Dear Mr. Azrael,

Ten years ago, I purchased a waterfront home. At the time of settlement I purchased title insurance and had no trouble settling the property. I did not need to secure a mortgage, so no bank was involved.

Now my next-door neighbor is attempting to sell her home. She tells me that prospective buyers are having difficulty getting a bank to approve a mortgage because of what she calls a "paper road" that runs between our homes from the main road to the water. It is her understanding that this matter can be settled if we both agree to have Baltimore County close this right of way.

Can you tell me what you know about this kind of problem? I would like to help my neighbor if it does not jeopardize my own property and title. Can this "paper road" affect my title if I choose to put my property on the market?

Frederick J. Hoehn

Parkville

Dear Mr. Hoehn,

Years ago, before the process of subdividing land became governed by comprehensive and complex county regulations, developers would record plats subdividing tracts of land into small building lots. The subdivision plats would show roads in front of the lots. The subdivided lots were sold, but the roads were not necessarily built.

These unbuilt roads, shown on recorded subdivision plats, are called "paper roads." As time passed, paper roads often would be overgrown by trees and brush so they became undistinguishable from the abutting lots. Owners would incorporate the paper roads into their properties by planting grass, trees and shrubs. In some cases, sheds or outbuildings would be constructed within the lines of a paper road.

From a legal point of view, all properties abutting a paper road have a right to use it for access to other streets shown on the subdivision plat. No property owner has a legal right to place sheds or other structures within the boundaries of a paper road.

Perhaps your neighbor has constructed a shed, fence or structure in the paper road. This encroachment has created a title problem for a lender or purchaser of your neighbor's property because another property owner could legally require the encroaching structure to be removed.

One legal method to cure this little problem is to "close" the paper road. The legal requirements for closing a paper road depend on whether or not it has been dedicated to and accepted by the county as a public road. Assuming you and your neighbor are the only owners whose properties abut the paper road, it could be closed through a legal procedure. After the paper road is legally closed, the abutting owners will each own to the center line of the right of way and the rights of anyone else to use the right of way will be legally nullified. For all intents and purposes, the paper road will not exist.

You will need to consult an attorney or title company to figure out whether closing the paper road adversely affects your legal rights. The lawyer will want to review the record plats as well as your deed and title policy. It also may be important to know the location of any improvements you may have constructed within the right of way.