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Landlocked land

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Ph128

Member
What is the name of your state? Louisiana

A land owner has a parcel of land for sale that is landlocked.
To get to the parcel, there is a dirt/gravel road running across the parcel of land next to it, which seller does not own.
And on that parcel next to it, which has the dirt/gravel road is a grave yard which is next to the parcel that is for sale.
In other words, the road running across that adjacent parcel, is really to get back to the grave yard but it goes right by the land locked parcel that is for sale!
The seller said a buyer can use that road for access but I cannot find anything recorded that shows any easement at the court house.
The road has a gate across the entrance and is kept locked by the owners of the road going back to the grave yard.
The real estate agent said that at one time there was a church next to the grave yard but it had been moved years earlier. I doubt if the grave yard is for private family members as the names look different on the head stones.
If I should purchase that landlocked parcel, could they refuse to let me use the road as it's not recorded anywhere?
Would I have to get the road recorded as an easement?
 


seniorjudge

Senior Member
Ph128 said:
What is the name of your state? Louisiana

A land owner has a parcel of land for sale that is landlocked.
To get to the parcel, there is a dirt/gravel road running across the parcel of land next to it, which seller does not own.
And on that parcel next to it, which has the dirt/gravel road is a grave yard which is next to the parcel that is for sale.
In other words, the road running across that adjacent parcel, is really to get back to the grave yard but it goes right by the land locked parcel that is for sale!
The seller said a buyer can use that road for access but I cannot find anything recorded that shows any easement at the court house.
The road has a gate across the entrance and is kept locked by the owners of the road going back to the grave yard.
The real estate agent said that at one time there was a church next to the grave yard but it had been moved years earlier. I doubt if the grave yard is for private family members as the names look different on the head stones.
If I should purchase that landlocked parcel, could they refuse to let me use the road as it's not recorded anywhere?
Would I have to get the road recorded as an easement?
If you buy this land, you get a lawsuit with it. If the seller really wants to sell it, then make the contract contingent on the SELLER (not you) cleaning up this mess.



Q: If I should purchase that landlocked parcel, could they refuse to let me use the road as it's not recorded anywhere?

A: Yes.


Q: Would I have to get the road recorded as an easement?

A: Yes.
 

rrroae

Junior Member
Depending in which state you live in you can always force a "Right of Necessity". In Pa for example, the law states no land shall be landlocked, but it could be different in other states and it will cost some money to do. As I've run into this situation before, my advice is to go to the adjoining owner and offer to buy a right of way or easement and have it contigent on the purchase of the parcel in question. Use your states laws concerning landlocked land for leverage.

In my case it would have cost me approximately $3000 to force a right of necessity. So I brought this to my neighbours attention and he agreed to sell me the right of way for $7500. For me it was worth it because I was able to purchase the land for half price due to the issues. No courts, no ticked off neighbour, and I was able to use the land immediately.
 

Ph128

Member
Thanks for the advice!
The real estate people are working on the process of getting the easement recorded. They understand it's not very marketable the way it is now. Of course that may be easier said than done because in investigating the land the potential easement goes through, that land has been subdivided in equal one acre lots! A half a mile of them!
Someone must have died and left the land to a busload of relatives!

I don't think the land has ever had a survey done on it either. It's described by range, townships, sections, etc..
Now I'm concerned just where on that property the easement will connect to.
Since that access road is inside that adjoining property (about 50 or 60 feet) and runs parralel with the land for sale, I'm wondering how to be specific to where I want the easement to connect to that property.
One end of the property is low and has a drainage ditch or stream there but the middle of the parcel is more level.
An easement to that end of the property would be a nightmare to build a road across.
Without actual boundry markers, how do I go about expressing in a purchase agreement, where exactly I would like access, to the lot, to be?
All I have to go by now is an old rotten fence that may or may not be on the boundry lines!
 
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seniorjudge

Senior Member
You're going to need a boundary line survey which includes a description of where you want the easement. You will need this before you can straighten everything out.
 

Ph128

Member
seniorjudge said:
You're going to need a boundary line survey which includes a description of where you want the easement. You will need this before you can straighten everything out.
Thank you!
 

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