You buy land for your homestead and dream of building a simple farm, only to find out someone else can use it too. Surprising, right?
Undeveloped homesteads often hide challenges that new owners do not expect. These problems can significantly mess up your plans. That is why knowing them matters before you buy.
With the help of a real estate title company, you can reveal how easements, boundary disputes, and other encumbrances affect raw land and what you can do about them.
Understanding Easements
An easement is a legal right that lets someone use part of your property for a specific reason, even though you own it. There are several types of easements. Some of the easements incurred on raw land for sale are as follows:
- Utilities Easements: This easement lets companies run power lines or water pipes across your land.
- Private Easements: These easements allow your neighbor to use your road freely.
- Easement by Necessity: These types of easements help landlocked owners reach a public street.
- Appurtenant Easements: These easements stick with the land forever. For example, if you sell your land to another party, it will still exist for the new owner.
These rights limit homestead plans. You cannot build over utility lines or split the land. New homesteaders often expect total control, but easements surprise them by prioritizing things like power or pathways. Knowing what is on your deed can save big headache later.
Boundary Concerns
Inaccurate surveys on raw land can cause big problems.
- When property lines are not clear, you might face disputes with your neighbor over who owns what.
- Old or sloppy surveys can show boundaries wrong, which leads to mix-ups, like fences built on the wrong side or even lawsuits.
- If a neighbor uses your land long enough, they could claim it through adverse possession.
- Bad surveys can also hurt your property’s value and cause title issues, making it tough to sell.
Boundary concerns on undeveloped lands are trickier. If there are no fences or markers, it means that boundaries are a guess until surveyed. Old records or hidden easements also add to the confusion. For homesteaders, these headaches can stall dreams of building or farming and turn a simple plan into a legal mess. Therefore, it is essential to seek help from a real estate title company as they can spot these risks early.
Encumbrances on Raw Land
Beyond easements, raw land for sale faces other encumbrances, which are claims or limits that affect how you use, value, or sell it. Encumbrances on raw land are of different types:
- Liens: These are unpaid taxes or mortgages that tie the land to old debts.
- Leases: Here, someone else can use your land.
- Restrictive Covenants: This encumbrance can stop you from building certain things on your land.
- Encroachments: This happens when a neighbor’s fence crosses your line.
Raw lands are extra prone to these encumbrances because they are a blank slate. These issues lower the land’s worth and make selling tricky. For homesteaders, this means extra homework, as missing a lien or rule could ruin your vision. A solid title search is your best bet to spot and fix these surprises early.
Final Thoughts
Easements, boundary disputes, and encumbrances can quietly derail your homestead dreams on raw land for sale. Knowledge is your shield against these hidden challenges.
Do not let surprises steal your plans. Take charge and contact the real estate title company, ValleyLandTitleCo., for a thorough title search and survey to secure your future homestead with confidence.