Easement Right to Use

[dat84]

Driveway Easement Right to Use

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania. First post here, and trying to find out an issue. My next door neighbor, who I moved in beside in May of 2013 recently sold her house. The new neighbors just started to move in two days ago, haven't even had a chance to introduce ourselves yet. When I purchased my house, it came with an easement for the portion of the existing driveway that extends onto her property. I am responsible for all maintenance (seal coating the asphalt). Nowhere in the deed does this state specifically that this is solely for ingress, egress, and regress. However, this is stated on the copy of the survey I received before closing on the house (my neighbor's property and mine used to be all on the same parcel, before they subdivided it in order to sell it.

Basically the property line goes straight down the middle of my the 12-20 foot wide (narrowest point is at the street entrance and widens as it approaches my garage) driveway. The driveway is about 100 feet long and ends at my one-car garage, where the property line then continues directly along the left side of my garage, of which I then have a 3.5 foot easement for garage maintenance. Parking on the driveway easement restricts nobody, since it ends at my garage.

My previous neighbor (for 3.5 years) never had any issues with utilizing the full area of the existing driveway, such as parking, and she didn't even object to having a load of driveway stone dumped on the driveway easement for a project that I had on my garage. We were very friendly with each other. I'm trying to figure out, based on the wording of the deed if I have any rights to continue parking and using the full width of the driveway, extending onto this easement, or if i should be prepared to widen my driveway, since splitting it down the middle at the narrowest point limits me to about 6 feet at the narrowest point.

The wording in the deed is as follows:

TOGETHER WITH THE RIGHT TO USE A PORTION OF THE DRIVEWAY AS IT EXISTS ON OTHER PROPERTY OF GRANTOR ADJACENT TO THE PROPERTY HEREIN DESCRIBED. GRANTEE SHALL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF THE DRIVEWAY.

BEING THE SAME PROPERTY CONVEYED TO (continues on with deed description of the grantor . . .)

WITH THE APPURTENANCES: TO HAVE AND TO HOLD THE SAME TO AND FOR THE USE OF THE SAID GRANTEE, HIS HEIRS AND ASSIGNS FOREVER, AND THE GRANTOR, FOR HER HEIRS AND ASSIGNS, HEREBY COVENANTS AND AGREES THAT SHE WILL WARRANT SPECIALLY FOR THE PROPERTY HEREBY CONVEYED.

 

[latigo]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania. First post here, and trying to find out an issue. My next door neighbor, who I moved in beside in May of 2013 recently sold her house. The new neighbors just started to move in two days ago, haven't even had a chance to introduce ourselves yet. When I purchased my house, it came with an easement for the portion of the existing driveway that extends onto her property. I am responsible for all maintenance (seal coating the asphalt). Nowhere in the deed does this state specifically that this is solely for ingress, egress, and regress. However, this is stated on the copy of the survey I received before closing on the house (my neighbor's property and mine used to be all on the same parcel, before they subdivided it in order to sell it.

Basically the property line goes straight down the middle of my the 12-20 foot wide (narrowest point is at the street entrance and widens as it approaches my garage) driveway. The driveway is about 100 feet long and ends at my one-car garage, where the property line then continues directly along the left side of my garage, of which I then have a 3.5 foot easement for garage maintenance. Parking on the driveway easement restricts nobody, since it ends at my garage.

My previous neighbor (for 3.5 years) never had any issues with utilizing the full area of the existing driveway, such as parking, and she didn't even object to having a load of driveway stone dumped on the driveway easement for a project that I had on my garage. We were very friendly with each other. I'm trying to figure out, based on the wording of the deed if I have any rights to continue parking and using the full width of the driveway, extending onto this easement, or if i should be prepared to widen my driveway, since splitting it down the middle at the narrowest point limits me to about 6 feet at the narrowest point.

The wording in the deed is as follows:

TOGETHER WITH THE RIGHT TO USE A PORTION OF THE DRIVEWAY AS IT EXISTS ON OTHER PROPERTY OF GRANTOR ADJACENT TO THE PROPERTY HEREIN DESCRIBED. GRANTEE SHALL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF THE DRIVEWAY.

BEING THE SAME PROPERTY CONVEYED TO (continues on with deed description of the grantor . . .)

WITH THE APPURTENANCES: TO HAVE AND TO HOLD THE SAME TO AND FOR THE USE OF THE SAID GRANTEE, HIS HEIRS AND ASSIGNS FOREVER, AND THE GRANTOR, FOR HER HEIRS AND ASSIGNS, HEREBY COVENANTS AND AGREES THAT SHE WILL WARRANT SPECIALLY FOR THE PROPERTY HEREBY CONVEYED.

MY, my, this is supposed to serve as a grant of easement?

You note that nowhere does it reflect that " it is solely for ingress, egress, etc. ."

How about noting that nowhere in the stupid document can it be ascertained with any degree of certainty what portion of the then existing driveway "existed on other property of the grantor"!

Did it ever occur to anyone of the need to define the boundaries of the easement using measured distances, angles, and directions resulting in a "legal description" rather than tying to something that could very well only temporarily "exist on other property"?! Or did you all simply hire a trained squirrel to draft this absurdity?

 

[dat84]

latigo, you do make a lot of good points that I honestly didn't think about myself. This was my first ever house, so I wasn't sure what the specifics should be as far as describing the bearings and distances in the deed. Like I said, these are called out in the survey, which I'm assuming is kept with the Title info?

I did try to acquire the said property before the previous owner put the house up for sale. We had a good relationship, but her son who was running the show of selling the house didn't entertain the idea. He seemed more interested in getting the house sold and they kept telling me not to worry about it. After doing more research the past few days, and not knowing the new neighbors, I really do wish I was more persistent about this before she sold.

 

[154NH773]

I agree that the description is very inadequate, and does not reference any other document or survey, so unless the survey (if one exists) shows exactly how the easement "exists on the other property" at the time of conveyance, and has been certified or otherwise filed, forget about using it. Perhaps you can get a survey made and have it authenticated or sworn to by the previous owner (grantor). Hopefully you won't have to go to court if you can get along with the new neighbor.