Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Maryland
We purchased our single family home in 2009 in Maryland. There is a parking pad in the front and the house sits on a steep hill with about 3 flights of stairs from the parking pad up to the front porch. The home was listed with a rear-access drive-in gate that provided us vehicle access to the backyard. To access this gate, we have to drive a block over and enter the back gate through a church parking lot. This is the only way we can have a lawn service access our yard, tree trimmers, etc because of the steep incline. My husband also has his motorcycle stored in the shed in the backyard. We bought this house because it had this rear access gate (otherwise, moving furniture, etc would be nearly impossible and we would not have considered it). While we were out of town last week, the church planted 4 trees against our rear access gate so it is no longer accessible. There was never an issue before and when we contacted them about it, they said it was for "security purposes". Our access gate does not block any of their parking nor have we ever parked there and the motorcycle is now trapped. Do we have grounds for an easement, etc? What should we do?
1 Answer from Attorneys
We see many claims like this in our title insurance work. You must gather your owner's policy, your deed and your settlement file. Bring them to a local lawyer with some real estate or title insurance experience. They can advise if you have an easement. And more importantly, they can advise you whether a claim on your policy must be made. If your insurer picks up the claim, it will hire a lawyer to represent you.
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