Learn Me: Power Company Easement on Property

I got a letter the other day from the electric company requesting a new easement on my property to install a guy wire and anchor on a utility pole (which is not on my property). The easement would be 10' wide and 15' deep at the back of the lot. The utility pole (just across the fence in the neighbor's yard) already has one guy wire anchored in my yard (about 5-6' in). 

Has anyone dealt with this before? Can I just say no, find another way? The utility pole services the neighborhood behind me, it doesn't have anything to do with my property. Searching on the auditor's site I can't find any record of existing easements on my property but that's as far as I have gone (I'm sure there are some as there are storm drains, manhole covers etc.)

It's hard to tell from the photo but the pole is about 5 feet on the other side of my fence. It looks like they have already installed the wire on the pole that they want to anchor in my yard. 

I don't know much about this, but easements (generally) lower property value. I'm pretty sure they're asking to buy an easement. 

Tom Suddard said:

I don't know much about this, but easements (generally) lower property value. I'm pretty sure they're asking to buy an easement. 

Well they did offer $1 which seemed a bit insulting...

Maybe ask for $1 plus 50% of all future power revenue and negotiate down from there? 

Or free power for life?

This is the sort of thing that likely varies state-to-state.  You don't say how big your lot is.  How big of a nuisance would this be?

Pretty sure you could refuse their request, but they likely could sue if there is no other reasonable option for them.

An easement is essentially a right to place their equipment, facility, etc. (in this case the anchor for the wire) on your property and the right to access it when needed for maintenance, repair, replacement, etc. It should specify the area and location they want to have access to and the type of item to be installed. Once you agree ( if you do) that easement should get recorded and associated with the deed for the property so it transfers from one owner to the next.

You can say no. They can then choose to offer more money for the easement, offer to purchase the portion of property they need, find an alternate design or means to achieve their goal without impacting your property, or possibly go through the court procedures to see if a judge will allow/force you to accept some settlement that will get them access. I'm not sure how many locations allow utility owners to use Eminent Domain laws to obtain access. It may depend on whether it is a private or public corporation.

edit: This is their way of asking nicely and spending the least that they possibly can. If another option is cheaper than going to court they will likely choose that option over court.

Yeah, I'd say the most likely scenario is you say no, then they either ask your neighbor (not exactly sure what this problem looks like so that might not be an option) or make you a real offer. Without seeing it I have no idea what that ask is worth, but if I was on Price is Right I'd say high three-digits to low four-digits? Remember that this easement will likely last forever, and when searching for houses I definitely crossed property off the list if it had utility easements blocking where I wanted to build my garage. 

Grant a 999 year lease for the express purpose of installing and maintaining a guy wire and no other purpose. Charge an annual rent equal to the percentage of your property that is taken up multiplied by 10% of the property's value all in 2024  dollars adjusted by the average of all reported consumer price index reports for the year of  payment. Throw in an inflator of 5% every 5 year. Now you have enough numbers to bamboozle a used car salesman.

How big is your property?  And, is losing 150 s.f. going to really have an impact on its use?  Based on the picture, doesn't look like you are using that corner now.  Besides most setback ordinances would keep you from ever building on that 150 s.f. anyway.

It would be different if they were asking for 10 or 15' all the way across your land.

secretariata (Forum Supporter) said:

An easement is essentially a right to place their equipment, facility, etc. (in this case the anchor for the wire) on your property and the right to access it when needed for maintenance, repair, replacement, etc.

If you have a fence along your property line they'll have the right to go through or around it.  Also, they'll have the right to trim or remove trees and vegetation that interfere with their equipment.

Property is 1.25 acres, it would have very little impact on my usage. I let the back area grow up in the summer to block the view of the neighbors. I'm more concerned with granting permanent access to them for something that I have no benefit from. Especially since the company they contract for tree trimming recently came down the other side of my property and butchered the trees, leaving the branches where they fell on top of my fence and into my yard. 

Do you have any more photos of the area to make it more clear of the layout? How do they get access back in there now?

I've got a 12' wide power line easement crossing my property that really sucks but we have lived with for two generations. The worst was when the tree cutters left their giant snorkel truck parked smack dab in the middle of our yard for the weekend even though they didn't need to enter our yard to do any trimming. I wanted to slash all of their tires for them to discover on Monday. It took a few years for their tire ruts to meld back into the lawn.

VolvoHeretic said:

Do you have any more photos of the area to make it more clear of the layout? How do they get access back in there now?

I've got a 12' wide power line easement crossing my property that really sucks but we have lived with for two generations. The worst was when the tree cutters left their giant snorkel truck parked smack dab in the middle of our yard for the weekend even though they didn't need to enter our yard to do any trimming. I wanted to slash all of their tires for them to discover on Monday. It took a few years for their tire ruts to meld back into the lawn.

 

I would have had that truck towed as an abandoned vehicle on my property.  

Best option is to consult an attorney, but that will likely be a money-losing proposition. 

Or you could multiply your land value by .003, which is the approximate proportion of your lot that the easement will occupy.  $300?  $3000?

Make a counteroffer to their $1. and see what their response is.  Or tell them to pound sand.

I'm not really seeing any upside to allowing this.  They almost certainly won't be willing to pay enough money to make it worth encumbering your property, for something which doesn't even benefit you in any other way.

The utility pole (just across the fence in the neighbor's yard) already has one guy wire anchored in my yard (about 5-6' in). 

is there already an easement for that guy wire ?

So what are the odds of you telling them to berkeley off and them coming back with eminent domain to place it anyway?

californiamilleghia said:

The utility pole (just across the fence in the neighbor's yard) already has one guy wire anchored in my yard (about 5-6' in). 

is there already an easement for that guy wire ?

Not from what I can find searching online. If there is I assume it's not deep enough into my yard for the new one otherwise they wouldn't have asked.
 

I'll just reply to them and decline and see where they go from there.

RevRico said:

So what are the odds of you telling them to berkeley off and them coming back with eminent domain to place it anyway?

I think those odds are not in Evan's favor.

But they should fight for it.

My neighbor has been sparring with Georgia Power the last few years over an easement that doesn't exist. He's a lawyer and told them until they can prove they have the legal easement they can't touch his trees. Funny thing is, they can't find the easement paperwork. It isn't recorded with the deed either. So they asked him for a new easement which was even bigger than the one they assumed the had. He told them to pound sand.

So now once a year the tree trimming crew shows up, gets a lesson in tree law, calls their managers, and goes away. They haven't tried to eminent domain it yet.

My only concern would be how they handle trimming around the guide wire. If you care about your trees, I'd get the easement written so they can only trim a minimal amount, and that there be a penalty assessed for overzealous trimming.

Strikes me as a pretty minor thing to get worked up about, but I guess that's just me.

The upside to this is a stable power pole. If that gets taken out by inclimate weather, and you're without power for X amount of hours/days, that guy wire for $1 might be worth it.

Streetwiseguy said:

Strikes me as a pretty minor thing to get worked up about, but I guess that's just me.

I'm not very worked up about, just never dealt with someone requesting a new easement on my property. Ultimately it won't affect me much but I don't want to just sign the paper if there are other options.

An alternative to a tension guy wire is a lean-to pole on the opposite side of the pole which should be in the power line's original easement.

Appleseed said:

The upside to this is a stable power pole. If that gets taken out by inclimate weather, and you're without power for X amount of hours/days, that guy wire for $1 might be worth it.

It's not his service; it's the neighborhood behind his lot.  His service comes in the front of his lot.

Also, if they want a guy wire, that means it will be in tension, so if anything does happen, the pole will fall away from his property, not onto it.