For an easement appurtenant benefiting one parcel across another, which parcel bears the burden of the easement?
Correct Answer
D) The servient tenement bears the burden
For an easement appurtenant, the servient estate is the parcel burdened by the right, while the dominant estate benefits. An easement in gross need not benefit a dominant parcel. These labels do not by themselves quantify either parcel’s market value change.
Why This Is the Correct Answer
Option D is correct because the servient tenement is the parcel burdened by the easement, while the dominant tenement receives the benefit. In an easement appurtenant, the right runs across the servient land for the benefit of the dominant land. The labels identify roles but do not by themselves measure either parcel's change in value.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Option A: The dominant tenement bears the burden
Option A, that the dominant tenement bears the burden, is wrong because the dominant tenement is the parcel that benefits from the easement. The burden falls on the servient tenement.
Option B: Both parcels share the burden equally
Option B, that both parcels share the burden equally, is wrong because in an easement appurtenant one parcel benefits and the other is burdened. The roles are not shared equally.
Option C: Neither, since easements burden no land
Option C, that easements burden no land, is wrong because an easement is a right to use another's land, which by nature burdens that land. The servient tenement carries that burden.
Servient serves, dominant benefits
The servient parcel serves, carrying the burden, while the dominant parcel benefits from the right.
How to use: Use this wordplay to recall which tenement is burdened in an easement question.
Exam Tip
Link servient with serving or burden and dominant with benefit; questions often swap the two labels as a distractor.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- -Reversing the dominant and servient roles
- -Assuming all easements have a dominant parcel, overlooking easements in gross
Concept Deep Dive
Analysis
This question tests the terminology of easements appurtenant. In this type of easement, one parcel (the dominant tenement) benefits and the other (the servient tenement) is burdened. Knowing which label goes with benefit and which with burden is the key.
Background Knowledge
An easement is a nonpossessory right to use another's land for a specific purpose. An easement appurtenant involves a dominant estate that benefits and a servient estate that is burdened, while an easement in gross has a servient estate but no dominant estate. Appraisers must understand the easement's specific terms to analyze its effect on value.
Real-World Application
A landlocked rear lot has a recorded driveway easement across the front lot to reach the street. The appraiser identifies the front lot as the servient tenement and reviews the easement terms to analyze how the driveway affects its use and value.
More Land/Site Questions
How should an appraiser account for a site's access to public sewer compared with competing sites that require septic systems?
Which fact, if supported by competitive-market evidence, most directly supports a unit-price premium for an otherwise comparable site?
A rectangular site's frontage is doubled while its depth is halved, keeping area constant. What is the likely value effect in a retail district?
A downtown site's zoning height limit is reduced from six stories to three. Buyers in this market had been paying for six-story development potential. What effect on land value is most supportable?
A zoning change increases permitted density from four to eight units per acre. What is the likely effect on site value?
Using the allocation method, market evidence supports a typical land-to-total-property-value ratio of 28% for similar improved properties in the subject’s location. An improved comparable sold for $825,000. What land (site) contribution is indicated by applying that ratio?
An appraiser is valuing a vacant site near a landfill. A similar vacant site that is not affected by the landfill sold for $480,000. Paired land sales indicate that proximity to the landfill lowers site prices by $70,000. No other adjustments apply. What is the indicated value of the subject site?
An appraiser is extracting site value from a $600,000 cash sale. The seller's records show an original construction cost of $250,000 and a depreciated book value of $110,000. The appraiser estimates current replacement cost new at $400,000 and accrued depreciation from all causes at $100,000. What is the indicated site value?
Three parcels assembled under single ownership (standard appraisal guidance assemblage) support separate as-is values of $290,000, $340,000, and $250,000. After assemblage for a higher-utility use, the combined site is valued at $1,050,000. Assemblage costs (demolition, legal, holding, and related) total $55,000. What is the indicated net plottage (plottage increment after assemblage costs)?
A comparable commercial site with 65 front feet sold for a cash-equivalent price of $585,000. Per standard appraisal guidance, sale price per front foot is a vacant-land unit of comparison when frontage is a primary value determinant. The subject site has 72 front feet and is otherwise similar. What indicated land value does the front-foot unit support before other adjustments?
People Also Study
Real Estate Market
13.6% of exam
Property Description
11.8% of exam
Sales Comparison Approach
16.4% of exam
Cost Approach
13.6% of exam
Income Approach
8.2% of exam
Previous Question
A competitive improved property sold for $500,000. Market data indicate a land-to-value ratio of 0.30 for similar properties. What is the indicated land value by the allocation method?
Next Question
A comparable land sale was purchased by an adjoining owner completing an assemblage. How should the appraiser treat it?