We got our lot fit for Lot #75, and then the developer called to remind us there is an active pipeline with a 20 foot utility easement running across the front of the property. When we had originally looked at the lot, he led us to believe it was close to the road, near the culvert. As it turned out, the easement was one foot from our front door, and the walkway was on top of the easement 😳😳.
That set us on a journey of discovery.
The developer sent us an additional document from Explorer (the pipeline company) which said that if ever we wanted to do anything over the easement, including paved driveway, we had to send a proposal and they would have up to 180 days to review. SIX MONTHS! And then they could make you change your plan. We were calculating how much time the builder has to do their work, and now we are concerned they have not even started this process. Also, someone from the pipeline has to be present the entire time you do any improvements.
I reached out to my friends on Facebook, and those who have pipelines on their property (which is very common in Texas). They had a variety of things to say. One rancher in particular said he had some horror stories, as well as some not so bad stories. Our main concern was what would happen if they decided to come in and do repairs and broke up our driveway, or our walkway? Would they fix it? Would we have access to our house? How long could it take? Would they mow over any landscaping we might plant (they are responsible for mowing the pipeline easement)? How responsive are they going to be to our inquiries? So many questions raised our DefCon level a notch or two.
We decided to reach out to Explorer and ask some questions before getting too panicky. We called, sent emails, called again, tried and tried, and never could get a response. One guy finally sent an email acknowledging he had gotten the email, but that was the end of his communication. Needless to say, we were not feeling very comfortable about having an Explorer active pipeline on our property.
The builder suggested we change lots, so we started that process.
At this point we were very grateful they had not yet purchased Lot #75. It was still on reserve. The developer had gone up on their prices by about $20-30,000, so switching to another lot was going to be a challenge. Before we left Texas for our northern trip, we went back out to the property and looked at other lots. As it turned out they had just opened access to some other lots we had not seen before. Lot #84, just a few lots down from #75 but outside of the pipeline easement, was a bit smaller (1.0 acre) but it had some advantages over #75. For one, it is relatively square (#75 is a big trapezoid). Also, #84 backs up to some beautiful trees (more, in fact, than #75). It is a bit closer to the front, so they should start pinning those lots sooner 🤞🏻.
We can see progress is happening out there. Lots of heavy equipment are moving dirt around, creating retention ponds, placing culverts, etc. The roads have been graded, and it is easier to see where each lot is located (although still not accurately). We feel pretty confident they will be able to start building soon (hurricanes aside).
All that to say, we have officially switched to Lot #84. The builder CFO had to get involved because the developer wanted to increase our cost to current prices, but he did some magic and we signed the document this week to switch from #75 to #84.
We’ll keep you posted on further progress.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!