Posted by Marcos on February 21, 2002 at 14:24:00:
I think you have to outweigh the costs vs the benefits of this transaction. I’m talking about the BIG legal hassles you would have RIGHT NOW, if you ask someone to stop using a common driveway, and they decide to fight it. In my area for example these setups are quite common for trailers on land. I’m currently under contract on one property that has the same issue. A string of six properties, each using a main driveway that shares land on each of the properties, mine in the middle. While discussing with my attorney she talked about what it would take to get this resolved and worst case scenarios. Worst case scenarios are this gets dragged into court, and minimum cost would be a 3-5k to handle it. And we’re talking a 40k piece of property. The best case as I saw it was to just leave it alone. My theory is whenever possible stay out of court, and pay as few attorneys as possible.
I have a fence that encroaches my property by six inches. What would be the point of fighting that?
Also, the original poster said that there were a few people accessing different pieces of property with the same access road. Quote: "I’m looking at a property on a couple of acres that a couple of people access through it. " I’m assuing that means more than just the trailer owner has access to it. Which means more legal hassles if she decides to lock everyone else out. If it was just one, then I’d be more inclined. More than one, and I’d pause before I created a stir.
The survey should tell alot though. I’d also be curious to see if an easement was created. And if I were the other property owner and given the choice between spending a few thousand to create a new driveway, I might be more inclined to band with the other users of the drive to get an easement created.
I’m looking at a property on a couple of acres that a couple of people access through it. There is a trailer that actually encroaches on the proerty by about 4 inches and he uses the drive on the property i’m looking at. The trailer is NOT land locked so he could get access if he put in a drive (about 250 ft.). The trailer is a rental now.
I think this all started being a larger tract owned by one family and has been split off. I’m not quite sure how to go about this one. Any suggestions on the road and the encroaching trailer???
?First, verify everything with an attorney. That being said, is the driveway on your piece of property? If so, the trailer property owner would need to have a legally recorded easement to use the driveway. ?
regarding the above statement posted by Mark, please be aware that if a driveway has been used for a 5 years or more, that person may in fact have created an unwritten easement to continue to use the property in the same manner. As Mark said, check with a real estate attorney. I have been a land surveyor for over 30 years and have seen many such situations go to court, not good.
I think that one important thing you may want to consider is negotiating a better price due to the problems found.
Posted by Brent_IL on February 21, 2002 at 18:21:14:
If his use is open and conspicuous, depending on the length of time he’s been using it, he may already have an easement. Check with the legal forum, too.
Posted by Mark (Atl) on February 21, 2002 at 13:38:48:
First, verify everything with an attorney. That being said, is the driveway on your piece of property? If so, the trailer property owner would need to have a legally recorded easement to use the driveway. This easement should be shown on the survey of the property- I would get a survey of the entire piece of property to see just who owns what and what easements/right of ways are recorded.
If there is no easement then you can remove the driveway or forbid them to use it, or get compensation from them and create an easement for their use (this could adversely affect the value and resale of the property in the future).
Again, check this all out with an attorney. This is just my opinion based on experience with property in my area.
Posted by Marcos on February 21, 2002 at 13:35:18:
Why is this an issue? It’s a couple of acres and you’re worried about 4 inches of trailer on it. I don’t see this as an issue.
As far as him using the same driveway, this is fairly common, and once again, I don’t see the issue here either. I mean we’re not talking about anything that should be a deal breaker. It costs money to move a trailer. And quite a bit more to build a 250 foot driveway.
My suggestion, don’t worry about it. It shouldn’t even be an issue. On almost every property I have seen there is usually some encroachment here or there. Once someone buys a property and the survey stakes get pulled up, they tend to forget the exact lines.
Posted by Redline on February 21, 2002 at 13:42:11:
If you knowingly allow this for an extended length of time, you could lose rights to that piece of property - and be in for legal issues regarding this piece of property and possibly more in the future. What if it increases? What if it’s an issue when you want to sell?
It’s always good to nip this stuff in the bud when you first notice it - as to avoid it blossoming into a BIG legal hassle in the end.