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There was an informational meeting held on Saturday March 9, 2013 from 1-4PM at Westchester Congregational Church. The topic of the meeting was future maintenance of the road and its impact on obtaining financing for lake properties. There was an attorney and mortgage officer available to answer questions. About a dozen lake owners were present. The attorney drafted an agreement for lake owners to review regarding future maintenance of the private road. It was discussed that obtaining financing for most of the homes on the private road was becoming difficult because of new banking requirements. The banking institutions need re-assurance that the road will be continued to be maintained to allow access. A question and answer session commenced between homeowners and the attorney in attendance. Some of the questions are outlined below. 1) If some owners do not sign the agreement, can they still be liable for road maintenance costs? It was the Attorneys opinion that they could still be liable for their share because they would benefit from the other owners contributions. 2) Who is liable for activities on the road? It was the attorney's opinion that each owner on the road has an easement to use the road. Therefore the persons who benefit from the easement (lake owners) would normally be the responsible. Even without the maintenance agreement being executed, responsibility for the road would be that of the homeowners benefiting from it. 3) Why is it difficult to obtain financing due to the road? Most mortgage lenders use government FHA guidelines for their underwriting criteria. FHA requires proof that a private road will be maintained in the future. The recent mortgage crisis has created more stringent qualification for borrowers and the properties they purchase. 4) How does the agreement help obtain financing? The executed document can be provided to a lender to satisfy the requirement of future road maintenance. All of the homeowner's present signed the road maintenance document. The documents were notorized by the Attorney. A collection was provided to pay for recording costs. The documents will be recorded in Town Records. If you were not present at the meeting, you can still obtain further information and join in with the common cause towards property financing. If you have questions, contact the persons as listed below. Attorney Loan Officer Real Estate Agent/Lake Owner
Road Maintenance Document (.pdf)
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