Drainage easement advice

[Lauren Seeley]

Hi all - I was about to close on a single family home on a canal and days before closing I found out from the surveyor that there is a 12’ drainage easement on the land. It runs under the driveway, under the house (starting about 4 Ft from the edge of the house), under the concrete of the pool, the tiki hut and the boat dock. The survey we was able to see two other houses on the block that have similar drainage easements.

I don’t really understand how the house could have been built on top of the easement in the first place. 

Should I continue this deal? Will this impact my long term property value? What are the questions I should ask the city attorney? 

Appreciate all advice!

Lauren

[Lauren Seeley]

Thank you all for the guidance. I spoke to the city attorney and although they agree to maintain the pipes under the house, there is a possibility down the road if something happens and they have to dig up under the house or on the property, all of the costs would be on me. The city engineer also said it would be better to move the drain from under the house as they should have never built the house on top of it. We are leaning away from the house given the risk and also how this de-values the house if we wanted to sell in the future.