My Easement's gone?!

[dfruits55]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Missouri

I bought a house 5 years ago and was told I had an easement on my neighbors property. I rarely used it, just if I had to unload something big since it got me closer to the house. I have my own garage and parking area. The neighbor is seasonal and I'm full time. They've seen me drive down their driveway and never said anything about it.

The neighbor now is selling his house. He never said anything to his realtor about the easement. I'm usually outside when lookers come and they ask me questions like where the boundry lines are, which I tell them and then I'd mention that I have an easement on the driveway. I told the seller they have to disclose this easement but the husband said it was surrendered before I bought the property. He told me to check at the courthouse and it was surrendered five days before we closed on our house but I was never told that, nor was I told I would have to pay the expense for a new one if I wanted it. He also told me that my talking to lookers about my easement has run some buyers off and if I tell one more person about an easement, he'll sue me. Can he do that? What if I still want to pay for an easement but he closes on his house before I have the money? Can I make the new neighbors give me one? My wife just had major surgery and will be off work for months so I don't have the money for a lawyer or a survey right now.

 

[nextwife]

What does your title policy insure as regards the easement?

 

[dfruits55]

The title search was done a few weeks before closing and shows an easement. What I've since learned is that it (the easement) was in the wrong place (per a survey done by my sellers a couple of months before we bought the house) and not on the driveway where it should have been. The quit claim deed was signed by my sellers about a week before closing and filed at the court house about a week after closing so, at closing, we only got the copy of the easement deed. It was apparently all handled by lawyers because the neighbor had a paper saying my seller had to pay all expenses for the problem easement and they apparently did pay for legal fees, filing fees and the survey.

The neighbor told me it had been surrendered when I moved in but I thought he was just being a jerk. He tried to give me a copy of a quit claim deed but I'd always heard quit claim deeds were bogus and worthless so I figured I still had an easement. I didn't know the actual easement was way across the property and had a tree, well and utility pole in the middle of it. Nobody ever explained any of this to me at closing and my neighbor now says he tried to 5 years ago but I wouldn't listen to him and that it's my problem now. I do remember telling him I didn't want trouble and not discussing the matter because I thought he was a liar. I had a warranty deed that said easement and my realtor said there was one. The neighbor did say I could use his driveway if I needed to, which to me was like an admission I still had an easement. Now he says he's going to block it if I dont' stop "harassing" his lookers. His last words were "We were honest with you and generously let you use our driveway and this is how you pay us back!!".

I don't know if I should apologize or fight back. I just can't afford a lawyer right now. I'll feel stupid if it was my seller who screwed everything up when I've been blaming the neighbor for five years.

Also, we recently refinanced and, going through those papers, there is nothing about an easement, but I don't know if that would show up in refinancing paperwork. The courthouse says there hasn't been an easement on their property since 2000.

Thanks for your time.