I know the dollars vary and can be all over the place for land….but on a percentage, how much would you tend to look at landlocked property being worth verses property with legal access.

My first questions would be how good is the timber and who are the neighbors ?

It would have to be a pretty special piece of property, or a tract that bordered something I already owned before I even considered the headache of having to deal with egress issues.

Not worth anything if you can’t get to it.

Bare dirt down here will be 40-50% less if it’s landlocked.
Like you said though, there are a hundred variables that will effect the price.
Distance from a public road, condition of access road, neighbors, terrain, does it join your property, etc.

Only worth the timber unless you border it already.

Is it even worth the timber if an owner has no access to it?

A judge will grant you access to it if there isn’t already an easement, but the neighbors will most likely be dicks about it.

There is access somewhere. It doesn’t mean it is easy or readily available. An attorney will have to read any easement for timber, etc.

I was under the impression an agreement must be had and met between the two parties I don’t think a judge would just give you an easement just because

Are you sure? If you willingly buy property with no access?

Probably have to pay thru the nose for an easement.

Granting easement may not be the correct term, but a judge will rule in your favor to gain access to the property. A landowner can’t legally land lock you in if my memory serves me correctly, which seems to happen less frequently these days.

I would talk to owners of land around the landlocked parcel to see if they would work out a deeded access and how much it would cost.

On another note. I saw a chunk of land for sale down the road. Really fair priced. Enough to catch my eye and peak my interest. Once I looked into it, the property is enrolled into a conservation easement. I reckon those are enrolled in perpetuity. I never looked any further as to what could and couldn’t be done with that particular property.

Generally, a parcel can't be "landlocked" in Alabama. The court will grant an easement (if you sue for it), but it may not be where you want it, and all you are owed is access for a vehicle. (Ie, you can't force them to make it wide enough for development) Lastly, you have to pay the neighbor for the diminution in value caused by your easement. I've testified in a few cases, but not by any means a legal expert. As an appraiser, one way to look at it is that it's worth the same thing as a comparable property with access, minus the costs to gain access, which could include legal costs, the amount you have to pay for the easement, an physical costs such as grading, culverts, etc.

I know one guy who had a small piece of land and a hunting club had permission to drive through him on his terms being they had to be in before daylight and couldn’t come out until ten and in the afternoon had to be in by 2 and out after dark. After about three times of idiots come riding by him on a four wheeler 30-40 minutes before dark he had enough. He couldn’t stop them from driving through his land to get to there’s but he could make it difficult for them. He said he was gonna put up about ten different gates with ten different gate codes and a big sign saying call for permission to enter.

I am looking at a few acres of landlocked property close to me. Guy that owns it bought for taxes several years ago. He paid 1k for it, plus yearly taxes. Has no deeded access. Wants 21k for it. I don't want to get into legal crap trying to get deeded access. No telling what I would have to pay.

Possibly. The last tract I cut before I got out was for sale and landlocked. I knew a neighbor that would give me a temporary easement for the timber, but nothing permanent to the landowner. Another guy I know bought the land fairly cheap. He sold me the wood and that almost paid for the land. Then he sold the land for a decent profit to a neighbor who wanted more hunting land. And that guy got it at a fair price because it was cut and had no permanent easement. Win-win for everybody. The key was the initial purchase price and being able to get the logs off.

You can likely get an easement through the court system, but it won’t be free or cheap. Sometimes it can cost more than it’s worth. Every situation is different.

My father and I did that many times in the 80s and early 90s , it was much easier then. And I've been down the ROW through court road too.