Small business owners often get caught up in day-to-day operations while missing important property issues that lurk beneath the surface. Easements rank among the most overlooked legal matters that can drastically affect your commercial property rights.

These arrangements give others specific usage rights to portions of your property while you maintain ownership. Getting smart about easements now can prevent expensive legal battles and business interruptions down the road.

Types of easements that can affect your property

You need to recognize the various easements that might impact your commercial property before problems emerge. Each type creates different obligations and restrictions you should understand:

  • Access easements: These permit specific people or the public to cross your property to reach another location – think of a neighboring shop whose customers must drive through your lot to reach their store.
  • Utility easements: Power companies, water departments and cable providers rely on these to place and service equipment on your land, potentially limiting where you can build or expand.
  • Prescriptive easements: When someone uses part of your property openly for roughly 20 years in Georgia without your permission, they might gain legal rights to continue that use indefinitely.
  • Conservation easements: These restrict development on portions of land to protect natural features and sometimes offer tax advantages to property owners.

Identifying existing easements helps you make wiser decisions about property improvements and business growth.

Protecting your business from easement surprises

Smart research before buying commercial property can stop unwanted easements from catching you by surprise after you’ve already signed the papers. Take these steps to protect your investment:

  • Examine property surveys and title documents with extra attention to detail
  • Work with a real estate attorney who specializes in commercial properties
  • Walk the entire property looking for signs of existing easements
  • Speak directly with neighboring owners about any shared access points
  • Search county land records for officially documented easements

Tackling easement issues early gives you room to seek better terms or adjust your business plans as needed.

Easements work both ways – sometimes protecting your interests and other times limiting what you can do with your property. Working with a skilled attorney helps ensure the fulfillment of your business needs while respecting valid easement claims.