absence of easement insurance

[lespots]

why ar the vendors of a property im trying to purchase so keen for me to sign the easement when they have built over the access and right of way

[buildersmate]

I'm afraid I don't understand your question. An easement is a legal right that may come with a property. So an easement that gives a landowner a right of way for a vehicle to pass might exist on the property title to enable the owner to pass over SOMEONE ELSE'S land to access to it.
If you buy land/house with an easement, it will automatically transfer with the property.
What excatly, are you being asked to sign? And anyway your solicitor / registered conveyancer can answer this for you.

[lespots]

there asking me to sign an absence of easement, one of the liabilities from the insurer is that there are to be no development works carried out or changes made to the way the access is used or to the route of services. the present owners have extened the property which is now restricting the use without prior consent.p.s. my solicitor is useless.

[themas]

I don't know whether buildersmate can understand your question now, but I certainly can't!

Do you mean:-

1. There is an easement over the property in favour of a third party; and

2. The present owners have carried out a development without consent which interferes with the use of this easement?

If that is the case, then:-

a) I don't understand your ref. to an insurer unless it relates to a defective title indemnity insurance. If that is the case, then it is something the present owners should be arranging and pay for, but which you have the benefit of should anyone come along and want to use the (now unusable) easement; &

b) I don't know why you are being asked to sign anything about this - it should all be sorted so that you take the property with a clear title and no possibility of this problem coming back to bite you later on - or causing difficulty when you come to sell; &

c) You should insist your solicitor advises you properly in writing on all this. If he doesn't, then use his firm's complaints procedure; &

d) Don't go ahead with the purchase until this is sorted out. Otherwise you could end up with a significant liability if the easement had to be re-instated.


If my surmising about the situation is wrong, do post something in more detail to explain it.