Taos Real Estate

Many a buyer and seller in the Taos real estate market have been frustrated or even damaged by easement issues. As with most real estate and investment decisions, the purchase or sale of Taos real estate should involve careful research and verification of legal access to the property. It's the small things that turn into big problems.

Easements you may NOT want: When you execute a purchase agreement in New Mexico, one of the very first things done is to order a title insurance binder from a title company. The buyer or the seller can do this, and it's spelled out in the purchase agreement. When, as a buyer, you receive this document, it is spelling out the terms of a title insurance policy as they will be issuing it. Here's the first place where you might see an easement of a type that you may not want on your property. It could be utility easement allowing high voltage overhead wires, or it can be an easement recorded many years before for the use of your property by an adjoining landowner for access to theirs. It's important to go over your title insurance binder carefully with your real estate broker. Don't hesitate to ask for more information or verifications if you feel you need them.

Easements you may not see in documents: Water rights in New Mexico can be quite confusing to new landowners, especially when it comes to irrigation ditches that cross their property. Whether you see it in your ownership documents or not, it's highly likely that the acequia association will have the right to access their ditch for maintenance, even if it means crossing your property, working on it or taking out vegetation. It's a great value to have an irrigation ditch on or adjoining your property, even if you don't have rights to the water. Just understand the rights of the local major domo to access it.

Crossing government land to get to yours: More than 60% of the land in Taos County is owned by various US government entities or the Pueblos. Assuming that you have the right to use a BLM (Bureau of Land Management) road to get to your property is a mistake. That's true no matter how long the road has been there or others that might use it. There is a permit process to gain legal access, but it can take months and may not result in approval. It also doesn't guarantee that the government won't take away your access later either. An actual failed deal in which I was involved caused the loss of a willing buyer and the failure to sell a property that had been listed for more than a year. Because the listing broker failed to advise the seller to get a permit from the BLM at listing time, when the buyer came along over a year later, they found that it would take another eight or more months to get one approved.....or not approved. Of course the buyer disappeared and the seller still holds the property at a year and a half after listing at the time this was written.

Look for "Insured Specific Access": It's really quite common in New Mexico to have roads with houses all along them with none of the owners holding written guarantee of access. How does this happen? Over the years in older towns like Santa Fe and Taos, roads were built, land was sold and homes were built. The road might pass through several other parcels before it gets to some of these homes. Custom has been to use the road, and everybody's fine with it. However, there is not a document guaranteeing, nor is there title insurance for, legal access to most of the homes. Usually, you'll see no mention of the access or road issues specifically in the title insurance binder or survey. The situation perpetuates itself when real estate brokers and buyers don't try to resolve it before purchase. If your Taos real estate broker requires "insured specific access" in the purchase agreement, the title company will have to insure your access or tell you that they cannot. You may still purchase, but at least you'll know your rights and limitations.

As you can see, easements in the Taos real estate market can be quite interesting and a real problem at times. The trick for the buyer and seller is to hold your real estate broker's feet to the fire to get you the information you need in order to make an informed decision.

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