Error in Legal Description Fallout

[Ozark_Sophist]

What is the name of your state? Missouri
First, thanks for all the help in my earlier post "Error in Legal Description." Located the originial owner who signed an amended deed. (I'm still waiting for the recorder's office backlog to get to it, I hope). Found the original owner through the realtor / real estate investor who owns the front house on the lane over which the easement passes to reach our house and a neigbors. The realtor is selling the front house through a rent-to-own to "Fred."

"Fred" has been going through a rough time the past month as his father died at his uncle's funeral, etc. Unfortunately, Fred has determined to take his misery out on my wife and me.

We have a simple deeded egress / ingress easement over Fred's property. Fred is of the opinion he can move the easement wherever he likes, makes it impassible by digging it up, and putting locked gates up at the public road and where his property abuts the middle neighbors property. I told him it is a deeded easement and can't be moved.

Saturday, he stopped my wife as she drove out the drive and harranged her for 10 minutes, threatening to shoot the surveyors for tresspassing, dig up the drive, land lock us, threatened her and me, etc. He has already taken a box blade and removed rocks I provided out of a large pothole on the easement. As a petty thing, our newspaper has been disappearing. Thought we forgot to pay the bill, but left early sunday and found our paper. Guess Fred likes to read our small town rag.

Long story short, my wife is freaked out. I know Fred can't do any of those things legally, but would like to know the legal references I can print out to show my wife. Can anyone help me with that?

 

[danno6925]

Saturday, he stopped my wife as she drove out the drive and harranged her for 10 minutes, threatening to shoot the surveyors for tresspassing, dig up the drive, land lock us, threatened her and me, etc

Got a shotgun? I don't know where he got these ideas from, but a guy threatening my wife would have all sorts of unpleasant suprises in the none-too-distant future. That easement would soon be the least of his worries. First, call the cops and file terroristic threat charges against him. Cops love to use the word terrorist in any capacity these days.

The realtor is selling the front house through a rent-to-own to "Fred."

So this dumbass is not even a landowner yet, and the deal is still in process, yes? Contact the owner of the property and let them know what type of person he's renting to!!

We have a simple deeded egress / ingress easement over Fred's property. Fred is of the opinion he can move the easement wherever he likes, makes it impassible by digging it up, and putting locked gates up at the public road and where his property abuts the middle neighbors property. I told him it is a deeded easement and can't be moved.

Make a copy of the easement that's attached to the deed (you can obtain the full description of it from the courthouse if you have the book/page or the instrument number from the deed if it doesn't appear in full on the deed)

I know Fred can't do any of those things legally, but would like to know the legal references I can print out to show my wife. Can anyone help me with that?

When you get the deed back from the recorder's office, show her the easement (see my answer above for how to obtain this) to your wife. Let her know this guy is blowing smoke, and cannot do these things. Considering ol' Fred ain't even an owner just yet, he'd be well advised to carefully watch his steps . If nothing else, go to the wickipedia and look up easements

Speaking of watching steps , if where your newspaper is delivered is on your property, setup a camera that records the time & date and point it at where you normally take delivery. Catch him in the act, and show him the tape. Inform him that if he wants to pursue petty issues, you're going to have to do the same to him at the local sheriff's office.

 

[Ozark_Sophist]

Thanks. Believe me, I've got the deed, title insurance, book and page number. Sometimes my wife needs to be look it up for herself, and I wanted to point her off in the right direction. We are doing some work with a real estate attorney, so I called and asked if we could expedite the quit claims (my parents have an interest in property they want out of and we have relatives dying in another state, so we want it out of the way) to this afternoon. This will give my wife a chance to ask the attorney in person. But she would still appreciate a point in the direction for the legal reference.

Google returns too many irrelevant, find-law works but you almost have to be an attorney to understand the decisions, and I haven't found the relevent missouri revised statute (other than surveyors can trespass). Any further places to look? Or some hints as to better search terms for the search engine?

Unfortunately, the paper box is not on our property--but it is on the county right of way, so I believe I can still video tape? I can set up a camera on our house directed at the paperbox with appropriate zoom, so as to exclude Fred's property. Is this legal?

Thought about inserting a dye pack in the newspaper.