Essential Guide: Shared Driveway and Easement Rights
The listing photos show a clean gravel drive running up to the house. You walk it during the showing, the seller mentions the neighbor shares it, and it all looks settled. From out of state, it is easy to assume access is just part of the property. It may not be. In Texas, the driveway you can see and the legal right to use it are two different things. One is dirt and gravel. The other is a question buried in records you have not read. Buyers from out of state lose the most here, because they judge access by what is in front of them. What protects you is what the documents say. On rural and shared-access property, that gap can be wide. This is exactly the kind of question a Texas real estate attorney looks at before you commit. In This Article: Why a Driveway Is a Legal