Re: Is my tax sale property landlocked?

On Tue, 2 Dec 2003 22:35:55 -0500, "Steve Smith"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> Brent Geery <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
> news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > I purchased a parcel at a recent San Bernardino County, CA tax sale.
> > It was a great price (about 1/5 assessed value) so I took a chance.
> > Now, I need to find out if the parcel is land-locked or not.  How do I
> > go about discovering if I have some sort of easement (public perhaps?)
> > to surrounding property that grants me access.  Currently, there are
> > no roads that run to the property, but both the north and south
> > property lines would be where street run in surrounding sections of
> > land.  I just looks like they have not yet plowed a dirt road through
> > the particular set or parcels (it all dirt roads around here.  I'm one
> > or two parcels away from the west road, and three parcels from the
> > east road.  How do I find out if I have legal access?!  Thanks.
> 
>     Around here road allowances run the length of the township, even if the
> road is not constructed.  There are sometimes minor alignment corrections
> here and there and special allowances where natural features such as
> waterways interfere.  Yours might be the same.  The county and/or township
> should have a land/zoning/planning office that will have an official map of
> all the road allowances in your jurisdiction.

Thank you!  That at least gets me looking in the right direction.
This is the first real property I've purchased, so this stuff is all
new to me.  It's amazing how scattered the whole system is.
Government at it's best, I suppose.  :)

> There may be rules about
> whether or not you personally may be able to open it up and build a road on
> an allowance though.  Around here they range from "Sure, but you're going to
> plow and maintain it" to "No, unless you pay us to do it".  Completing a
> road will change your assessment and taxes on the properties.  Around here
> you can drive whatever you like on an un-opened road allowance--provided you
> can get through it. :)

90%+ of the roads around here are all unmaintained dirt roads (high
desert.)  They even have signs posted at (seemingly) random
intersections disclaiming all liability for their use.  They are in OK
shape, as long as you stick to a truck.

-- 
BRENT - The Usenet typo king. :)

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