What Happens With Landlocked Parcels?
There are a few questions I am going to have in this forum. I do not plan on getting into development professionally any time soon, but it is a long-term goal of mine to purchase a large piece of land on a lake and develop pieces of it to help pay for my house.
I'm sure I will have a lot of questions as I work through this. I already have a dozen or so which include ag. exemptions, keeping tax appraisals low, various development and zoning questions.
Right now, I'm trying to figure out something I'm seeing on the tax maps: There are large parcels of lakefront property that are landlocked by others to where theere is no access and no right of way or easement, or any other way I can think of that I can see that would allow the owner of the land to get to it.
How does this unfold? Do they have to buy-out the parcels between them and any roads? How does this work, and what is their motivation for buying this way? ( I do notice that the tax assessment is MUCH lower on these parcels than similar parcels accessible by existing roads)
check out RE laws, in someplaces to landlock is illegal. Also, aready recorded easements man not show on the parcel map.
Landlocked parcels can get access through easements or purchasing land area from neighboring properties with frontage on existing streets.
Actually Florida is quite interesing in this area. It has a real estate law which quite specifically covers this issue. Otherwise you fall back on english common law (unless you are in Louisiana in which case you fall back on the Napoleanic Code). English common law essentially automatically grants you an easement whenever you land is landlocked.
But again, Florida is different. It has a statute. Unfortunately it was quite some time ago when I researched the matter for a land-locked parcel I was looking at in Fort Meyers.
So you might ask Locke or one of the other Florida gurus who would have state specific information.
Yeah, I was thinking along those lines... I've heard something about a "sunshine" law, or something like that...
... something about the "land" business that was booming here in the '70s... all very Glengary Glenn Ross.
I remember the basic idea that people were buying lots site unseen that couldn't be developed, were landlocked, etc. I'm pretty sure there are laws about it, but not sure what they are.
here in my state, you can't sell landlocked land. Sure you "can", but, they will have an easement across your land by going to court.
While it's true that a landlocked property can get an easement, just understand that like any other legal remedy, a court action takes time...sometimes YEARS of time...so keep your purchase prices for such LL parcels in line with the expense that might have to be incurred to get that easement.
While the seller will of course tell you that it's "no problem", you should counter with: "Well, if it's no problem, how come YOU haven't got the easement by now?"
It's certainly a bargaining chip to keep from paying top dollar for a big unknown.