15-20 foot sewer easement

[KHS445]

Sounds like the developer is getting desperate with the amount of money being tossed around you should definitely get some professional advise. I would hire a knowledgeable appraiser and attorney. A number of things could come into play and the impact on your property value could be more or less what is being offered. Do you have any idea what alternatives are available to the developer? The developer may be willing to pay you $40,000 because the alternative route may cost him significantly more. If the developer has ever been successful he/she knew what the easement or alternative route was going to cost and has built that it to their development costs. It may be that the alternative route will cost them $100,000 and if they can cross your property for less than that is what they are going to try to do..

 

[Dancerchic36]

Sounds like the developer is getting desperate with the amount of money being tossed around you should definitely get some professional advise. I would hire a knowledgeable appraiser and attorney. A number of things could come into play and the impact on your property value could be more or less what is being offered. Do you have any idea what alternatives are available to the developer? The developer may be willing to pay you $40,000 because the alternative route may cost him significantly more. If the developer has ever been successful he/she knew what the easement or alternative route was going to cost and has built that it to their development costs. It may be that the alternative route will cost them $100,000 and if they can cross your property for less than that is what they are going to try to do..

Yes. The alternative would be connecting to the sewer on a busy main road and having a Lift station to pump the sewer back to the main sewer line. If they went through our property, they wouldn’t need a Lift station.

 

[KHS445]

Yes. The alternative would be connecting to the sewer on a busy main road and having a Lift station to pump the sewer back to the main sewer line. If they went through our property, they wouldn’t need a Lift station.

Sounds to me like there is a range of value that will come into play. most likely the low end will be the dollar impact to your property and the high end will be the difference in the developer’s cost between crossing your property and going the alternative route. I definitely believe you should seek advise of a competent attorney and appraiser.

 

[Peter LeQuire]

You also might want to consult with a valuation professional and a professional real estate sales person to get a fuller understanding of how the presence of the easement affects the property's value and what effect, if any, it would affect the market appeal of the property.

 

[gregb]

If there is currently a loan on the property, a lender may have a say on the easement proposal.

 

[JTip]

You have to think about what you are selling.

I won't get into 'bundle of rights' or appraisal 101 stuff, but feel free to search it.

You are selling $40k worth of your house in the form of an easement; a little word with big meaning. Once sold, they will have the legal authority to dig up your yard, install a pipe that transports shtuff, fill it in with terrible dirt and rocks, plant terrible grass in a muddy pit, 24/7/365 access to your back yard to maintain/repair/replace the pipe, for as long as planet earth exists, or in legal terms, in perpetuity. Your $550k home is now worth $510k because you sold off $40k worth of sewer easement that will remain long after you have moved away.

The trick is to figure out if that $40k is fair and adequate. As others have mentioned, you need local professional help both on the legal and real estate sides.

 

[Mark K]

There is a subdivision going in behind our house. The developer wants to run a sewer pipe through our yard to connect to the main sewer line on the road. Would a 15-20 foot sewer easement on our house deed affect the value of our home? If so, about how much would it affect the value?

Its impossible to know if it affects the value without seeing the property and the proposed easement location. Also, the easement document needs examined to determine the extent of the property rights that will be conveyed.

About 75% of my work is easement and right of way appraising. In some cases the easement has virtually no effect on the property value since most residential lots have various easements. These are typical and expected. If the easement results in a significant loss of use, example prevents you from installing a fence or pool in the future, it may adversely affect your overall property value and the compensation should be sufficient to reflect this loss in value/marketability.

If the developer needs the easement to complete a subdivision AND the local municipal authority is not going to step in and use their power of eminent domain, the value is a negotiated value between you and the developer. I've seen more than once a developer buy a local property (house generally), run their sewer/water/utility lines thru the property and then put the property back on the market. Usually, the house resells for the same $ amount afterward.

There are some relatively straight-forward methods of calculating easement values, methods that will stand up in most courts, and these are used in eminent domain condemnation cases. In the case of negotiated values, the sky is the limit. Just remember, if you can't come to a reasonable agreement, the developer may go to a neighbor and work out a deal and you'll get nothing.

Good luck.

 

[sputnam]

The impact of the proposed easement on the market value of your property is measurable.... although it might not be an easy analysis. Hire an appraiser who has some experience in valuing easements and see if $40K is reasonable or not. If it's not, then ask for more.

 

[KONA]

A 10-20 foot sewer easement is substantial on a 10,000 sf lot. Depending on its specific location could substantially impact you property's value. For example if you or a future buyer of your property decides to consider a room addition on the property, the set-backs could impact the feasibility of that project. Can you also imagine someone in the future having to remove/replace that pipeline and enter your property to make the necessary work etc.