Shared road and Power lines

[catalfanoc]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? HI I just purchased a house in up state PA, The road that we use to access it is about a half mile long and at the very end there is a piece that goes through a neigbors property but has been that way for 20 years. There is a guy who just purchased that part about a year ago and wants to close of about 70' of it and has put up a rope and told us for now we can use it but we have to build another road soon.
Can he do this? on the deed it doesn't say anything but it does show the road the way it is.
He has also told us that are power line goes over about 8' of his propertyand he wants us to move that to and that is also shown on the survey form 10 years ago before he owned it, can he make us move either of these?

thanks in advance for any help

 

[FarmerJ]

Power line, this likely is the power company property , if you cannot tell if the power line services more than your home or if it has no markings indicating that it is customer owned pr not then call the utility, most utility poles put in by power companies are owned by them. as far as the driveway goes , first if your property has a public road like city street, twp road along it have you checked to see what permits you need to tap on to it? if this driveway is not on your land and your title did not have a recorded easement granting the right to use that driveway, If your property would be land locked with out the current access , yes your free to speak to a atty to learn how much it will cost to sue to gain legal right to continue to use it, ( asking for a easement of neccesity???) but in the long run if your able to access a publicly owned (city- county - TWP- state ) road from your own property it may be cheaper to just get it done and build your own. Use the links above to consult with a real estate atty, this is not a do it your self deal, if you have NO other way to get to a public road perhaps the neighbor could be coaxed by you offering a written maint agreement prepared by your atty that can be recorded to both property ( even if it has a expiration date or terms that give you more time to get your own in if you can then it will help you by getting to use the current route while you are saving or starting to build your own) any way speak to a atty now before it becomes a bigger more expensive problem.

 

[154NH773]

on the deed it doesn't say anything but it does show the road the way it is.

Generally a deed doesn't contain a plat of the property. Where do you see the road depicted?

The road that we use to access it is about a half mile long and at the very end there is a piece that goes through a neigbors property

Who owns the remainder of the road? Is that also an easement, or is it a town road?

As farmer asked, do you have any other public road that touches your property somewhere else?

This can be a complicated situation and I would advise you to at least consult with an attorney versed in land use law.

As far as the powerlines go, contact the power company to determine if they have an easement. They would be responsible to remove or move poles and lines belonging to the power company.

 

[catalfanoc]

Hi thanks for your help
The road is own buy three different people us being one of them it is private and there is no other access the land was surved 10 years ago and shows the road and also the power line. The power line was ran by the original owners from the meter at the bottom of the mountain and then runs about a half mile to the top were the house is this is a vacation home, this was done 20 years ago so it is not new and is on the survey which he was given when he bought the property I am going to consult a lawyer just didn't want to go into it blind

 

[FarmerJ]

You wrote >The road is own buy three different people us being one of them it is private < if you really owned it then it would on your land and not anothers. If your land is totally surrounded by NON public land, then with out the current access your property would be landlocked. Your best choice is to see a atty and either negotiate for written easement or sue for it.