6 min read · 2026-09-01
Red flags that hide in pretty listings
Landlocked lanes, verbal water, leftover mobile homes, and the covenant that outlives the seller's smile.
Access theater
If the only way in is 'we have always used the neighbor's lane,' you do not have access. You have a future lawsuit. Recorded easements name a width, a purpose, and often a maintenance split. Unrecorded kindness disappears when the neighbor dies or sells.
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Water stories
A spring box is not a well log. A shared well without a recorded agreement is a hostage situation. In the West, a ditch share that 'has always run to this forty' may not transfer. In the East, a creek can still sit in a floodway that kills your septic field.
Paper that outlives the picnic
Read mineral reservations, timber deeds, HOA or land-grant covenants, and any residual cannabis or commercial-use enforcement. Costilla-style historic subdivisions and California TPZ timberland are famous for this — but every state has a version.
If a seller rushes you to waive inspection because 'another buyer is circling,' assume the circle is imaginary and keep your checklist.