Question for realtors.

[huntresss]

We have just been contacted by a land man wanting to put a pipeline across three tracts we own. We were told that this is just a possibility now and nothing for sure, but then we found pink ribbon flying in our pastures (that we denied them access to without permission). My question is, how much will this affect the land values of small tracts (10-20 acres) if we decide to sell in the next couple of years? They're proposing a 12" pipe with a 50' ROW. We bought these tracts, cleared them, dug ponds, fenced with net wire and made them real pretty for potential home sites. Our plan was to sell them off as part of our retirement plan. If there are no above ground appurtenances nor access gates in the fence and the pipeline is on the opposite end of the tract from the building sites, how much would the land depreciate with the pipeline on it?

[Hawkpuppy 1]

First off, I'd be all over their asses for coming on in the first place flagging the property....

[rferg84]

We have just been contacted by a land man wanting to put a pipeline across three tracts we own. We were told that this is just a possibility now and nothing for sure, but then we found pink ribbon flying in our pastures (that we denied them access to without permission). My question is, how much will this affect the land values of small tracts (10-20 acres) if we decide to sell in the next couple of years? They're proposing a 12" pipe with a 50' ROW. We bought these tracts, cleared them, dug ponds, fenced with net wire and made them real pretty for potential home sites. Our plan was to sell them off as part of our retirement plan. If there are no above ground appurtenances nor access gates in the fence and the pipeline is on the opposite end of the tract from the building sites, how much would the land depreciate with the pipeline on it?

Did they make you an offer?

[huntresss]

Did they make you an offer?

Not yet. It's just a proposed pipeline right now, but I don't want to go into negotiations without knowing the consequences. From past experience I know not to trust the land man. In fact when I asked this guy if there were any restrictions on how close we could build a home to the pipeline he said there were none. I said "you mean if we decide we want to build a house ten feet from the buried pipe, we could?" . He answered "yep". I may look that stupid, but....well, that's why I'm here gathering evidence.

[Wayno]

You won't be able to build anything within the 50' right-of-way. you also will not be able to significantly change the grades within that area. I don't know how big the tracts are, but new roads can only cross them, not run over them. If they are tracts that someone might purchase for development, it will be a big deal that they will have to plan around, so it is not only wasted land for them, but something that makes it more difficult for them (developer).

[corps2010]

Better find out if they have eminent domain rights first.... if they do, best thing to do would be hire an oil/gas attorney and let him handle all negotiations going forward (including compensation, route of easement, and terms/language in your agreement).

[Firefyter]

First you may pose this question to an appraiser who deals with rural properties and farm and ranchland. Secondly, if and when you negotiate an easement you want to have your attorney negotiate that one transaction regarding the 12" pipe. Do not give them the rights to come back and add other lines without renegotiating again. And do not make it perpetual, give them a timeline.

[huntresss]

Thank you all! This is the kind of stuff we need to know.

[Slew]

I walked away from a $150k acre because of an easement. It's going to ruin anyone who plans on purchasing and developing the properties plans for sure! You can't build anything on the easement and anything over it they can tear up doing repairs and you fix it! That's how this one worked. Natural Gas line. Basically rendered 40pct of the acre useless.

[Hocks & horns]

I buy and sell acreage all the time and on 10-20 acre tracts a pipeline doesn't usually hurt the property value much. It may make the property a little harder to sell because some buyers are scared of the easement, rightfully so. It will all completely depend on location of property, pipeline and location of available building sights. I've turned down property because of a pipeline and watched it sell at full market price a week later. As far as dealing with the terms of the easement you should hire an attorney.

[txarcher]

Better find out if they have eminent domain rights first.... if they do, best thing to do would be hire an oil/gas attorney and let him handle all negotiations going forward (including compensation, route of easement, and terms/language in your agreement).

This. It would also be a very good idea to make sure that the attorney puts very specific language in the agreement about reclamation of the ROW. As the landowner, you could list specific species of grasses, forbs, and legumes that are to be planted. Additionally, you should state that you want it professionally seeded with grass drills and/or a hydroseeder to insure that they don't just scatter the seed out of the back of a pickup.

[dustoffer]

Got a buddy in the RE business and he went through a lawsuit with a pipeline company over a 50' tower with fenced equipment above ground which seemed to be in violation of the lease agreement. Amazing what a seemingly bland statement like "appurtenances as required" turns out to mean. They ended up settling with the pipeline company as I recall for "reduction in land value".