Randall wrote:
> Tim Mullen wrote :
>
>
>>Yep. Shame on them. As for me, I didn't really know there was such a
>>thing. I'd never encountered them before. But I should have known
>>anyways, so shame on me.
>
>
> There are almost always restrictions of some sort, particularly easements.
> It's wise to look into them yourself when buying, since for some reason,
> real estate agents are not required to do so.
>
> Fellow I knew owned his house for 10 years before discovering (the hard way)
> that the electric company had an easement to run a power line through his
> back yard, including right of entry.
That is always a problem. That is why we (township planning board)
require that all easements be both marked on the final plat as well as
written into the deed (and also a "sales disclosure document" if it is
new construction). We had a recent case where an owner built a deck,
(without a required permit) that intruded into a sewer easement through
her back yard. Then she applied for a building permit to extend the deck
even further, and the construction official spotted the problem. We
denied her subsequent application for permission to extend the deck and
told her that if the sewer department had to perform repairs on the
sewer line, her existing deck could be in jeopardy, since part of the
supporting structure was right where they would have to dig. She was
very upset and claimed that "somebody" should have told her about the
restrictions before she bought the place, to which the chair replied:
"you paid over $200,000 for a place and never even checked the plat or
the deed? How does that make it "somebody" else's fault?" (I suppose
that the title insurance company might have said something when they did
the search, but that is not the town's problem.) The lesson: read all
the documents, check with town hall, etc. before you buy any real
estate. I have three easements on my property - one for the private
road, one for the power/telco line, and one for access to a neighboring
farm (that no longer exists). But I knew that going in (and I suspect
that nobody else but me knows about the access easement).
Mike
>
> Randall
>
--
Mike Sloane
Allamuchy NJ
Email: (msloane@att.net)
Website: <http://www.geocities.com/mikesloane>
Blog: <www.mikesloane.blogspot.com
Tractor images: <www.fotki.com/mikesloane>
Work: none - retired
In America, anybody can be president. That's one of the risks you take.
-Adlai Stevenson, statesman (1900-1965)
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