EDIT: It’s Aroostook County, ME. I haven’t bought the house yet, mainly because of this nonsense.
Knowing your state/municipality would probably help, but as someone whose family member was involved in a similar situation, there’s literally nothing you can do. And for that matter, if you do anything in developing that land that might impact the mining company’s access, you’re going to be paying for those damages, too.
US, Maine, Aroostook County
Don’t buy land with an easement you don’t want on it. You can tell the seller to talk to the company and have them negotiate the removal of the easement as a condition of sale. They might be willing to buy back the mineral rights.
But barring that if this is a non-negotiable for you don’t buy it.
Yeah I reached the same conclusion and rescinded my offer.
The general recommendation is to plant endangered plants on your land or get rare animals to nest there.
That can make it really hard to develop on. Bonus points if you can get it to spread to your neighbors.
Anyone got any endangered plant species native to Maine I can borrow?
Lol I love how you gradually gave up on censoring the company name
Yeah fuck those guys. Feel free to do whatever nefarious things you can come up with.
Where I live they would have the right to buy your land at market rate plus ~25% before they were allowed to mine the area. They could apply for the right to prospect on land you own but have to pay for any significant impact on your ongoing use of the land.
I’d not worry so much about getting a bad deal. Sentimental value in a home on the other hand is something you could not get back.
Consult someone familiar with the law where you live for information that is actually accurate for you.
idk the economic feasibility but could you make an offer to the company?
I don’t have a scrooge mcduck money vault unfortunately
They might have mining rights but do the have access? As in are they legally allowed to access the property?
Yeah, the deed says they can build roads to access
Then you’re in for a hell of a fight to stop them.
Ask a lawyer for an informed opinion. They’ll (hopefully) have the tools to determine what this easement means for you as a potential homeowner on the parcel. The Maine Geological Survey has an item in their FAQ of some relevance.
I don’t know how common these kinds of easements are in Maine, but I would not purchase any real property that could be used and abused at the whim of a corporation with a team of well paid lawyers.
Sell the land and keep the house
