Electric Pole in Middle of Back Yard

[WRM20]

These houses sell for $150+ per sq ft, which is not that high these days, hence the lower quality materials. HCAD value for the lot is $26k for a 6,000 sq ft lot. It's not an area where I would buy, but it's relatively affordable.

[2peaches2oranges]

Sorry, but I would not want this in my backyard and from what the others are saying, they are not building your home using best building practices, so this is a good time to cancel your contract or lose your EM.

[escanlan]

Originally Posted by crono_clone

Hi everyone,

Our builder finally started construction on a new home that we had been contracted for, and one thing I noticed is that there's now a power pole right in the middle of what would be our back yard.

I knew there was a utility easement there in the middle of our back yard based on the lot drawing they had sent us; but in previous pics of the lot that I had taken a couple of months ago, the pole was the the left of a green utility box on our property which would put it outside of our backyard and pretty much in between me and our neighbor to the left. So all I was expecting on our easement was maybe overhead power lines and that's it.

But now, the pole has clearly been moved to the right of the utility box which places it square in the middle of our already small back yard and making it look even smaller -- not to mention probably drastically affecting our property value.

So what can I do here? Should I just wait for construction to finish to see if they'll move the pole again? Should I call the utility company now and ask them to move it? Or should I just bite the bullet and say goodbye to my earnest money but at least get to walk away from a house that I probably won't be able to re-sell later?

First off there is a very valid saying the RE Industry that "There is a buyer for every house". It is amazing what people will buy so eventually you would be able to sell it.


What I would be concerned about are several items. One are children and pets constrained in a yard, and left unattended, with a utility pole readily accessible. These poles are chemically treated and regardless of whatever is written about the treatment chemicals any chemical can contribute to or cause adverse reactions with one or constant exposure. You can read about the preservatives they use here https://woodpoles.org/FAQs#collapse1B .


Another issue is the general safety concerns of this arrangement. Children do play and this is an inviting thing to hang on, swing on, etc. Those steel guy wires can be dangerous for that.


Another issue is access to the pole by the utility company for needed maintenance. For example if you look to the rear you will see the very large and mature tree(s) that can spread out and encroach on the electrical wires. Eventually they will need to be trimmed back and most electric companies here will do this as needed. That means a bucket truck must get back there. If a fence is in the way or anything else is in the way they have the right to remove it for access. Their vehicles also have the right to drive across lawns to get there. IF their decent enough they will repair what they damage but don't count on that! If you attempt to plant anything at the base of the pole (i.e. shrubs) to block access they also have the right to take that to the ground to keep access open.


What you do is your choice and you obviously need to make that choice sooner than later.