Water Access- How do Easements Work?

When it comes to waterfront homes, easements are a common thing that occurs on properties. Understanding water access and how easements work will be useful when searching for waterfront property and helpful in understanding how it can change a property’s value.

What is an Easement?

The first thing to understand about water access in waterfront properties and easements is to know what an easement is. An easement is a means of granting another party that does not own the property legal access to a portion of that property. This can be in the form of utility companies, neighboring property owners, etc. The landowner must allow access and use to the area of land described in the legal paperwork specified as an easement. Water easements most often grant access to a body of water near the land/home or to water utilities or drainage on the land.

How Easements Work Pertaining to Real Estate

An easement is documented on the title of a property of the person who owns the land. It will also describe who specifically has access to the easement. If it is a neighbor in the same development they may also have access rights pertaining to the easement included in their property title. Some of the most common easements include: access to install/maintain/service local utilities like water lines, allowing for proper drainage of water, access to a lake or other nearby recreational water source.

There are rules that will need to be followed by both the landowner and the person with rights to access the easement. For example: if the homeowner has community drainage on their property they may not grade or make changes to the land that would cause a change in the drainage system. Another example: a home that requires allowing other members of the community access to a body of water for recreation would not be permitted to put up a fence in the area that would prevent that access.

How an Easement Can Impact Property Value

If the easement is on a property and allows for the use of another party, it can cause the property value to go down. This is due to the fact that special actions have to be made to uphold the easement. If an easement is included for the use of another property in a home, such as deeded water access to a home that is not right on the water, the property value increases.

There is good news for landowners with easements on their property in that those using the easement have to follow rules to respect the rights of the person that owns the land. This helps to ensure a peaceful home environment for the landowner. When there is an easement it is important to make sure it transfers properly or dissolves properly when a home sale is made.

In some cases, an easement may be temporary, in which case the property owner will want to make sure it got properly dissolved.

For more information on purchasing a home in Granbury, Texas please contact us at any time.

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