An easement is the right of somebody other than the landowner to use a portion of the owner’s land for a specific purpose, such as utilities, or access. Sometimes the easement seems to be for something intangible, such as a view or air rights.
In Gross or Appurtenant Easements
Easements can be in gross, which run in favor of an individual, or appurtenant, which run to the benefit of a particular piece of land.
Because an in gross easement runs in favor of an individual, it will not automatically transfer when real estate is conveyed. This type of easement may be transferable, but in some cases, the easement is so personal courts have decided it is not readily transferable.
Appurtenant easements, on the other hand, will always transfer when the benefitted land is sold. This is important because it means that a conveyance does not need to expressly reference the deed for the easement rights to be utilized by the current owner of the benefitted land.