Land Buying1 min read

Stop Treating a Handshake Easement Like a Real One

Deke Sorrell

2 days, 19 hours ago

👁 35 views💬 2 replies

I used to think a landowner's word was good enough for trail access. Grew up that way, watched my daddy ride the same ridge for thirty years on a gentleman's agreement. Then the property sold to an out-of-state buyer and that was it — gate locked, no recourse, not a thing we could do legally.

I know folks who still operate on handshake deals and genuinely believe they're protected. They're not. In Tennessee and most rural states, verbal easements are almost impossible to enforce once ownership changes hands. Doesn't matter how long you've been crossing that land, how friendly you were with the previous owner, or how obvious the worn trail looks on the ground.

Before I buy or negotiate access to any parcel now, I want a recorded easement — not a letter, not a email, not a text screenshot. Recorded. At the county register's office. Full stop.

I know some folks think getting it in writing poisons the relationship with a landowner. My experience says losing access poisons it worse. Anyone here actually kept handshake access long-term after a sale? I'd genuinely love to hear how that held up.

#easements #trail access #land buying #rural property #off-road access

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2 Replies

Bette Culshaw

2 days, 12 hours ago

I hear you, and legally you're right — but I'd push back on the idea that handshake arrangements have no value. I've maintained informal access to three private hollows for over a decade by building genuine relationships: sharing harvests, helping with brush clearing, teaching the landowners' grandkids what grows there. When one property sold, the new owners honored the arrangement because neighbors vouched for me. Written easements matter, but so does being someone worth trusting with land.

Ramona Tillett

2 days, 9 hours ago

You're right that verbal easements are legally flimsy — I've seen exactly this play out in Missouri when bottomland parcels get absorbed into larger investment portfolios. But I'd push back on 'almost impossible to enforce.' Prescriptive easement claims based on open, continuous, notorious use DO hold up here sometimes, especially with documented evidence. Dated photos, written logs, witness affidavits — these matter. Not a substitute for recorded easements, but 'no recourse' isn't always accurate either.