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tskeeno
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Right of Way/Easement given be developer
What is the name of your state? WV
My homeowner's association is in the process of taking over from the developer. Our major expense is the private roads and maintenance of some basic common areas. All landowners signed restrictive covenants upon purchase, and we have all been paying annual dues to the developer who has been maintaining the sub-division roads and common areas. The covenants required the dues which we all pay for our benefit, but other parts of the covenants are not strictly enforced.
We have now learned that the developer granted a right of way or easement to a neighboring subdivision that was put in last year. The easement gives them the use of our roads for egress, and likewise we have the use of theirs. The easement also specifically states that the agreement makes no obligations on maintenance, and that each sub-division is responsible for it's own road care and maintenance.
Sounds fair enough, but our sub-division roads are of much higher quality, and their entrance road is falling apart over a hill, and our entrance saves the other division's homeowners about 5 minutes of drive time. Needless to say, our homeowners and the neighboring homeowners almost exclusively use our roads and entrance. Now the question(s)
Is it permissible for the developer to grant easements to another developer without ever informing the existing homeowners or getting their approval? In essence, he is binding our association financially to support the wear and tear on our road from a huge increase in traffic. Not to mention that I purchased the land in a small sub-division, and now it essentially has turned into a huge sub-division with traffic.
Second, if my association fails to maintain the portion of the road leading to their division, do they have recourse? (i.e. if a ditch suddenly appears at the end of our road and we just fail to fix it)
We are consulting a local attorney, but thought I would see if anyone has any general ideas.
Thanks
What is the name of your state? WV
My homeowner's association is in the process of taking over from the developer. Our major expense is the private roads and maintenance of some basic common areas. All landowners signed restrictive covenants upon purchase, and we have all been paying annual dues to the developer who has been maintaining the sub-division roads and common areas. The covenants required the dues which we all pay for our benefit, but other parts of the covenants are not strictly enforced.
We have now learned that the developer granted a right of way or easement to a neighboring subdivision that was put in last year. The easement gives them the use of our roads for egress, and likewise we have the use of theirs. The easement also specifically states that the agreement makes no obligations on maintenance, and that each sub-division is responsible for it's own road care and maintenance.
Sounds fair enough, but our sub-division roads are of much higher quality, and their entrance road is falling apart over a hill, and our entrance saves the other division's homeowners about 5 minutes of drive time. Needless to say, our homeowners and the neighboring homeowners almost exclusively use our roads and entrance. Now the question(s)
Is it permissible for the developer to grant easements to another developer without ever informing the existing homeowners or getting their approval? In essence, he is binding our association financially to support the wear and tear on our road from a huge increase in traffic. Not to mention that I purchased the land in a small sub-division, and now it essentially has turned into a huge sub-division with traffic.
Second, if my association fails to maintain the portion of the road leading to their division, do they have recourse? (i.e. if a ditch suddenly appears at the end of our road and we just fail to fix it)
We are consulting a local attorney, but thought I would see if anyone has any general ideas.
Thanks
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