Seattle, WA asked in Real Estate Law for Washington

Q: If a seller doesn’t disclose a private road easement, what legal recourse does a buyer/owner have?

In my case, I own two homes on ten acres in Clayton WA. After I moved in a neighbor told me about the private road easement. I called my real estate agent and she had no knowledge of this.

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1 Lawyer Answer
Anthony M. Avery
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Answered

A: Did you search the title? The easement must be in your servient chain to be effective against you, not the dominant tenement's title. They may have a prescriptive easement or even one by necessity. But that is for the adjoining landowner to defend in Court. Hire a WA attorney to search both titles to start with, and a survey might be needed.

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