Easements, Setbacks, and Impervious Surface When Buying Property
When buying property, check easements, setbacks, and impervious surface to understand how they may affect fencing and future additions such as a porch. HOA requirements should also be reviewed because a fence removed for work may not be rebuilt.
Key takeaways
- Ask about easements when buying a property.
- A 16-foot easement in the example allows someone to access a water line.
- A fence can normally be built over an easement, but HOA requirements should be checked because a removed fence may not be rebuilt.
- Setbacks and impervious surface help determine how much room may remain for an extension or porch.
Explanation
One property in the Reel has pink corner markers and a 16-foot easement. This means someone has permission to access a water line that comes from above the property. A fence can normally be built over an easement, but the HOA should always be checked. If work requires the fence to be demolished, it may be demolished without being rebuilt. Setbacks show how much space there is from the property boundary inward, while impervious surface describes the part of the lot covered with concrete that is not permeable to water. These details help show how far an extension or porch may go and whether the property is already at its limit.
Reel transcript
English version
Some questions you should ask yourself when you are buying a property include, for example, setbacks. This particular house here has the corner markers that are normally pink, but it turns out it has a 16-foot easement. That means it has permission for someone to access a water line that comes from up there. You can normally build the fence or fence over the easements. You always have to check with the HOA, but if they have to do some work and they have to demolish the fence, they will demolish it and they will not rebuild it for you. It is important to know the setbacks. It is also important to know the setbacks, how much space you have from the property boundary inward so you know, in case you want to build an extension to the house, a porch, how far you can go. It is important to know the impervious surface, the amount of space that is built on the lot with concrete that is not permeable to water, to know how much farther you can extend beyond that or whether you are already at the limit.
Related resources
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