NY right of way

[sstan]

What is the name of your state? New York I did go through the past threads to find the ansewer first. I bought my land 20 years ago from my uncle it was a piece from a big chunk he owned. It had only a right of way to it (not sure if that is diff then a easment).. This was on all the tax maps and no problem. Since the town was reluctant to let me build wit just that ROW my uncle granted me a second right of way over his adjoining land (part of which was a dirt road he built) to the town road. the deed reads that I have a "morgataged ROW (dimensions and such) until such time as the private road is turned over to the town". My uncle had big dreams and this road would cost a small fourtune to get it to the town code. So I had two right of ways .. just to be safe from problems. My uncle died .. I could not buy the land and a gentalman bought it. The dirt road has grown into more of a trail then road except for the part my ROW was across .. I mow it and grade it, put in a new sluice and keep it passible. I do not use it as my drive way but occasionally use it in and out .. just for the hell of it. Last week I noticed the owner has now put up a large gate across the ROW without saying anything to me at all. What rights do I have .. should I at least get a key to the lock so I can continue to use the ROW? I don't want to be a pain I'm sure he's trying to stop the off road vehicals that have found such a great trail but I do not want to loose my rights here.

 

[atxcoolguy]

yes, right of way is a type of easement. if both of these roads/trails are registered with the county and have easement agreements, then he may be in the wrong by blocking the easement and you might be able to sue him to have him remove the gate. however, it sounds like you have 2 easements over this land, when only one is needed. he might get a real estate lawyer to extinguish/end one of the easements just because you already have a way out of your property. see what i'm saying? why do you need two easements when one is sufficient now?

 

[sstan]

My driveway .. the originol ROW is not on his land.. not sure who's land it is in fact ..the ROW is so old .. but clearly on all the tax maps and off the other side of my property. When I went to build the house the town was concerned because zonning law states so much road frontage and I have none. My uncle at the time had dreams of developing his private road into a town road and developing the rest of his land. He granted me the right of way so I would eventually have road frontage. I doubt this will ever happen.. but if the dirt road does turn into a road I sure do want that road frontage. Besides that I just plain want to continue to use the right of way .. I made a bridge and put culverts in my land in order to use that access.

 

[atxcoolguy]

ok, the thing with easements, which is what you have, is that they can be cancelled/extinguished if you have a way out of your property. you have to consider that this land is his property and why should you have a right to cross his property if you have a way out. i mean would you want someone driving over your property if they had another way out? surely you wouldn't. easements are priveledges in a way. it is more of a burden on the landowner than the easement user. he can't do anything with his land as long as you have a right to use it. see what i'm saying? he's losing money because you might have a right to use it. he can't build on it and is stuck looking at his land while you drive over it. i have land with an easement on it and hate it. if the people who have easement rights on my land ever get another way out, i'm gonna fight to close the easement. you really have to consider his side of the story. if i were you, i would just use your driveway and stop using the easement. i just think he'll have a strong case to extinguish this easement considering you have another way out. just remember that an easement is not your land. it's a priveldge that benefits you. i seriously doubt any court would side with you in your case even if you did work on your property.

 

[BelizeBreeze]

What does your DEED say exactly (word for word) about the two easements?

 

[sstan]

this is straight from the deed ...

There is also hereby conveyed a right of way for ingress and egress over a private road now or formerly known as the Hastings Road as created in a conveyance from Nora A. Hastings to Bernice Beecher Pouts, by deed dated March 30, 1939, and recorded in the Broome County Clerk’s Office in Book 485 of Deeds at page 389, which right of way is referred to as the “Pouts Driveway” in the deeds for adjacent properties

There is also conveyed a right of way over a 25 foot strip of land running westerly from Parcel 2 along the northerly line of lands of Price (Deeds 1211, page 1018) running thence southerly through the remaining lands of the grantor over a private road to Sherwood Valley Road, which right of way shall terminate at such time and to the extent that said road is conveyed to the Town of Kirkwood.


As for look at it from the land owners point of view .. I can't say I agree at all. I had the right of way before he bought the parcel .. he bought the land knowing I had the right of way. If he did not like th idea he should not have bought the land. I like most normal people do not understand our laws .. how can my right of way be takenaway now !!

 

[atxcoolguy]

sstan, you're missing the point. why do you deserve two easements when only one is needed? you may have easement rights over both pieces of land now, but all he has to do is get a real estate lawyer to argue that you already have an easement and the one on his land is not needed and he'll probably win the case. this is the law in texas, not sure about new york.

 

[sstan]

Why do I deserve it.. because I paid for it!! That's the point. I may not have bought the land if I did not have the back up right of way. The bank was leery of financeing a house with just the one right of way and no road frontage ..this was insurance.