5 Easements That Can Lower What Your Property Is Worth

Most easements are ordinary. Almost every property has one. But five specific types can meaningfully reduce what a home or a piece of land is worth, because they take away what you are able to do with it.

High voltage utility easements. View easements. Conservation easements. Shared driveway easements with no maintenance agreement. And drainage or retention pond easements.

In the video below, North Carolina attorney Tiffany Webber walks through each one and what it costs you in usable land, buildable area, or resale value.

Watch the Full Video

1. High Voltage Utility Easements

Every house with utilities has some form of utility easement. That is normal. If you want power, water, or sewer, those companies need a way to access and run their lines. Having a utility easement does not automatically mean you have a problem.

Not all utility easements are equal though. Out here around Lake Norman we see a lot of high voltage utility easements, and those are a different situation. They can come with serious restrictions on what you are allowed to build within that corridor.

So you could have a beautiful five acre piece of land, and if a high voltage easement runs right through the middle of it, you may not be able to build the house you envisioned, or build as large as you wanted. If you were thinking about subdividing down the road and the easement eats up enough of the usable area, that plan may be off the table entirely.

2. View Easements

This one surprises people, especially on the lake. A view easement, sometimes called a sight easement, is exactly what it sounds like. An easement that protects somebody view.

If a neighboring property owner has been granted the right to an unobstructed view of Lake Norman, that restriction can be sitting on your property. Practically, it can mean you are not allowed to build certain structures. Maybe you wanted a covered dock with a roof over it. Maybe you wanted to add a second story. If that structure would block your neighbor protected view, you may not be able to do it.

These are not especially common, but they exist. If you are buying lakefront or near water, check for one before you close.

3. Conservation Easements

Conservation easements are placed on land specifically to prevent development. The point is to preserve the land in its natural state, whether for environmental reasons, wildlife habitat, agricultural use, or something else.

They are not always a bad thing. Some buyers specifically want protected land.

The value impact shows up when you are buying a large piece of land in an area where development is happening all around it, land that could potentially be subdivided or built on, and a conservation easement says it cannot be developed. You are losing the development value. The gap between what it could have been worth as developable land and what it is worth as protected land can be significant.

4. Shared Driveway Easements With No Maintenance Agreement

Shared driveways come up more than you would think, especially on rural properties and in older subdivisions. A shared driveway easement is not automatically a deal breaker. If you know what you are getting into, it can be completely manageable.

The problem is when there is no maintenance agreement attached to it. You and your neighbor share a driveway. One of you thinks it needs repaving, the other is perfectly happy with it. Who pays? Who decides? Where exactly can each of you park? What happens when one side is not maintaining their portion?

With no agreement, you have a conflict and no clear way to resolve it. When you are buying with a shared driveway, you want to see a maintenance agreement that spells out how costs and responsibilities are divided. If there is not one, address it before you close.

5. Drainage and Retention Pond Easements

This one comes up a lot on commercial property, and it affects residential land too.

When a property has stormwater runoff requirements, which is common depending on how much impervious surface is on the land, the owner may be required to maintain a retention pond or a drainage easement. That area cannot be used for anything else. It has to stay as is for that purpose.

So if you are buying land and planning to build, expand, or develop, and there is a drainage or retention pond easement sitting on part of it, that is land you cannot touch. It affects your buildable area, your layout options, and ultimately what you can do with the property.

How to Find Them Before You Close

Easements are not always obvious and they are not always disclosed the way you would expect. Review the title search, the survey, and the plat carefully before you close, and ask questions about anything that does not make sense.

Watch the full video for all five. If you are buying, the companion list is the four easement questions to ask first, and for the difference between an easement and a right of way, see easement vs right of way.

Common Questions

Do easements lower property value?

Some do. An ordinary utility easement usually does not move the needle. Easements that limit buildable area or block development, like a high voltage corridor, a conservation easement, or a drainage easement, can reduce what the land is worth because they reduce what you can do with it.

Can I build under a power line easement in North Carolina?

Generally not, and high voltage corridors typically carry specific restrictions on structures within the easement area. The recorded easement document sets out what is allowed.

What is a view easement?

A recorded right protecting somebody sightline, often to water. It can limit the height or placement of structures on the burdened property, including additions and covered docks.

Can land with a conservation easement be developed later?

Usually not. Conservation easements are designed to be permanent and to prevent development, which is exactly why they affect the value of otherwise developable land.

Should a shared driveway have a maintenance agreement?

Yes. Without one there is no framework for splitting repaving costs, deciding when work happens, or resolving parking disputes, and that is where neighbor conflicts start.

Buying Land or Lakefront Around Lake Norman?

At Thomas & Webber, the title search, the plat, and the recorded easements are all part of what gets reviewed before closing, so you know what you can actually build before you own it.

Our offices in Mooresville, Cornelius, Denver, and Kannapolis serve buyers and sellers throughout the Lake Norman area, including Davidson, Huntersville, Sherrills Ford, Troutman, and Statesville.

Email your contract to close@thomasandwebber.com or call us at (704) 663-1600 to schedule your closing with us.