A landlocked parcel has no direct legal access to a public road — it's surrounded by other privately owned land. This is a bigger problem than it sounds: without legal access, you can often struggle to get a building permit, get utilities run, get a mortgage, or even legally reach the property without technically trespassing.

Physical access vs. legal access

These are not the same thing. A dirt trail might physically connect a lot to the road — maybe the current owner, or the neighbor before them, has been driving over a corner of a neighboring property for years. That doesn't mean there's a legal right to keep doing it. If that access was never formally recorded, a future owner of the neighboring land can legally block it — fence it off, gate it, or sue for trespass.

What a recorded easement is

An easement is a legal right, recorded in the county land records, that lets a parcel's owner (and their successors) use a defined strip of a neighboring property for access ("ingress and egress"). A recorded easement runs with the land — it survives a change of ownership on either side. A handshake agreement or an unrecorded verbal understanding does not.

How to check before you buy

• Look at the recorded plat or survey for the parcel — does it show frontage on a public road?
• Check the county GIS/property appraiser map for the parcel's boundaries relative to mapped roads
• Ask a title company to search for any recorded ingress/egress easement benefiting the parcel
• Ask the seller directly, in writing, how they currently access the property — and get it confirmed by title, not just their word

If a lot is landlocked, it's not automatically dead

It's sometimes possible to purchase or negotiate an easement from the neighboring landowner, or in some states, pursue a legal "easement by necessity." Both can be slow, uncertain, and expensive — and there's no guarantee a neighbor agrees. Treat a landlocked lot as a real risk to price in, not a minor paperwork issue to sort out after closing.