Selling landlocked land in Arizona

"Landlocked" gets used loosely. Sometimes it means there is no road at all. Sometimes there is a perfectly good dirt road everyone has used for thirty years, but nothing on paper says you have a right to use it. Those are very different problems, with different fixes and different effects on price. This page explains how to tell which one you have, what Arizona law offers, and what your realistic options are.

Legal access vs. physical access

Legal access means a recorded right to get from a public road to your parcel: the parcel fronts a public road, or a recorded easement or dedicated road crosses the land in between. Physical access means you can actually get there, on a road or track that exists on the ground.

You can have one without the other:

• Legal but not physical. A platted road or recorded easement exists on paper, but it was never built. The fix is construction, which costs money but needs nobody's permission.
• Physical but not legal. You drive in on a neighbor's track by habit or a handshake. That use can stop when the neighbor sells or changes their mind. This is the case buyers worry about most.
• Neither. Truly landlocked.

Arizona's disclosure rules care about both. Under A.R.S. 33-422, a seller of five or fewer unsubdivided parcels in an unincorporated area must give the buyer an affidavit of disclosure that covers legal and physical access, among other items. When the county reviews a minor land division under A.R.S. 11-831, a surveyor must state that each new lot has physical access traversable by a two-wheel-drive passenger vehicle. Access is not a side issue in Arizona land; it is on the forms.

How to research your access

1. Pull the parcel on the county GIS map. See whether it touches a road, and what lies between it and the nearest one. Our county GIS map links cover all fifteen counties.
2. Find the plat, if there is one. Subdivided lots usually have a recorded plat showing dedicated roads. A road on a plat may give legal access even if no one ever graded it.
3. Search the recorder for easements. Look at your deed and your neighbors' deeds for recorded easements across their land. Our guide to how easements work in Arizona explains what to look for.
4. Order a title report. A title company's preliminary report lists recorded easements and other matters affecting the parcel. It is the most reliable way to confirm what is actually on record.

We go through this step by step in our legal access guide.

Ways to fix it

Ask the neighbor for a recorded easement

This is the cheapest and fastest fix when it works. If you already use a neighbor's track, ask them to sign an access easement and record it with the county. Many neighbors will, sometimes for a payment. Have an Arizona attorney or title company draft it so it actually does what you need: who can use it, for what, and whether it includes utilities.

Buy a strip

Sometimes a neighbor would rather sell a narrow strip of land than grant an easement. That gives you frontage you own outright. It may involve a survey and county review, so ask the planning department before you agree on terms.

Private way of necessity

Arizona law gives landlocked owners a court route. Under A.R.S. 12-1201, a private way of necessity includes a right of way for ingress and egress, roads, power lines and pipelines. A.R.S. 12-1202 lets an owner whose land is situated so that a private way is necessary for its proper use and enjoyment condemn a way across another's land. It is a lawsuit, not a form: you go to court, and the neighbor is compensated for what is taken. It costs time and legal fees and can sour relations with the people next door. It's a real option, but usually the last one. If you're considering it, talk to an Arizona real estate attorney first.

Sell it to the neighbor

The adjoining owner is often the one buyer for whom your parcel has no access problem at all, because they can reach it across their own land. Offering it to them first is worth a letter.

Why landlocked land sells at a discount

A buyer of landlocked land is buying the land plus the job of fixing access, and the uncertainty of whether they can. They often can't finance it, may not be able to build on it until access is resolved, and can't easily resell it. All of that shows up in the price. How much depends on how fixable the problem is, which is why the research above matters before you set a number. For the wider question of whether the land can be used at all, see whether your land is buildable.

Your options, honestly

• Fix the access, then list it. If a neighbor will grant an easement, a recorded easement can turn a hard sale into an ordinary one. This usually produces the best price.
• Sell to an adjoining owner. Often the best match for a parcel that is landlocked to everyone else.
• Keep it. Landlocked land with low taxes costs little to hold. Just keep paying them.
• Sell as-is for cash. A buyer like us takes on the access research and the risk, and prices that in. It makes sense when you don't want to negotiate with neighbors or go to court.

If access is one of several problems with the parcel, our page on land that won't sell goes through the others.

How we handle landlocked land

First 48 Offers is an Arizona company that buys land directly with cash. We buy landlocked parcels as-is, charge no commissions, cover normal closing costs and close through an Arizona title and escrow company. Access problems take more research, so while we aim to give you a written offer quickly, a landlocked parcel may take longer. The offer is in writing with no obligation. Call (480) 818-4105 or see how we buy land.

Questions sellers ask

We've used the same dirt road for years. Doesn't that give us access?

It might give you some claim, but "might" is not what a buyer or title company wants. A recorded easement is far stronger than years of informal use. An Arizona attorney can tell you whether your history of use gives you any rights.

Does a way of necessity cost money?

Yes. It is a court action, and the statute requires compensating the owner whose land the way crosses, on top of legal fees.

Do I have to tell a buyer the land is landlocked?

If A.R.S. 33-422 applies to your sale, the affidavit of disclosure specifically covers legal and physical access. Be accurate; it protects you as much as the buyer.

General information, not legal, tax or survey advice. First 48 Offers LLC is a real estate investment company that buys land. It is not a law firm, brokerage, surveyor or title company. Arizona statutes, county procedures and agency boundaries change, and every parcel turns on its own facts. Verify anything important with the county, the agency named, or an Arizona attorney before relying on it.