Easement disputes in Santa Clarita are more common than you think. Could an easement be affecting your rights and home value? 

If you own property in Santa Clarita – or anywhere in California – it’s likely that you are affected by an easement. 

And you may not even know it. 

Understanding the easements on your property helps you protect it from unlawful use, and it can give you a deeper understanding of your property value. 

Not understanding your easements, however, puts your property at risk. 

That’s why Steffanie Stelnick, the firm’s CEO and the 2020 American Institute of Trial Lawyers as Litigator of the Year, shared her best tips on avoiding easement disputes in Santa Clarita.

What’s an Easement?

“In basic terms, an easement gives one property owner the right to go onto another property owner’s land,” explained Steffanie Stelnick, CEO of The Law Offices of Steffanie Stelnick and the 2020 American Institute of Trial Lawyers as Litigator of the Year. “If you own property in the city or even the suburbs, there’s a good chance you’ve dealt with an easement in the past.”

There are utility easements, commonly used by utility workers, as well as private and necessity easements. Prescriptive easements can be granted when someone accesses a property for an extended period of time, without the homeowner taking legal action against them. 

Are Easements Typical in Santa Clarita?

Easements can be very common, such as when a utility company has access to your property to read your meter. Other types of easements require specific criteria, such as prescriptive easements. A request for an easement can also come from a developer when there’s a need for access to a property adjacent to your own.

“If you own property in Santa Clarita or throughout California, there’s a good chance you’ve dealt with an easement,” Steffanie explained. 

Learn more about easements with Steffanie. 

Do I Have an Easement?

“In any property sales transactions, one of the first documents you receive is a preliminary title report,” Steffanie explained. “This document will list all the different kinds of easements that could affect your property.” 

For example, Southern California Edison likely has an easement listed on your preliminary title report. The City of Santa Clarita or Los Angeles County might also have an easement listed in order to assist in brush clearance. These are both common items to see in a preliminary title report. 

How Can Easements Affect Me?

Based on the nature of an easement, it can have a positive, negative or neutral impact on your property value, which is why it’s crucial to understand the easements on and near your property. A real estate attorney can review your preliminary title report to alert you of any issues and help you understand how any easements affect your home value. 

Additionally, when a property is sold and transferred to a new owner, the previously existing easements are typically transferred with the land or property. However, the holder of the easement is not allowed to transfer it to another person or company. 

How We Can Help

Our attorneys can review your preliminary title report with an expert eye, trained in real estate law in Santa Clarita and throughout California. 

It’s best if we can address your questions and concerns before your property sale. That way, we can help ensure a smooth process and a happy outcome for everyone involved.

But there’s no bad time to understand your property, rights and value better by getting to know your easements. 

If you are in need of a free consultation to review your preliminary title report, one of our attorneys can help you today.