I was wondering if anyone has experience with easements/right of ways on their property lines and how they share these spaces with their neighbors.
Background:
A development is going up behind our house and they are
putting up a fence directly on their property line. The business (or vacant
lot) that was in the location in the past had their fence set back 2ft from the
property line to adhere to an easement/or right of way. All the
buildings on our side are set back 2ft as well -- for 4ft total of easement.
This easement (created in 1888) was referenced in our mortgage
paperwork. This right of way allowed for our basement unit gates to open
onto this space and safely exit the property to the alleyway in case of
emergency/fire. The developer did come up with one solution, but gave us
no time to research and needed a decision in a few hours time. We declined
simply because we didn't have enough information.
Has anyone encountered a similar situation? I would
love to chat.
4 comments:
Check the DC gov sites for the property that shares the easement with your lot. You can look up the plat at DCRA with SurDocs and see if the easement is drawn in. (It's new and can be a little quirky but easier than going to DCRA.) You can also look at the trust documents for a written description at the Recorder of Deeds.
Hi! If you live in one of the houses that back up to 79-81 U Street, the easement is indicated on the drawing located on page one. https://dcra.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dcra/release_content/attachments/06-27-2017%20Preliminary%20Architectural%20Drawings%20dated%204-15-17.pdf
Thank you, Bloomingdale resident and Betsy. I live on the Q Unit block and I'm trying to get 30 Florida Ave to acknowledge the easement. It's not on their survey, but it's on ours. They are trying to tell us that the easement was vacated, but we believe they need documentation that it was vacated. They seem to think if it doesn't show up on the survey then it doesn't exist.
South of Florida is part of Old City, and the lots and lot numbers have probably changed a few times. A quick glance hints that it could take some time to trace back, but I didn't see an easement, or anything about one being vacated. Sorry - it is beyond my limited experience.
Good luck! Please share what you find out. Also, now I am curious if anything was ever built on that land, before the gas station and now the condo building.
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