Landlocked Property and Easements in Missouri: What You Need to Know

Every so often a beautiful, cheap tract comes on the market — and the reason it’s cheap is that you can’t legally get to it. Here’s what you need to know about landlocked land and easements.

What “landlocked” means

A parcel with no legal access to a public road. “We’ve always driven through there” is not a legal right.

Easements: the key to access

An easement is a recorded legal right to use someone else’s land. The critical word is recorded — filed with the county and running with the land.

• Access easement — your right to cross another parcel.
• Utility easement — a utility’s right to run lines.
• Easement by necessity — possible via the courts, but don’t buy counting on it.

If you’re buying

Insist on recorded, deeded access; read the terms; verify it in county records; treat an unexplained discount as a warning.

If you’re selling landlocked ground

Solve access before listing — it turns a hard-to-sell parcel into a clean deal and a better price.

Get in touch and I’ll help you sort out access. Selling? Start here.