Is a Locust Grove home you are considering on a private road?
If you have ever searched for a home in a rural area, then chances are that you have toured a home on a private road. My key sign for if a long gravel road is private or not, is where the mailboxes are located. If there is a large group of mailboxes where the main road and road to a home intersect, then chances are the road is private. When you are considering purchasing a home on a private road, there are a few important things to know ahead of time.
What is a private road?
Private roads can be found anywhere. There are many homes in Locust Grove, Culpeper, or even Spotsylvania that are private. Even roads that go through a housing development like Wilderness Shores can be private. A private road is a road that is owned and maintained by an individual or group of individuals and not a local government.
Who can access the road?
Only the homeowners and their guests have regular access to the road. An easement in place in a home’s closing documents, will share how the road runs through your property. Easements are legal agreements that allow people other than the owner of a property access to a specific part of the property. For example, if your Locust Grove home is on a private road and you have neighbors behind you, then an easement would grant the neighbors the right to drive on the road through your property so they can access the main road.
Who is responsible for the maintenance of the private road?
The home owners are responsible for maintaining the road. This can include items like filling in potholes, adding additional stone to a gravel road, or winter snow removal. In Virginia, when you purchase a home on a private road, you may need to sign a road maintenance agreement. Many mortgage companies will require this document in order for you to purchase the home. Until recently, VA loans used to require a copy of the road maintenance agreement. Now they require a copy of the easements. This agreement will outline how money is collected for road maintenance, if there is a reserve fund for emergencies (like a tree falls across the road during a snowstorm), and who will make decisions regarding road repair. All the homeowners on the private road need to sign the agreement.
Getting answers to these questions before you make an offer on a Locust Grove home can help you better understand your portion of cost in maintaining the road.
