Note: The DearEsq free 'ask a lawyer' site is offered as a free informational service to the public and is not intended as legal advice. Laws vary from state-to-state, and in addition every situation is unique, and relevant facts may not be known. The answer to the question posed below may not apply to in your state or to your situation. For legal advice in your state and your situation you should consult with an attorney in your state who is familiar with the rules and laws in your state.
“I live in PA (I know that it’s illegal to land lock land in PA). I am buying a home on 1.34 acres of land and should be closing on it in about a month. The owner of another acre directly behind my land would like to sell the land to me the land is currently landlocked. What would I have to do to purchase this land? My mortgage representative said I would probably need to show and have record of a right away before I could even get financed to purchase this land. I’m assuming this means that I need to have an easement? If so, is this costly?”A right-of-way is a type of easement which grants the owner of the easement the right to cross another’s land for access. It is sometimes known as an ingress/egress easement.
Question: Setting up the easement documents should be a matter of no more than a few hundred dollars legal fees. However, the cost of getting a neighbor to grant you access is quite variable, and entirely up to them.
Answer:
If you’re intending to have the access across the first property that you’re buying, you have a different problem: Normally it is not legally possible to have an easement over your own land. You could certainly create one when and if you sell one of the properties, but not while you own them both. You should discuss this with the potential lender and see if something can be worked out.
