Start with the documents

Ask counsel to review the instruments that establish access and any relevant title exceptions. Have the surveyor relate documented easements to their physical location where the scope and available information allow. The ALTA/NSPS standards describe the relationship between fieldwork and title-related documents; they do not turn a survey into a legal interpretation. Ask whether the proposed owner, use and intensity fit the rights actually granted.

Check whether the right can function

Consider a hypothetical rear parcel reached over a shared drive. The route may exist, yet the proposed project could require a different entrance layout, emergency access or room for deliveries. Ask the civil engineer and appropriate reviewing authorities what the concept requires. Keep those design questions separate from counsel’s interpretation of the easement. A road authority’s acceptance of a design would not itself create missing private property rights.

Resolve costs as well as passage

Ask who must maintain, repair or improve a shared route and whether the proposed work needs additional consent. Include utility easements and temporary construction access when they affect execution. Record unresolved signatures or off-site rights as dependencies rather than presumed future cooperation. Before acquisition, ask counsel which documents need correction or additional negotiation, and ask the designer whether the confirmed corridor supports the concept. If the answer changes the layout, revise the project economics instead of leaving the original unit count untouched.

Sources & further reading

Take the next step

Continue the feasibility review

General information—not personalized legal, tax, investment, engineering or architectural advice.