Do I need to provide access in this scenario? (agreement, disclose, house)
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So I bought a house which was vacant for around a year. What I have discovered is the neighbor uses part of my driveway to access part of his lot for storage purposes. I don't have any easement/right-of-way note on my deed but will run survey anyway not to start confrontation without facts.
Now as the neighbor has been using this access for a while since the house has been vacant the other part where he had access to this part of the lot overgrown with weeds.
Do I have any obligation to provide this access granted there is no easement/right-of-way? I understand that using my driveway to access this part of the property is much more convenient for him but is that enough to make it work for him without any legal agreement with me?
I checked the parcel on the town website and tried to figure out the location and it was pretty easy because our lots are divided exactly between our driveways so while the part of the land he accesses is not landlocked it's much easier to access by going through my driveway. I understand he got comfortable using it while house was vacant as there was nobody to object but I don't want any vehicles on my driveway other than mine.
What I also noticed is that when the neighbor walks to that property by foot he doesn't use my driveway and goes directly to his part of the lot. This got me thinking that he's probably aware of trespassing.
In the course of this purchase ... did you have the help of an attorney?
A surveyor? Did you read the deed papers?
I'm going to hire a surveyor before talking to the neighbor. I had an attorney of course, the deed only has easements for utilities (gas, water and electricity).
My suggestion is to find a good, local real estate attorney for their advice. What state is this in (hopefully not in the state of denial)?
So what you are suggesting is I don't get a survey done but rather reach out to the attorney which I worked with through purchase? What am I asking for? Any undisclosed easement/right of way?
Knock on his door, introduce yourself, in friendly conversation just simply say you noticed he was using the driveway……just be quiet after you make that statement and see how he responds. If he says:
*Yep, the prior owner and I had an agreement because its easier for me, that I could do so…..then just say well, that was history….I don’t want to share, sorry.
*”Yep, I was doing it while the property was vacant but now I’ll stop”…. thank him and say “Nice to meet you, neighbor!”
*”Well, no, that’s actually my property.”….thank him and say, “Oh, I didn’t get a survey, but I better get one. Nice to meet you, neighbor!”
If he keeps using your driveway, then go to the trouble of surveys, attorneys, etc. To start, nothing is better than an eyeball to eyeball conversation.
So what you are suggesting is I don't get a survey done but rather reach out to the attorney which I worked with through purchase? What am I asking for? Any undisclosed easement/right of way?
I think you are likely to be able to ask the attorney the same questions that you brought up before the survey could be completed. You may not need a survey, but it is a good idea to get one for your own records in this example. Please update your experiences and outcome for the community.
Knock on his door, introduce yourself, in friendly conversation just simply say you noticed he was using the driveway……just be quiet after you make that statement and see how he responds. If he says:
*Yep, the prior owner and I had an agreement because its easier for me, that I could do so…..then just say well, that was history….I don’t want to share, sorry.
*”Yep, I was doing it while the property was vacant but now I’ll stop”…. thank him and say “Nice to meet you, neighbor!”
*”Well, no, that’s actually my property.”….thank him and say, “Oh, I didn’t get a survey, but I better get one. Nice to meet you, neighbor!”
If he keeps using your driveway, then go to the trouble of surveys, attorneys, etc. To start, nothing is better than an eyeball to eyeball conversation.
That's a good approach but I'd like to avoid frustration associated with the fact he has undisclosed ROW/easement somewhere or town online parcel lines are 3 feet off.
I'm definitely starting this with a survey/attorney to avoid unnecessary confrontation.
Pay a surveyor to stake your shared property line. Leave the stakes in place until he makes a comment.
If he asks why you did this just say you want to be able to park in your driveway when you need to so you wanted to see where your property ended.
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