Having the right to use a road and having someone maintain it are 2 different things.

You checked the title work and you checked the seasons. The third question is who maintains it — because a recorded right to use a road doesn't obligate anyone to plow it, grade it or fix it after a washout. Ask for the maintenance agreement in writing before your due diligence window closes: who's responsible, how the costs get split, and what happens when somebody doesn't pay their share. This isn't just about your own convenience. Fannie Mae's Selling Guide — the rulebook most lenders follow — says a privately owned street needs "an adequate, legally enforceable agreement or covenant for maintenance" covering each party's share of repair costs, what happens on default, and a term that's "perpetual and binding on any future owners," and that it should be recorded in the land records. (Section B4-1.3-04, published June 4, 2025.) So the road can affect the financing, not just the drive. Two more things worth doing while you still have the right to walk away: ask your title company what's actually recorded for access to the property, and drive both routes in the worst weather you can get. If nobody can show you where the second way out is recorded, treat that as a question, not an answer. What's the worst road you've ever driven to get to a house? #offgrid #ruralproperty #utahrealestate #landbuying #offgridliving Kelsey Earl, journalist turned Realtor, born and raised in Utah, Salt Lake to St. George, 801-419-8917, [email protected], Your lifelong friend in real estate 🌟