<font color="blue"> Wouldn't the R.O.W. be on the neighbors deed and not yours? </font> Actually, it should be on both. Locally, they would allocate an easement across all lots concerned at the same time. In this case, BRIGUY along with neighbor between him and the main line. That way if the person on the other side wanted service (or if BRIGUY should happen not to pay his bill), they would already have the easement in place and reduce some of the hassle for repair, replacement and/or additional service.

 

[MikePA]

I would think the ROW would be recorded on every deed the water line crosses and the ROW belongs to the city/water authority and not the individual land owner.

 

[ShaleniFarm]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Actually, it should be on both. )</font>

I have to disagree, it should be ony on the party's deed that has granted the R.0.W. (This could vary by locale, I suppose.) Take for example the case of me granting an easement/R.O.W. to the electric company. It would show up on my deed. What deed would the electric company have to put it on?

Just my thoughts - I've been wrong before (lots of times) /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Have a good one,
Neil.

 

[Junkman]

You need to first establish if the water line was installed by the water company or the original owner. If it was done by the water company, they probably wouldn't have done it without a easement to cross the land. If it was done by the previous owner, he might have secured verbal permission to run a water line over their property and just had a contractor do this, without ever getting the verbal permission into a permanent easement. The water line may very well be a private line and all the town did was allow the hook up at the street. I suggest that you first contact the water department and research their records. Then research the land records of your neighbor. An easement would only be recorded on your dead if someone else had a right to cross your land. For this reason, it will not be recorded on your deed. You don't need permission to dig on your own land to maintain the water line. Another thing is that the land owner is usually responsible for the line from the curb to the house. The more that I think about this, I am inclined to believe that it is a private water line since it serves only one house. If the line were to serve more than one house, then there would be easements on each property that it passes through and the line would be owned and maintained by the water department. If you know the whereabout of the previous owner, you should contact him. If there was never a easement obtained, then you should have known about this before purchase. Talk to the attorney that did your land closing and see if there is a defect in the title as a result. If so, the title company should be notified to protect you and your investment. When did you learn of the way that water was brought to the house through the other persons land? Before or after the purchase? If you were to sell now, you have a legal obligation to notify the purchaser of the facts, so it is better to get this resolved quickly. If there is no easement, then it might be as easy as asking the neighbor for one. If they are amicable to this, have your attorney draw one one and offer to pay to have their attorney to review it. As long as it doesn't cost them anything, they probably will be amicable to formalizing the situation. If not, just put away some money to drill a well at sometime in the future if anything happens to that water line and the neighbors aren't inclined to having their land dug up. Without a easement, they can shut you off at any time.

 

[btolle]

The legal term for the area where the water line runs is called an easement, not a right of way.

Easements do not normally show up on deeds, surveys, or title policies. They are supposed to be recorded at the County Courthouse.

Any utility (or anyone else) who runs a water line across some ones property is "supposed" to obtain an easement.

In reality, in many small towns or unincorporated areas, utilities and citizens often fail to get an easement before construction. If the previous owner of your property ran the water line himself it is possible he did not get an easement from your neighbor.

While the water company may have let him tie into their system they may have only given him access to a "tap" on the line and the he was responsible for obtaining the easement.

You could check with the water company and see who is responsible for the water line. Generally speaking (but not always), anything that is on your side of the water meter is your responsibility.

There are also "prescriptive easements" which are defined at Law.com Dictionary as "an easement upon another's real property acquired by continued use without permission of the owner for a period provided by state law to establish the easement. The problems with prescriptive easements are that they do not show up on title reports, and the exact location and/or use of the easement is not always clear and occasionally moves by practice or erosion."

The part about location and "occasionally moves by practice" might apply if they build a building over your water line and you had to replace the water line. You may be able to go around their building with it and still maintain a prescreptive easement.

Remember that laws about easements and other real estate matters vary from state to state, you need to find out what your state's laws are.

It is a good idea to maintain cordial relations with our neighbors so that situations like this don't become adversarial. If we approach people with the attitude that we have a small problem and need their help life is a lot easier than if we barge in and tell them what are going to do whether they like it or not. And, we need to be cooperative when they need something from us. Remember, "What goes around, comes around".

DISCLAIMER: I am NOT a lawyer. The above is not to be construed as legal advice. I am a Licensed Texas Real Estate Salesperson and as such, am not allowed to give legal advice.

Bill Tolle

 

[BRIGUY]

Junkman,
When I purchased the property The owner told me that because of the well pump situation he had paid for water to be brought in from the main road. When he said paid I thought he meant that he had paid for the rights to do so.

After owning the property 1.5 years I found out that:

1) It is a private line tied in at the roadway.
2) the line was put in by a contractor hired and paid for by the previous owner.
3) only verbal permission was granted by the elderly owners of the other property.

We know the town water dept people well, my wife insures their cars and houses. I think they only get involved up to a point, permits, meters, inspections, etc. Not the legal end of it. I think I'll discuss it further with them. My brother in law is the attorney who did our closing so I will ask to look into it.


Bill
thanks for the advice. You are probably right about it being an easement not a R.O.W good point. I will ask my neighbors in the next day or so if they signed anything regarding an easement