Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: land easements, legal issues, qualifying for subsidies

[Fred H. Olson (fholson]

greenclips [at] aol.com
is the author of the message below but due to a problem it was posted
by the Fred the list manager: owner-cohousing-L [at] cohousing.org
--------------------  FORWARDED MESSAGE FOLLOWS --------------------

Jessie Handforth Kome: Dahako [at] aol.com wrote:
> We just got the following advice from our developer (who is also a 
member and an attorney)  
> Any use or land interest .. such as easements, must be legally 
obtained. .. easements are legal rights (for 3rd parties to use the 
owners land in a particular way). Like deeds of full title, deeds of 
easements should be duly documented and recorded at the 
Register of Deeds, etc.

.. Do you have anything to add that might help us?  
----------------

The article I posted here, back in July, described how some 
realtors were getting land owners subsidies for land conservation 
easements.  I don't know what other easement types are available 
or the qualifying land type or size limits, but the article is included 
here. 

This article's sources might lead to subsidies for undeveloped 
common land, no matter how small it is, but if Laura Merrill doesn't 
live in your neighborhood when you get to the legal / documentation 
issues, you might want to have the documents reviewed by a local 
attorney who is familiar with the process in your state, which can 
also handle the agency issues between developing / association / 
and other entity transitions. 

Also, the Pre-Paid Legal plans I broker do this kind of thing for 
peanuts,  or 12.95 a month for me.  Document reviews & unlimited 
toll-free attorney consulting are the most basic Titles of Coverage. 
The details are at http://web.oo.net/ppl/ 

------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
From:                   <GreenClips [at] aol.com>
Subject:                GreenClips.100     07.29.98

ECO-REALTOR The environmental Realtor may sound like an 
oxymoron. But not in Hamilton, Montana where Laura Merrill (and 
a) handful of other real estate agents in this state have started 
turning down listings that encourage sprawl or involve damaging 
wildlife habitat. Sprawl has become the main threat to the natural 
world in Montana, many environmental groups say.  

.. A former Forest Service scientist, Merrill is an independent 
broker who won't sell subdivisions and encourages owners to put 
conservation restrictions on their land. .. clients ask Merrill about 
conservation easements, binding legal agreements that limit 
development. In agreeing to place restrictions on their land, owners 
can receive estate and income tax benefits and payment from 
private foundations or Federal, state, or local governments.   
- The New York Times, 9 July 98, p A13, by Timothy Egan.  

------- End of Forwarded -------