We spend a lot of money purchasing our homes. The down payments, closing costs and monthly mortgage expenditures are expensive. It is worth every cent to have the freedom that comes along with owning my own place. Unfortunately, there are ways that we can lose our land rights. They are in the form of encroachments, boundary lines, prescriptive easements, minerals and electrical easements.
Encroachments:
Encroachments are physical objects that cross over into another homeowner's boundary line. Maybe a fence that was previously erected is one or more inches inside my yard or a neighbor's landscaping is lying over my property line. Structures such as sheds extending into my yard, can even cause me to lose land rights over time if they are not corrected.
Boundary lines:
It does not matter if a buyer is purchasing a home, farm or wooded land or commercial property. Erroneous or incorrect boundary lines can exist. Problems arise even in subdivisions. Over time, it could have changed for many reasons. For example, twenty years ago two homeowners decided on a joint gravel driveway without drawing up contracts and without new surveys. Now I want to convert it back to the original separate driveway so that part of my land will be distinctively mine. It might be difficult to prove where the original boundary line was located.
Prescriptive Easement:
A prescriptive easement develops over time. It is usually part of real property used by another person for a certain amount of years and without consent from the owner. For example, a neighbor has parked his vehicle three feet on my property for years. I never gave him permission, but did not tell him to stop. According to some jurisdictions and depending on the length of time he has done this, he might be able to continue to use my land if I take him to court. I might not win even though he does not have legal ownership. My land rights are diminished while I am still paying the mortgage, taxes and upkeep on it.
Minerals:
When buying real property and signing my deed at closing, there usually are words that state, 'fee simple estate.' This means that I am the sole owner of the property; the surface, subsurface and the air above it. The minerals in the ground such as coal, oil, gemstones, metals and salt are under my private ownership. If these words are not included there should be a clause in the deed telling me who owns these rights. There have been cases where decades earlier the mineral rights were conveyed out and not noted on the deed.
Electrical Easement:
An electrical easement is one that is usually sanctioned by my local electric power company. Overhead lines are erected and connected to poles on my land. These are pole lines that are protected by an easement for a certain distance. A lot of times it is about ten feet. This means that no structure can be built or landscaping done inside the easement. The electric company has a right to come into my yard and work on them as needed.
