Servient Estate
Definition of "Servient estate"
As the term “servient” comes from the root word “serve” and to serve means to perform a duty or a service for another entity, its meaning is easy to define. The term servient estate refers to an estate or property that is subject to being used for the benefit of another property. These benefits can come in the form of easements, rights of way, or rights of access. These rights are granted by law and are passed through purchasing contracts.
How does a Servient Estate work?
Upon purchasing a property, the contract can specify that there is an easement across the lot. This means that another property owner has the legal right to use part of the property to access their property. In this case, the property that grants access is the servient estate, while the property being granted access is the dominant estate.
When an easement is specified and granted in a contract, it gives the easement owner a nonpossessory interest in another property. The easement owner is the owner of the dominant estate, while the one required to allow the easement is the owner of the servient estate. There are different types of easements, from those that would enable the use of someone else’s land to those that limit the servient estate owners from blocking access to view or sunlight. Important to note that the servient estate owner can use the land or property in any way they want as long as they don’t limit the dominant estate owner’s easement on that land.
When purchasing a property, it is essential to know if it is a servient estate. For this, one should check for easements because if there is a dominant estate with only one access to the beach, which is by the servient house, it can impact the property’s price. Usually, suppose there is an easement on the property that makes it a servient estate. In that case, the price should be lowered because it may limit the owner’s privacy and give the dominant estate owner nonpossessory interest in the servient estate.
Popular Real Estate Terms
Stairs or porch by the front door of the house. ...
initial plaster used on a lathe. ...
The meaning of topography defines the science of mapping a specific region’s physical features. In short, the topography describes an area’s characteristics, such as its ...
“What is Situs?”, you ask.Situs is a word in Latin that basically means the site or location where something exists or originates. Like most words in latin, situs is usually ...
What does Act of God mean? Acts of God or “force majeure” is typically how an insurance policy classifies peril situations that could not be prevented or defended by men. ...
An arm’s-length transaction is a business deal, or transaction where the seller and buyer act independently of each other without influence on the other party. What sets these types ...
Interest rate that exceeds the rate on the old loan but in less than the rate on new loans. It is usually offered by the lender to encourage home buyers to refinance existing, low interest ...
Figure or value which is the starting point in computing gain or loss, depreciation, depletion, and amortization. ...
Cash payment to a lender so as to lower the interest rate on a loan a borrower must incur. The lower rate may apply for all or a part of the loan term. ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.