Is a verbal easement legal and binding?

[bigreduchess]

We are planning on building a home with our frontage being on a private road that has five homes on it. We have a written easement with our neighbor right across from us. But we have had a verbal easement with our neighbor that sits at the start of the private road for about three years now. After developing the property we are now ready to build our dream home. The neighbor at the beginning of the road tells us that he will not give us a written easement that a verbal easement should be good enough. My husband and I are now afraid to build for fear of the neighbor deciding at any time ( 1yr or 20yr) after we build that we can no longer access our home. Dose a verbal easement eventually become legal or our we going to be having problems? Do we even need a written easement from him with us all ready having a easement to our frontage?

 

[seniorjudge]

The neighbor at the beginning of the road tells us that he will not give us a written easement that a verbal easement should be good enough.

The neighbor is wrong.



My husband and I are now afraid to build for fear of the neighbor deciding at any time ( 1yr or 20yr) after we build that we can no longer access our home.

The husband and you are right.

 

[bigreduchess]

So what do we do not build? Can we force the issue? if so how? We have all the landscaping, drive way, septic, well and garage done!!!

 

[bigreduchess]

So what do we do not build? Can we force the issue? if so how? We have all the landscaping, drive way, septic, well and garage done!!!

 

[seniorjudge]

I don't know of any way of forcing somebody to give you an easement.