Is a verbal easement legal and binding?

We are planning on building a home with our frontage being on a private road that has five homes on it. We have a written easement with our neighbor right across from us. But we have had a verbal easement with our neighbor that sits at the start of the private road for about three years now. After developing the property we are now ready to build our dream home. The neighbor at the beginning of the road tells us that he will not give us a written easement that a verbal easement should be good enough. My husband and I are now afraid to build for fear of the neighbor deciding at any time ( 1yr or 20yr) after we build that we can no longer access our home. Dose a verbal easement eventually become legal or our we going to be having problems? Do we even need a written easement from him with us all ready having a easement to our frontage?

Why did you "develop" the property without having WRITTEN-in-concrete-agreed-upon document?? Why have you risked a single DOLLAR in a situation that could have disastrous consequences?? A verbal easement does not eventually become anything besides challenged in court. Unless you claim adverse possession ( meaning open, hostile, notorious, continual use of the property without his consent ) an easement usually doesn't take affect ( an undocumented one) until after a number of years have passed. In my state, it is 15 years. Your state is probably close to the same.

In my state, easements are developed under different circumstances. For example, a previous owner of my home sold the house but retained an easement on the driveway to access two small buildings at the back of the property that she was retaining ownership of. The buyers of her house didn't mind, and they agreed verbally. They did intend to put it in writing, but their attorney "inadvertantly" omitted to record the easement. Twelve years later, I purchase the home, having no idea someone or something is sharing my driveway. Lo and behold, I have CARS traveling down my driveway all hours of the day and night ( a small narrow gravel driveway). The original owner had a verbal agreement, but since it wasn't recorded, I, as a buyer down the road, had no knowledge of the agreement.

The previous owner tried to establish an easement by necessity, a prescriptive easement, etc. but she failed. I was a bonafide purchaser for value and the bottom line is, as it stands, she cannot access her property at the back of mine--I have erected a large fence that houses german shepherds. For me to allow her to use my driveway devalues MY property value, which would appraise considerably less with an easement on it. She is landlocked.

I would NEVER act on someones word alone. If they are willing to allow you to use the land, OFFER to front the cost of having the deed amended. If there is no cost to them in doing so, and you are willing to pay to make it a matter of the record, they should be willing. The fact that they are NOT willing to put it in writing speaks to their sincerity, I believe. When you say you have a "written" agreement, you need to realize that unless the DEED has been amended showing the easement, it ISNT LEGAL.

Never rest a significant financial decision on someone's word alone. You are not simply asking for trouble, you are BEGGING for it. Get it in writing.

A verbal agreement will do nothing to protect you in the future, should any of the parties ever change their mind. Yes, you need an agreement in writing, signed by all parties, which then should be recorded at your county recorder's office. A private road agreement might even be required by any future lenders (your own included, if you need financing to build your home.) That agreement should clearly spell out by name all owners entitled to use it, should also specify who will maintain it and how it will be maintained and in the future, all rights should pass with ownership of the land (which simply means future buyers will be entitled to the same agreement.) You're correct in the fear that at some point you may not have access to your own home .. your reluctant neighbor faces the same possibility. You may also want to check with a local title company or even your county recorder's office to see if any previous agreement already exists .. if so, examine it carefully to make certain it spells out the above mentioned provisions and at the very least, passes with ownership of the land. Unfortunately, you just can't cross your fingers and hope there won't be some unforeseen disagreement in the future.

Good luck.