Sewer easement with family

[Michael Fucillo]

I want to start by saying that I don’t know much at all about what I’m asking, so if the answer is simple I apologize in advance. Unfortunately, I will have to make a decision within a week so I was hoping someone with some experience could offer some insight.

My father-in-law lives on a separate lot of land positioned behind our (my wife and I) house, in respect to the road. We are also the last two houses on a dead end street. Currently both have septic.

The town is going to be installing sewer lines down our street that we will both be connecting to. Due to the positioning of our houses, my father-in-law’s only two options are

1. Rip up his drive way (which has access to the street) and place an an extremely long run of sewer line (approx 100 ft). I imagine the cost would be unaffordable.

2. File for an easement to run the sewer line through our yard.

Other important facts:

We plan to sell the home in a year or so

I have a great relationship with my father-in-law

Currently his water and gas lines already run through our property.

My questions are:

Do I have any say in the matter?

Will this negatively impact the sale of our house?

Are there any other considerations that I have not addressed?

Thank you in advance for the help!

[Aaron H.]

Getting the easement shouldn't be difficult if you have the cooperation of your father in law - talk to the local planning/building department and figure out the steps for your city/county. The important thing is to make sure that both houses are on their own sewer lines, and both have paid a separate sewer tap fee. You don't want to deal down the line with the problems caused by both lots sharing a tap/line.