oldag941 said:
I hear you. My comments were more small-scale. Our ranch is not small but the vast majority is flat, mesquite and pasture. We have a small portion of those flat-top mesa mountains with cedar and juniper. Prettiest part of the ranch and happens to be where our deer feeders / blinds are and only stock tank that doesn't have red water. That's where they are proposing to go.
And the alternative doesn't mean much to us. We don't get any benefit from the project other than eventually some cash. No additional electricity or water. We are basically fly-over.
We will have some massive flashing red lights to watch at night rather than the stars. Along with constant "hum" along the alignment.
I get it. Let me give you some help. Full disclosure, I am currently working on a powerline project in another part of the state and there are strong indications that I may be working on the one that you are concerned with. However, I am at least a year out from that at this point and I have no idea what region I would be in. So I do not feel that there is a conflict here.
If you decide to fight this, that is your right. However, there is a right way and a wrong way to do anything.
Your US Congressman (because this is Federally Regulated) Your State Rep & State Senator are good places to start. Beware of anyone that might be running for these offices later because they will use them to grandstand. Reasonable conversations with people, or even groups in good faith, are your friends. Karens, Old Hippies still mad that the revolution didn't go their way, City Come to Country, and Californians that have been here since covid, are not your friends here. Don't ask me how I know.
The Group that you posted above may, or may not be your friend as well. Tiime will tell but do not be spot welded to them.
I would be looking for an attorney that has handled Real Estate transactions before. To be clear, the Brother in Law that does divorce work and takes criminal cases, is not your attorney. SOME oil and gas attorneys will also have experience with Right Of Way of this nature, but agree on the fee up front. MOST of the stipulations that you might/could/possibly want to pay him to put into the Easement, are already in there to begin with.
(An example of this is would be that the standard Easement, even before negotiations, will hold the landowner harmless to any injury that befalls a construction worker etc. I have seen Landowners insist on another paragraph being put in stating the exact same thing. Don't waste your time/money doing this) There are some good recommendations by others on here that have hired good lawyers, I would look here on the OB, not the community meeting for a lawyer.
Know that AEP, or whomever, will be offering above appraisal value for the property for the Easement. (At least the ones I have seen now in several states offer above appraisal value) However, you can still negotiate for more money.
BUT, keep in mind that appraisal value and perceived value are two entirely different things. Some guy is going to mention how some other property in some other area of the county sold for a gazzaillion dollars last year. He will not be comparing apples to apples, I promise you.
An appointed commissioner court (this is NOT the same as your county commissioners court) can award some astronomical numbers, ($30,000 per acre as an example) and the company will pay that amount. BUT, they will then immediately appeal that to a real court who will then use the appraisal value, not what you were initially offered. Then you are liable to pay back to the company anything over what the real court awarded.
If you have a legitimate environmentally senstive area (water fall, endangered trees etc) that needs to be brought up to your attorney and the Right Of Way Agent that contacts you, immediately. Do not ignore the Right Of Way Agent that tries to contact you. Doing so only hurts you and curtails the amount of time that you will have to negotiate.
There are a lot of myths about not allowing them on your property/not allowing survey etc out there that I can go into one on one if you want to PM me. However, anyone telling people to not respond to a contact attempt does not know what they are talking about. Not even a little bit.
There will be an environmental survey done, possibly more that one, of the Easement area. NOT of your entire ranch. So a spring on the opposite side of the place doesnt count. They are only concerned with whats in the ROW. There will also be an archaeological survey done for anything that might be culturally sensitive. However, in an area with almost no top soil to speak of, that requires rock saws to cut into the ground, please do not start with the "indian burrial ground" nonsense. This does not work. Seen it. City come to country claimed that a mound on his place was an "indian burrial ground" what it really was, was where the rocks/dirt were piled up when they built the county road adjacent to his place, decades before he bought it.
The Right of Way Agent gets paid the same amount, whether you make a million dollars or $100.00. There is no commission for what they pay out to you. Or, if there is, I've never seen it and I've been around the block a time or two on this.
Final note & sorry for the length of all of this. You having an attorney actually helps me in my job, believe it or not. One, it cuts out the emotion. Two, they are going to tell you pretty much everything I tell the landowner. However, get all of the contact information you can, phone/email etc from whatever Landman/Right Of Way Agent contacts you.
