Arizona homes for sale

Some easements make a deal uneasy July 22, 2002 Several years ago, a homeowner sold the home he'd lived in for over 25 years. After reviewing the title search of the property, he informed his real estate agent that the title company had missed a sewer easement. According to the seller, the sewer easement granted the right for the sewer line from his house to cross the neighbor's property to hook up to the city sewer. A more thorough search of the title record revealed that a sewer easement in favor of the seller did not exist. Apparently, the property in question had been part of a larger property. When the house was built in the 1920s, a sewer easement wasn't necessary. At that time, the sewer line didn't cross anyone else's property. The property was subdivided a couple of decades later and the newly created parcel was sold. From that time on, the sewer line crossed property belonging to someone else. Unfortunately, someone forgot to record a sewer easement in favor of the first property when the lot was split. The seller asked the neighboring homeowner to grant him a sewer easement, but he refused. As a result, the seller's sale fell apart because the buyer wouldn't purchase the property without a sewer easement. To sell the property, the seller ultimately had to relocate the sewer line, at considerable expense. Perhaps you think this is an isolated incident. Not so. A similar situation occurred during the sale of another property that was owned by an owner-builder. The builder had subdivided his property and sold the newly created parcel to a builder friend. Again, an easement wasn't granted for the sewer line that crossed the new parcel. Fortunately, this was caught early enough, and the owner of the neighboring property was a nice guy. A sewer easement was created and the sale went through. House hunting tip: As part of your due diligence investigations of any property you buy, find out where and how the sewer hooks up to the main sewer system. If a sewer, or drain line, crosses another property, find out if there is a recorded easement that grants permission for the line to cross the property. Easements secured against a property grant use of a portion of the property to someone else. Common easements are for utilities, ingress and egress and sewers. If your sewer line passes over your neighbor's property and there isn't a recorded easement in your favor, you may have difficulty repairing the line. Even worse, you could be required to abandon the line. Establishing the exact location of an easement is important, particularly if you intend to make renovations to your property. You can't build over an easement. So if someone else has an easement in his or her favor that crosses your property, have the title officer locate the easement on a plat map of your property. The easement location could interfere with your building plans. The title search report may give you sketchy information on easements recorded against the property. If so, ask the title expert to provide you with a complete copy of the recorded easement. If you don't understand what it says, ask a title expert or a knowledgeable real estate attorney for an explanation. One couple bought a home without paying much attention to the title search. After they had lived there for a few years they wanted to fence the property for privacy and protection. When the property was surveyed, they discovered that an easement in favor of the neighbor made their fencing plans impossible. The closing: Before you buy, make sure that you have a complete understanding of all the easements affecting the property. Dian Hy mer is author of "House Hunting, The Take-Along Workbook for Home Buyers", and "Starting Out, The Complete Home Buyer's Guide," Chronicle Books. Copyright 2002 Dian Hy mer Distributed by In man News Features   More - Real Estate Columns   FREE reports on homes sold in your zip code Arizona Homes - All available zip code reports Chandler Homes Gilbert Homes Glendale AZ Homes Goodyear Homes Mesa Homes Phoenix Homes Scottsdale Homes Sun City AZ Homes Tempe Homes   FREE custom-made reports on homes for sale Metro Phoenix Southeast Valley. Homes for sale in Ahwatukee, Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Queen Creek and Tempe. Phoenix. Homes for sale in Anthem and Phoenix. Southwest Valley. Homes for sale in Avondale, Buckeye, Goodyear and Litchfield Park. Northeast Valley. Homes for sale in Carefree, Cave Creek, Fountain Hills, Paradise Valley, Rio Verde and Scottsdale. Northwest Valley. Homes for sale in Glendale AZ, Peoria AZ, Sun City AZ, Sun City Grand, Sun City West, Surprise and Youngtown. Wickenburg homes for sale. Metro Tucson Tucson area. Homes for sale in Marana, Oro Valley and Tucson. Green Valley area. 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