Easements are one of the most common items to see on a title report. Utility easements are, as you may have guessed, for a property to connect to utility services OR they may also benefit a neighboring property's connection where the utilities are running across the subject property to benefit another.
You will typically see utility easements for items such as power, water, cable, sewer, gas, and septic.
In the case of power, these can be overhead or underground lines.
By reading the actual easement document recorded in the county's public records, you can determine exactly what the easement is for, approximately where it is located, and what (if any) restrictions that it places on the property.
The picture herein is a utility trench for running primary power underground and across a property. In this case the main power pole is at the street. The power company will drop power down from the pole, go underground, and then the property owner dug a trench from the street up to their residence to avoid having overhead power lines on the property.
Running power lines underground can be for aesthetic purposes as well as efficiency for going long distances.
This trench happens to be for primary power, so in connection with running the trench for the power lines, there will be an easement in favor of the power company to allow them to run primary power across the property from the street. The utility company will prepare the easement document, have the property owner or owners sign, and then record the easement on the property(its) affected. When a title report is ordered din the future, the easement will be reflected.
A utility easement paragraph on title might look something like this:
1.) Easement and the terms and conditions thereof affecting a portion of said premises, as recorded under 12345678 of Official Records.
In Favor of: Public Utility District
For: Electric Transmission Lines
We hope to be a valuable resource to your real estate business.
Please reach out to us with any questions you may have about easements or anything escrow!