I sold my house but the closing did not take place because the buyer claimed that there is an easement over my property that was not disclosed. No one ever told me about this. How can I verify that this easement exists?

Anything that affects the rights to your property must be recorded with the Registry of Deeds( or the Registry District of the Land Court if your property is registered land) in order to be effective. Hopefully, when you bought your property you obtained in owner's title insurance policy. If you do have an owners title insurance policy, take a look at Schedule B of the of the policy and see if there is any reference to the easement there. You may need the help of an attorney in order to determine whether or not the title insurance policy does make an exception for the easement. If it is shown as an exception on the title insurance policy, then there is a strong likelihood that the easement does exist. The policy will reference a document at the Registry of Deeds which will establish the easement and that document can be reviewed by you, again perhaps with the help of an attorney, so that you will fully understand the implications of the easement.  If the policy does not show an easement as an exception on the Schedule B, you can make a claim against the title insurance company with respect to your lost sale. Needless to say you should obtain from the buyer, or the buyers attorney, the information that they have which they claim establishes the easement. You will need to send that information, along with your claim letter, to the title insurance company. After you send the letter the title insurance company it will do its own investigation and they will make their own determination as to whether or not they believe the easement affects your property. If they make a determination that they believe that the easement does not affect your property, they will generally agree to insure your buyer and your buyer's bank and title insurance company against any loss arising out of someone establishing rights to use that easement. It might not come to that, but if it is raised again, you'll be in a position to negotiate with the buyer. If you cannot sell your property without reducing your price because of the easement, then you may have a claim against the title insurance company for the diminution in value from what your house would be worth without the easement and what it is worth subject to the easement.

If you have questions about this or any other real estate matter, please contact Tom Bennett at (617) 531-6574 or tvb@barronstad.com.