Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Oregon

First, whether you are obligated to consummate the transaction depends on the language in the contract you have signed. Read it carefully. Does it say you must complete the transaction, no matter what? Or does it say you can cancel it for various reasons?

Second, did the seller or his agent tell you that there was an actual easement? If so, you can cancel the deal on the basis of fraudulent misrepresentation and get back your $25,000 (which I assume was a down payment).

Third, why not talk with the owner of the land you need for access and see if you can get a written easement from him (for some money)? The deal may still make sense for you.

Fourth, if the seller has been using the other land for access for a period of ten years, he may have acquired what is called a prescriptive easement, which means he can continue to use that land for access. If he sells the land to you, he is also selling the prescriptive easement to you. But there may not be a prescriptive easement; the seller must have been using the other land for access in a way that adversely affected the use of the land by its owner. You should hire a lawyer to figure out whether a prescriptive easement exists.