After more than twenty-five years as a professional in a Fortune 100 Company, B. Smith Hearn, a real estate developer, found inspired purpose in returning to her hometown to renovate a historically significant apartment property. She was shocked to discover that her property rights were threatened by unsubstantiated easement claims. She researched U.S. laws and easement practices that jeopardize the rights of property owners everywhere in the U.S. Using straight talk, Easements demystifies complex concepts for a broad range of reader ages and experiences, and its conversational approach interjects the importance of emotional intelligence into how to think about and manage easement risks. Discover how all easements can automatically reduce property value and negatively affect every generation of your heirs. Find out what you can do about it. Learn how easements are acquired peacefully. Gain insight into how any trespasser can employ continuous, open, notorious, and adverse acts of hostility to take easements and other interests in your private property, against your will, and without paying you for it. Find the laws for each state that facilitate such takings. Review the top ten risks and benefits inherently characteristic of all easements. A Pre-Acquisition Easement Checklist shows you what to look for before buying property. A List of Warning Signs and a Quick Reference Guide include tips that you can use to protect your property and heirs from the dangers of easements. Betty lives in Florida with her husband. They have two sons. She is founding CEO of the National Organization for Easement Awareness, and preservationist, curator, and CEO of Smith Apartments. She is a member of the Greater Tampa Area Realtor's Association, Associates of the National Speaker's Association of Central Florida, National Association of Women in Construction, Tampa Preservation, Inc., and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
