Why It Matters
Here's what easements mean for your investment: you may own the property, but someone else holds a recorded right to use part of it. That right survives every sale. An easement for a neighbor's driveway, a utility company's buried lines, or a municipality's drainage path transfers with the deed and limits what you can build on that portion of the lot.
At a Glance
- A legal right for a third party to use a defined portion of your property for a stated purpose
- Recorded in county land records — binds every future owner automatically
- Two main types: appurtenant (benefits an adjacent parcel) and in gross (benefits a person or entity)
- Common examples: utility lines, shared driveways, pipeline corridors, drainage channels
- Appear in a title search as Schedule B exceptions — read every one before closing
- You cannot build a structure that blocks or impairs an easement area
- Utility easements often cover a wider strip than the pipe or wire — check the recorded width
- Extinguished by merger, abandonment, or express release — not by ignoring them
How It Works
What an easement creates. An easement splits the rights of ownership. You hold fee simple title, but the easement holder has a narrowly defined right to use one portion of the lot. A utility company with a recorded 10-foot easement across your rear yard can install and replace underground lines there indefinitely. You own the land — you just can't pour a slab over it.
Appurtenant vs. in gross. An easement appurtenant benefits an adjacent parcel — the standard example is a landlocked neighbor whose only road access crosses your property. That easement runs with both lots through every sale. An easement in gross benefits a specific person or entity — utility easements and right-of-way grants are the most common. They permanently bind the burdened land regardless of who owns it.
How they're created. Most easements enter the public record through an express grant — a recorded document conveying the right to the holder. Others arise by necessity or by prescription (open, continuous use for the statutory period). Once recorded, a title search flags them as Schedule B exceptions. Prescriptive easements never recorded are the harder risk — they won't show up in title.
What they restrict. You can't build anything that materially interferes with the easement holder's use. A wall over a buried utility line, a fence across a shared driveway, or a deck over a drainage corridor can all trigger removal orders. Always check the actual recorded instrument before construction near property edges.
Real-World Example
Sandra bought a duplex in suburban Phoenix for $347,000. The rear yard looked buildable — her plan was adding a detached ADU to push rents from $2,840 to $4,300 per month.
Her title search flagged a Schedule B exception: a recorded 20-foot utility easement running the full rear width over a buried water main. No permanent structure within that corridor.
Usable rear depth dropped from 42 feet to 22 feet. Local code required a 25-foot minimum setback for an ADU. Dead.
Sandra closed — the duplex cash-flowed at $2,840, which was workable. But the value-add thesis that justified her price was gone before she made the offer. Reviewing Schedule B before the inspection period takes 20 minutes. Losing an ADU plan takes four months. Sound familiar?
Pros & Cons
- Easements appurtenant guarantee legal access to landlocked parcels that would otherwise be unreachable
- As the benefited party, you get enforceable court-backed rights that a private agreement can't match
- Buyers can negotiate price reductions when easements materially limit development potential
- Utility easements support infrastructure that maintains neighborhood property values
- An easement through a buildable area of the lot can eliminate planned improvements outright
- The easement holder can enforce in court — you cannot block the area even on your own land
- Prescriptive easements created by use won't appear in a standard title search
- Extinguishing an unwanted easement requires a formal release or litigation — neither is quick
Watch Out
Schedule B is not a formality. Every easement exception on a title insurance commitment deserves the actual recorded document, not just the summary line. The commitment tells you an easement exists; the instrument tells you how wide it is and who enforces it. Request copies before due diligence closes.
The recorded width exceeds the physical infrastructure. A utility easement may reserve a 15-foot strip for a 4-inch pipe. The 15-foot strip is the legal constraint — not the pipe's location. Any construction in that strip is at risk.
Prescriptive easements don't appear in title. A neighbor who has visibly used a path across your property for 10+ years may have acquired rights by prescription. A survey surfaces physical evidence. An attorney determines whether rights have attached.
Ask an Investor
The Takeaway
An easement follows the land through every sale. For most buy-and-hold deals, a utility easement in a rear yard is a minor constraint worth noting. The real danger is when your value-add strategy depends on the exact portion of the lot an easement already controls.
Review every Schedule B exception before the inspection period closes. Get the actual recorded documents. If an easement kills the strategy that justified your price, renegotiate or walk — it isn't moving.