By Patricia Lee, Owner, www.Destinites.com
This past month, a member of our Destinites Facebook group for locals shared a serious concern about her property. Other people have experienced the same issue, and she would like to raise awareness. Here is what she wrote, along with responses from several members.
A Member’s Post:
Does anyone have information on how to resolve a property dispute involving an unrecorded utility easement in Destin that has been in place for more than 20 years? Are there ways to obtain financial assistance to bring this matter before a judge?
I own a home on Calhoun Avenue. I’m landlocked and involved in a property dispute with a disgruntled neighbor whose property I must cross to reach my driveway.
I have involved law enforcement five times, and my utilities have been blocked twice. I failed to obtain a protective order and spent almost $6,000 on an attorney seven months ago to respond to my neighbor’s demands, explain my rights to use these utilities in their current location and request that he allow the attorney to draft an easement so it could be recorded. There was no response.
Five months later, he contacted the City Building Division to indirectly continue bullying me — and now the city. That matter was resolved with a short phone call. Lastly, my title insurance company denied my request for assistance.
Three properties, including his, use these utilities, but the disgruntled neighbor is demanding that I alone relocate mine. He has no dispute with the adjacent property owner about the utilities on his property — just mine.
He wants mine relocated to the recorded easement of egress and ingress, an agreement dated 2002 that does not state that the current utilities must be relocated. Documentation shows that the utilities were in place by at least 1998, before the single parcel was divided into two.
I’m at my wits’ end over how to regain my property value. I do not have a marketable title now, because of a nearly five-year property dispute that I would have to disclose if and when I sell my home.
Even with a new law signed by our governor to protect property owners when a single parcel under unified ownership is divided into two, there’s been no help. Florida Statute 704.09 was signed into law in June 2024 to protect individuals in my exact situation.
This behavior isn’t fair, especially for a single-income homeowner who is simply trying to live peacefully in our beautiful little city we call home.
Some Member Responses:
- Did you purchase title insurance when you bought the property? Any easements should be listed on existing titles or mortgages. You may have to review records from before your property was divided, since you say you are landlocked. Regardless, your best option is to obtain a title examination and consult a real estate attorney.
Reply from the poster: I did that. The survey exception was not deleted from my policy, so they denied the claim. I had three exceptions deleted, but not that one. I had no idea this was necessary when I purchased the property and never dreamed I needed to purchase a better policy.
- It sounds like you need to request mediation with a seasoned mediator.
- It is sad that some neighbors act this way. I have wondered about these waterfront properties that were divided into two or three parcels back in the day and how it works if the owners don’t get along or someone wants to sell. Scary. I’m sorry you have to go through this!
- It is time for a quiet title suit.
If you live in Destin or the surrounding area, I invite you to join our private, targeted Facebook group for locals and property owners at Facebook.com/groups/Destinites. Established in October 2018, the group currently has more than 12,900 members.
Check out our Local Business Directory at www.Destinites.com, where more than 500 local businesses are listed and receive advertising exposure within our targeted community group.
