SELLING LANDLOCKED RURAL TEXAS PROPERTY

So your family has enjoyed going to their country place for at least three generations. The property doesn’t have any road frontage but they have used a dirt road across the adjoining neighbor’s land for years. Years have passed, the family is dispersed and everyone agrees the time has come to sell.

The family representative meets with a broker who is familiar with rural land in the area. After accompanying him to the property and visiting about the asking price, the broker says the property seems to be landlocked and that will probably affect its market value.

This would be a good time to research for any possible proof of access such as surveys, deeds, agreements, closing statements, and other documents you can put together regarding your property’s access.

This post is about what the owners needs to know about landlocked rural property in Texas.

What does landlocked mean?

A landlocked property is surrounded by other owners land and has no legal access. In other words, it can only be accessed through another owners property.

Legal vs Physical.

Legal access is the key. The existence of physical access, such as a road across an adjoining property, does not constitute legal access. Legal access requires ownership either in a fee strip or an access easement. You cannot use a pipeline or electric easement for access. Just because you have a key or combination to a lock across someones land doesn’t mean you have legal access.

Frontage vs Access.

If a property fronts on a public road it almost certainly has access unless there are drive way restrictions imposed by a governmental authority. Access alone doesn’t require frontage. Very generally speaking, a property with frontage will be more valuable than one with only access all other factors being equal.

Does landlocked property automatically have access rights?

Guarantied access to land locked property is not available in Texas. However there are ways to obtain a permanent, enforceable right of access. There are several options to pursue when obtaining an easement across an adjoining property, They are all challenging.

EXPRESS EASEMENT. This is the most straight forward and usually easiest way. Basically this means obtaining a written easement from your neighbor to cross their land to gain access to a road. This easement must be negotiated and often will involve a financial consideration. In some instances, there may be more than one property owner that needs to be crossed.

All of the other types of easements involve a lawsuit.

EASEMENT BY NECESSITY. This is an implied easement and requires proof of three things in court.

• Claimed access is a necessity not a convenience.
• The same person must have owned both the landlocked tract and the property across which access is sought.
• The necessity existed at the time of the severance.

PRESCRIPTIVE EASEMENT. This is essentially obtaining an easement by adverse possession. The person claiming the easement must have been the exclusive user for at least . The use has to have been open, continuous, adverse and notorious. This method of obtaining an easement is not favored by law.

EASEMENT BY ESTOPPEL. The person claiming the easement believes and can prove that the party owning the property to be crossed represented the use of an easement for access and the person claiming the easement acted based on that representation. One example would be an individual who bought a rear lot and then built a house on it based on the sellers promise to allow access to that house.

STATUTORY EASEMENT. There is a statute in her Texas Transportation Code which provides for access to a land locked property being granted by the County Commissioners Court. In this instance a party could file a sworn application with the Commissioners Court for an easement. Each adjoining property owner would have to receive notice of the application. At that point a hearing in front of the commissioners would be held and the commissioners would rule.

Value of landlocked property.

The value of landlocked property will almost certainly be heavily discounted by potential buyers for a number of reasons. Title insurance will probably not be available. Lenders almost surely will not loan on landlocked property. There is the risk that the adjoining property owners will not allow access which is particularly true if the adjoining property is sold to another party.

Should you use an attorney?

Absolutely you should. In fact, this is a great place for me to tell you that I am not an attorney and this post does not represent legal advice in any way. I would recommend using an attorney with experience in negotiating and drawing up easements.

Rights of Way and Mineral Rights.

One source of income from a landlocked property could be from the acquisitions of pipeline and power rights of way. Another source could be royalties from mineral ownership. Neither infrastructure rights of way or minerals are impacted by lack of access.

Who pays the taxes on an access easement?

The underlying owner pays the taxes. They still own the land. The access easement is a restriction on the land. This true of any easement. If the owner believes an easement has a negative impact on the market value of their property, they can appeal the valuation with the County Appraisal District.

SUMMARY

There are probably thousands of landlocked properties in Texas. Almost none of these situations represent an investment opportunity for anyone other than an adjoining owner. The best remedy for the owner of a land locked property would be to negotiate access by an express easement.

LET US HEAR FROM YOU

The circumstances of any land locked property is unique and usually interesting. If you have experienced dealing with a situation like this, we would like to hear about it particularly if you have been able to successfully acquire an access easement.

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Allen Realty Advisors represents buyers and sellers of fine quality rural land near Houston. We specialize in weekend retreats, country estates, farms and ranches, recreational property and investment land. Our market area is generally within 100 miles (two hours) of Houston.