Real Estate Agent · Royal Oak, MI · Member since 2016 · 2 posts · 0 votes
Hi everyone! We are looking at buying a primary residence. The 2 acre property, while in more urban setting, has a very long private road leading up to the property. There are probably 7 or 8 houses on the road - all about 1-2 acre lots. The home owner is the original owner. How should I proceed with investigating more about private road maintenance ? I did get some initial feedback from the LA but not a ton. Is this something I need to include in my PA or can we address during inspection period? Call the city to confirm? I am the agent/buyer (a newer RE agent and new to private road situations)... Thanks in advance for your input! Any help is appreciated.
Investor · Grosse Pointe Shores, MI · Member since 2017 · 160 posts · 74 votes
9y
We were under contract last year for a parcel on a private road. Our lender required that the property owners have a private road maintenance agreement on file with the county, which it did not have. Our deal fell through for other reasons, but I was concerned about this requirement, as I think it would have been difficult to get the residents to agree to it for a stranger.
It seems to me that it would be a sensible thing to include in your PA (we found out about this requirement after signing), in case you need an exit strategy. If the seller won't go for it, you know you may already have a problem.
I work in an area with many private roads they are regulated either through a Homeowners Association to cover the cost of maintaining the road, drainage and other grading and culvert issues. In other situations, there is an easement that is recorded on each deed to cover the maintenance items. More likely a HA. If you can't get a straight answer I would make the road situation one of the contingencies in my offer. Checking with city, township, county, etc is a good idea as well.
Thanks so much for your input, was very helpful - wrote a contingency into our PA.... we will hear back Monday. I imagine it will be more completed than that but at least we've got it included to get started.