What Are Easement Surveys? Easements allow a person or an entity to legally access or use a piece of land even when that person or entity does not legally own it. For instance, a neighbor whose property does not adjoin a road will almost certainly have or need a roadway easement across an adjoining property.

Definitions

An interest in land created by grant or agreement that confers a right on owners (private or public) to some profit, benefit, dominion, or lawful use of the estate of another. 2 A non-possessing interest held by one person in land of another whereby the first person is accorded partial use of such land for a specific purpose. An easement restricts but does not abridge the rights of the fee owner to the use and enjoyment of his land. Easements fall into three broad categories: surface, subsurface and overhead.

What Is Involved With Easement Surveys?

Unlike other types of land surveys which are concerned with boundaries, elevation and similar land features, easement surveys are more concerned with land rights, and with property features associated with those rights. Combining research of land records with a physical property inspection, a licensed surveyor will identify any existing easements associated with the land, along with any structures on the property that are present as a result of easements (for example, mapping out pipelines, roadways, wires and access points on the land).