Unique Shared Driveway Problem?
Okay, this is a very bizarre situation. My grandparents purchased a house on a very large property (six acres) in the 1960s. In the 1980's the property was subdivided and one acre was given to my parents to build their house on. The driveway that goes to our house branches off of the orginal one that leads to my grandparents house. Now, my grandparents are moving, and when we were looking at the property drawings we discovered that the entire driveway up to my grandparents house is actually on my parents property. This never posed a problem because we were all family, but new owners will be moving into my grandparents house soon. So, do my parents have the right to tell the new owners that they have to build themselves a new driveway? My parents are not trying to be difficult, but they do not want to be held responsible in case any accidents occur on the driveway.
Answers:
If it's their property and says so in the documentation, then they are well within their rights to lay claim, tell your parents to act ASAP, or they might just might end up in some long drawn out court battle, if your not fast your last.
Have an easement written for the driveway. If the new buyers forces the issue an easement could be granted anyway because of the length of time the driveway existed in it's current location.
This should have come up before the sale. The realestate agents should have checked the property lines in city/county records. The new owners should go after the agent, but that may very well sink the deal for your grandparents. I'd ask your grandfather to have another driveway put in before he moves. He'll probably have to do that anyway if this causes the deal to fall-through.
have a surveyer come and give them an easement through your property if it is ok with all partys involved
That is a difficult question. Check with your attorney, or realestate agent. It may be possible to deed the common property to all those who share the driveway. In the meantime put up a sign saying, Private Drive Not Responsible For Accidents. Although this might not protect you from all claims their homeowners policy should cover them in any event.
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