Driveway Easement - amending/extinguishing

[rhondahonda]

CALIFORNIA (LA County)

I recently bought a house that shares a driveway with the neighboring property. Driveway is on neighbor's side, with a reciprocal express easment granting 4' on either side. I want to build my own driveway and fence part of it off, but need to amend or extinguish the easement to do this. More details below:

- Approx 85% of the driveway is on the neighbor's property including the approach (we park on a concrete slab).
- A longstanding easement appears on the deed - we grant the neighbors 4' onto our property; they grant us 4' onto their property.
- 4' is sufficient for us to arrive on the driveway and park in our slab; 4' onto OUR property is NOT necessary for the neighbors and I don't know why they would have been granted such a recipricol agreement.
- The reason (presumed, not stated) for the easement is that there used to be an enormous tree blocking what would be the approach to our cement parking slab. The tree has since died and there is now room to create our own driveway alongside the neighbor's driveway.
- in order to improve our curb appeal, we want to erect a fence and plant a strip of vegetation along our property line; this is presumably prevented by the easement.
- Once our new driveway is built, the neighbor's driveway would be slightly narrow, but certainly adequate size; we're willing to grant an easement of 1' or so for goodwill and build our fence with respect to a 1' easement (i.e. 1' inside our prop line).
- the owner of the neighboring property is absentee; the front and back houses are rentals.

Any insight you could give me, or directions you could point me toward, would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

[lwpat]

Direct your request to the owner of the adjacent property and see what he says. You can expect to have to pay him something and then the attorney to do the deed.

[rhondahonda]

I'd like to know what I'm up against (and the context) before going to the owner. I'll have to contact them in writing, and since we have no neighborly relationship there is a degree of formality here.

The other fact I forgot to mention.

The easement was originally granted in 1999 - not as longstanding as I'd assumed, but long enough. While the most recent sellers were selling the house they noticed an error in the easement language "the south 4' of the west 70' of lot #..." - south and west were reversed; same issue with the reciprocal easement.

The prelim title report granted to us during escrow was misleading and did not have the entire language. For example, based on the language in the preliminary title report, we understood that we were granting the neighbors an easement along a 4' x 4' segment at the south eend of our property, right where the main approach is (not the ddriveway "apron" that is in the public right of way). That was fine.

We were aware they were correcting it, but they did so it during the escrow period (after contingencies ended but before closing, how conveeeenient). I'm ticked off that that the title co and the owners did not include is in the process or show us the complete language of the easment grant. But now I'm just venting.

Are there procedural rememdies whereby if an easement is no longer necessary (i.e. the tree is gone, we have our own driveway etc) we can terminate the easement on both sides?

[jimmler]

Originally Posted by rhondahonda

I'd like to know what I'm up against (and the context) before going to the owner. I'll have to contact them in writing, and since we have no neighborly relationship there is a degree of formality here.

The other fact I forgot to mention.

The easement was originally granted in 1999 - not as longstanding as I'd assumed, but long enough. While the most recent sellers were selling the house they noticed an error in the easement language "the south 4' of the west 70' of lot #..." - south and west were reversed; same issue with the reciprocal easement.

The prelim title report granted to us during escrow was misleading and did not have the entire language. For example, based on the language in the preliminary title report, we understood that we were granting the neighbors an easement along a 4' x 4' segment at the south eend of our property, right where the main approach is (not the ddriveway "apron" that is in the public right of way). That was fine.

We were aware they were correcting it, but they did so it during the escrow period (after contingencies ended but before closing, how conveeeenient). I'm ticked off that that the title co and the owners did not include is in the process or show us the complete language of the easment grant. But now I'm just venting.

Are there procedural rememdies whereby if an easement is no longer necessary (i.e. the tree is gone, we have our own driveway etc) we can terminate the easement on both sides?

You cannot terminate the easement without permission from the other easement holder.

They would have to sign off on it. You will need a real estate attorney to draw up the document, and you and the neighboring owner would sign. They do not have to sign it, and money may sweeten the pot!

Someone will correct me if I am wrong.

jimmler
I am not a lawyer, I have been in surveying since 1989.