Spring 2005

DO YOU SHARE A PRIVATE ROAD?

Shared private roads are maintained by the users and not by the public. If you own land accessed by a shared private road, but have no written/recorded road maintenance agreement you need to read on.

In many areas, lenders will not make loans on properties located on shared private roads if there is no recorded road maintenance agreement. And there are good reasons.

If there is no enforceable agreement to maintain the shared private road, then the road could deteriorate and become unusable. Poor or no access to the property reduces the value of the lender's collateral.

Also, even if one of the users decides to pay for all the maintenance, a problem could still arise. We know of an owner who decided to rock his shared private road after other users refused to contribute. When the rock truck and grader arrived, one of the neighbors stopped the truck from unloading. The neighbor proclaimed that he wanted the road to remain in poor condition so that "only 4 wheel drive vehicles" would have access.

Not only was there no maintenance agreement, but, in this situation, there was no agreement on how the road was to be used. The matter is now in the hands of the attorneys.

Perhaps you presently share a private road without an agreement but have had no problems. Then now is an ideal time to get the agreement. The next owners may not be as agreeable. Your attorney can assist you.

Each signature to the agreement needs to be notarized and the document should be recorded with the county recorder of deeds.

Before you purchase a property located on a shared private road, obtain a current maintenance agreement from the recorder's office. Then have your attorney review and give an opinion.

On a personal level, I have shared a private road for 28 years, with 24 good neighbors. Perhaps the good neighbors are the result of a good road maintenance agreement.