I would like to know which government office I should go to get certain information related to the image I am including.
This is a tax-delinquent property I am interested in buying (outlined in blue), but the county says it won’t sell it to me because it is landlocked. I looked it up, and although it is accessed on both the north and the south by roads, both are private roads.
On the south, it is accessed by Willowhollow Road, off Chuck Avenue. I have outlined the property in red, including the first half of Willowhollow Road. Now, here is the thing. I have outlined in green two properties that are on the way to the one I want. If mine is landlocked, then the two outlined in green are also. Yet they both have owners and must have acquired the right to use Willowhollow Drive to get to and from Chuck Avenue.
I explain all this to frame my question. What government office do I go to to find out what arrangement the owners of the two “green” properties have with the owner of the “red” property to go back and forth on the latter’s part of Willowhollow Drive? I would also like to know if xince Willowhollow Drive crosses so many properties the owners just let it be used de facto like a public road. Obviously Willowhollow Drive crosses three properties before reaching the one I want to buy. Whatever help you can give me as to where I can research these questions will be greatly appreciated.
I have a “man on the ground” there and he has agreed to drive out on Tuesday and see what he can observe and whom he can talk to that are associated with the “red” and “green” properties.
In case it occurs to you that there is an expanse of road along the north property line, yes, I am aware of that. It’s a big rectangle with many properties inside that are all owned by the same company. I have asked him to see if he can find someone to talk to there as well.
You need to see the plats or better any recorded survey to see easements. You can get that from the county recorder. Ive had good luck just calling a friendly surveyor to check it out for me. They generally have that info available.
You know, I asked the recorder’s office for information, and their answer was that all they do is record the deed and they wouldn’t have any information. Did I just get an unhelpful person?
I guess a goal of mine will have to be giving enough business to a surveyor that we will be on friendly terms. I have never used one at this stage.
You got the correct information from the recording person. Let me tell you how to get the Right of Way information. The person who told you to get the plat gave you the right information. Get the plat book and page for the parcel in question. Look at the road in front of the property. It will say something like “R/W 40 feet” That means the right of way of the ROAD is 40’. Rights of way are measured from the middle of the road. In this example, 20; from the middle. Start from there and measure 20’. If it is a two-lane road, each lane is approximately 12’ wide. Measuring from the center past the 12’ lane means that the right-of-way extends 8’ feet into the grass beside the lane. That is where the property owner’s land starts and where the surveyor’s pin would be set. The 8’ (in this case) belongs to the municipality. When the developer of the road requested permission to build the road, he agreed to build the road to certain specs. If he complied, then the municipality would accept the obligation of permanent maintenance of the right-of-way. The developer then deeds the road and right of way to the municipality. That is how the municipality becomes the owner. That answers the question you had regarding right-of way. However, this is not a right-of-way issue, it is an easement issue. The owners of the red and green properties must have an easement or an agreement that they can use the road. Rod Hal is right that the plat might contain the information. but if not, you would have tyo hire a title researcher to research the issue.
We have bought tons of landlocked property, in every state that I worked the county never had a problem selling landlocked property without Right of Ways. It might require doing title search work on your part or somebody with access to courthouse records. first I would get the currebt deeds for RED, BLUE and Green, If no access is mentioned on those deeds I would build a Chain of Title going backwards in time for RED, BLUE an GREEN until I found a ROW. I would also search for Plans or Subdivisions for all 3 properties. I would also talk to the owners of the 3 properteies.
Good Luck.
There’s a shared road? I missed that when I read first read your question. If it includes your subject property there should be an agreement recorded. It may be part of the deed on subject property. Interesting problem.
Rod, all I know is what I see on the map I shared. There is a private road going through several properties. The owners of the properties in green can’t get to their properties unless they have an agreement with the property in red, can they? I have to assume there are agreements in place, although whether they extend to my subject property is a different question.
I am trying, I am really trying. I went on the county register of deeds website to find the deeds on their property website. I put in the names of the individual or business, and each time it said it could find no records. I wrote them to ask why the names of the owners were not bringing up records. They answered:
"To determine the covenants, restrictions, easements, bylaws that are on your property you can contact a title company to perform a search on your property, the Register’s Office does not provide this service.
Please Note: The Register’s office is only a recording office, and our duties are ministerial or administrative in nature and center on the recording of deeds/documents. That is to say, our office records documents that meet the requirements issued by the State of Tennessee and collects fees at the time of recording."
Not only do they wash their hands of it, but they don’t even answer why records don’t come up when I put in the name of the owner. It is very discouraging to think that I need to go to the expense to contact a title company just to find out what arrangements are in place between the owners of the red and green properties for the use of each other’s part of the road. Can someone suggest an alternative?
There isn’t one. You are going to have to do the research yourself or hire someone to do it. This is not a transparent issue and there is no EASY button to solve this.
And as far as researching it myself, bear in mind that the register office told me flatly their records do not include that information, and I would have to go to a title company.
The title companies have now told me that the cost of a title search begins at $200, and this involves researching four titles. I am going to try writing to the other owners.
How nice of you to ask. After writing the above I mailed letters to the three owners in question. Whether they will answer or not is another story–we will have to wait and see. One of the title companies wrote back that they would do the job for $250. I tried to talk to them yesterday to make sure they read my description of exactly what I need done, but it didn’t happen. Now, because of the holidays, it probably won’t happen until next week. If they can find out what easements exist between the neighbors whose properties the street goes through before reaching “my” property, I will go with it. I would prefer to do my own research, but the county records aren’t making it possible. Maybe I will write a letter to the Board of Supervisors to complain, but that wouldn’t address my immediate situation.
I worked on the title search/ abstract side of things for years so hopefully this gives you dome insight to it. The Register of Deeds purpose is recording and maintaining the records. In 99% of the counties the clerks will not perform a search for the public. They will handle copy request if you have a specific book and page you need copied etc.
As to why the easements are coming up when you type in the owners name. Easements aren’t generally filed under an owners name unless its something that owner specifically granted rights to. Most easements are created around the same time the property is. For example say you have an HOA who records restrictions for use of the property that restriction even though it effects your property you’ll find it under the name of the HOA.
As far as the cost of the title search 200 to 250 is not unreasonable for this type of thing. Honestly I’ve seen quotes when in the abstract world going higher it really depends on the county and how easy their records are to search. If you’re not happy with any of the title quotes you can also google abstractor for the area and see if there is someone local, however their price won’t always be cheaper. I’d say a title company is going to be your best bet.
Lastly if you’re able to find the deed for any of these properties in question you might be able to get the plat book and page off of that. In that case you could have that document pulled it will list some easements.
Nicole, how nice of you to write such a detailed explanation. You actually answered one question I have asked a couple of times: is the information on easements to be found in the documents of the party extending the easements or of the party receiving them? Thank you for that and for everything else.
I find myself, oddly enough, in not one situation but two that involve researching easements. The other is the $500 purchase that made me the bemused owner of a paved street that runs down the middle of a block, from one end to the other. I have also written about it on this forum. The question is did the original owner of the land grant the neighbors permanent use of it. If there is nothing in writing, I am free to sell the land to someone who wants to build a small house. A title company in that locality offered to do research it for $300 and I said yes.
