How would you feel if you bought a home that seemed perfect, only to find out you couldn’t use the property like you thought you could? One buyer bought a home with a good-sized yard that he thought would be perfect for his large dogs to roam free.

Soon after the sale closed, he hired a contractor to construct a fence around the property. The day the work started, a neighbor showed up to inform the new homeowner that he couldn’t completely fence the property because of an easement that ran across his property. An easement grants property rights to someone other than the property owner.

Common easements are for ingress and egress, utilities and sewers. Easements must be kept unencumbered. In the case above, the easement provided the neighbors access to their property. A fence could not be built over the easement because it would deny the neighbor their rights to access.The property owner had to revise his fence design, which was disappointing. But, easements can be even more problematic, particularly if you assume there is an easement in favor of your property but there isn’t.

HOUSE HUNTING TIP: Make sure you have a clear understanding of the title issues affecting a property before you buy it. Title companies check the record and issue a title report that includes such things as the recorded owner and liens, easements and encumbrances affecting the property. Buyers should hire attorneys to search the title record and produce a report.