Still Interested?

If your land trust operates in a state with a marketable title act, you may have to record your easement again periodically to confirm your interest in the property. Otherwise, the marketable title act could extinguish your easements.

The marketable title act is an effort to make title searches for prospective buyers of land easier and more efficient. By limiting the duration of interests other than complete ownership, the act limits how far back title reviewers need to search to be thorough. Then the new owner can rest assured that there are no hidden interests. Think of it like spring cleaning for land records.

The act keeps property clear of older interests that fall short of complete ownership — such as leases, mortgages, covenants, restrictions or easements. Almost half of the 50 states have marketable title acts. Some states make exceptions for conservation easements, but others do not. For more information on how marketable title acts interact with conservation easements, take a look at a Guided Tour of the Conservation Easement Enabling Statutes, available on *The Learning Center, and call your local attorney.

*The Learning Center is a service offered to Alliance member land trusts and partners, and to individual members at the $250 level and above.