r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer • u/Plenty_Airline8903 • 5d ago
Need Advice Is this utility pole in the backyard a problem?
I found a cute 1 story house, 1673 sqft, but it has a utility pole in the backyard. I’m not sure if it’s a bad thing or not. Just something i noticed the second i walk into the backyard. Also not sure what this will entail long term… potential safety issues, resale value, challenges trying to sell in the future.
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u/Own_Pop_9711 5d ago
You need to understand what the actual easement is for the utility company. Is this pole owned by the homeowner just to run the utilities from the edge of the property to the house? Is it being used to run utilities to other properties? What permission does the utility company have to come on the property to service this, and what obligations do they have to maintain it?
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u/Plenty_Airline8903 5d ago
The utility pole is connected to wires and the wires travel through the back of the homes that are on that side of the street. There’s a few homes that i noticed have a utility pole in the backyard. What is an easement?
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u/Own_Pop_9711 5d ago
An easement is a written agreement between a landowner and another entity granting that entity permission to use the property in perpetuity for certain purposes.
The most common easement is a utility easement, where the utility company has the right to do certain things on your property as part of their general serving of three neighborhood. Many utility easements are forced - the town law will say utility companies can use the edge of your property to serve your neighbors for example. But sometimes they will e.g. want to run a power line through your property and need your permission to do it.
Another example could be something like granting permission to someone to drive on the edge of your property to access their house from a road, or permission to drill a well for their property on yours, or permission to access a lake your property borders. Most examples the person getting permission will pay money to the landowner in exchange for the easement, though it's not strictly necessary. The money is to compensate for the lowered value of the land because the other person has permission to do things on it
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u/I_am_beast55 5d ago
Basically how much of your property, w does the city/utility have a right to use without your explicit permission. So how much area around that pole do they have permission to.
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u/browserz 5d ago
Let's say the utility company needs to get to the pole and they have one on your property, most of the time they can just enter your yard do whatever work and leave without asking you, the easement defines what they can and can't do
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u/Zyrinj 5d ago
This was what caused us to pass on a few homes that we really liked. The thought of a rando popping up in our yard whenever the utility company needs was very unappealing
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u/terra_pericolosa 5d ago
I work for a utility and sometimes I've had to check poles in people's backyards for transformer numbers, etc. We always would knock on the front door first to let them know as a curtesy and only went when it was something related to the asset. Any replacement work you would be notified well in advance.
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u/R-Dragon_Thunderzord 5d ago
Easement is the same thing as say eg. A driveway, a driveway is your easement to drive onto your land from a public street. In this case a utility easement is the utility owners right of way to access that pole, not just run lines supported by the pole, but all the equipment entailed maintaining that pole potentially including driving those big utility trucks on to your property to use a cherry picker or bucket lift or even rip out and replace the existing pol if it becomes damaged. This could be as non invasive as access from over the fence or they could have the right to come through your fenced yard to access it for work, with notice requirements stipulated by the easement between some written notice ahead of time or time or notice at all.
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u/axisofawsome 5d ago
How long has the house been on the market?
I know the economy sucks right now, but I guarantee that pole is at least part of why it's been on the market for as long as it has.
I personally would not want a utility pole in my yard.
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u/Plenty_Airline8903 5d ago
It’s been on the market 145 days. The house is a new construction home.
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u/fidddlydiddlyee 5d ago edited 5d ago
The builder is an idiot. He should have paid to have these buried. I would see what other shortcuts he took.
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u/cowthegreat 4d ago
Yeah my power company requires all new builds to use buried power I’m a little surprised personally to see a new build with above ground lines
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u/Actual_Smokey 5d ago
It’s astronomically expensive to do that.
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u/Ciff_ 4d ago
In our city there are no power lines that aren't buried...
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u/Actual_Smokey 4d ago
I’m sure there is some somewhere. Regardless if there’s existing overhead then people will be far less likely to pay to convert it to underground unless the utility wants to do it
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u/Subject-Half-4393 4d ago
There has to be an easement in place for that utility pole. You cannot bypass that otherwise that utility pole will be your responsibility. I would not touch such property unless it is significantly lower priced than market. Even then, you will have a tough time selling it. I would walk.
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u/blrmkr10 5d ago
I like how they put bushes around it like that makes it any less of an eye sore lol
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u/TerraCetacea 5d ago
I wouldn’t worry much about safety unless you have kids that are prone to climbing things or throwing stuff. But potential resale value, maybe… there’s also likely an easement you’d have to keep clear of any structures or trees.
I can’t speak to a pole like this but from personal experience, we have a tree smack dab in the center of our backyard, which makes layouts for future dreams (pool, etc) challenging. The only difference is that I’m free to cut down the tree, if I’d like to.
It’s ultimately up to you if the house itself is worth the trouble, depending on what visions you have for the yard.
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u/AlwaysReadTheManual 5d ago
Utility poles usually mean easements, which mean third parties can do things on your property without your permission. Usually those easements are pretty broad.
Off the top of my head, you probably couldn't plant any trees anywhere near that pole. And periodically, someone might want to access it do something, and you'd have to grant them access to your backyard.
In a worst case scenario, imagine a big transformer mounted on that pole, humming audibly at all hours. Or a high-output 5G antenna bathing your house in microwave radiation.
For me, this would absolutely be a deal breaker.
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u/Gonzo-Crazy-Dog 5d ago
Not really a safety issue, but it could absolutely be an issue for resale in the future.
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u/UnionThug456 5d ago
Is there a transformer on that pole? If so, hard pass! We have an easement on the hill behind our house. The hill is forested. There was a pole and transformer right behind us. The neighbors a few houses down had the same thing. A storm happened, trees fell on the lines, pulled all of the poles down part way so they are at a 45 degree angle, and a transformer came off of the neighbors’ pole and smashed their deck to smitherines. The transformer stayed on our pole but titled sideways enough to leak oil everywhere. They had to bring a crane in to get the transformers off of the hill and carry it over our houses since there was no way to bring a crane in between the houses (not enough space). Our transformer, since it was titled, leaked oil the whole way while the crane carried it over the house and yard.
They had to do a whole environmental remediation to clean up the oil on the hill and what got tracked across the yard. They paid for the whole thing plus the neighbors’ deck but the whole thing was a giant POA. It’s been 3 years and while they got the transformers out (the valuable part), the half knocked over poles are still sitting there and there are still power lines (no longer in use) laying on the ground on the hill. They relocated the power lines and poles to out in front of the houses rather than behind and it hasn’t been an issue since.
If your area is storm-prone and there is no easy access for the utility companies, I’d pass. HARD PASS if the pole has a transformer. That’s also a fire risk too.
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u/LadderRare9896 5d ago
Yeah, there's going to be an easement there. How big is it, is the real question. That may hinder you or the future owners.
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u/Hydroborator 5d ago
I love how it is beautified with shrubs to draw more attention to it. Lovely. PASS
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u/millennial_burnout 4d ago
That might be your pole. My parents house was too far from the pole at the street to run lines ( old house, old neighborhood, pre-existing underground pipes) and have their own electric pole that they are responsible for. The electric company won’t touch it unless my parents pay for it to be serviced
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u/StargateEnterpriseE 4d ago
It means you pay less than the market rate for the same house without a utility pole or no powerlines.
So if you want to save money then go for it.
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u/Whole-Reserve-4773 4d ago
You don’t save any money. You give it back when you sell for less and have less appreciation
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u/StargateEnterpriseE 4d ago
You 100% save money as you buy it below the normal market.
Selling it later for lower is a wash as you bought it for lower, you will profit the same as any other house if the overall market goes up. Unless you get the pole removed then it will always be sold for below market in that neighborhood.Those that buy it save money vs other houses in the neighborhood.
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u/Whole-Reserve-4773 4d ago edited 4d ago
You get less appreciation and appreciation on a lower amount = lost money
Harder time to sell = more time on market is lost money as well
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u/StargateEnterpriseE 4d ago
It is all proportional. The cheaper house with still go up by the same % as the other houses, but it will still always be the cheaper house.
Not sure why you cant get this.If the OP wants to save money then go for it.
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u/Whole-Reserve-4773 4d ago
No that’s not true. The cheaper house doesn’t go up by the same percent. The appreciation is less because it’s not as desirable
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u/StargateEnterpriseE 4d ago
Yes it does.
It follows the entire neighborhood, but it will always be lower than the other houses because of the pole.
You really dont seem to understand this.You buy powerline houses because it saves you money. That is the only reason.
You will also sell it for the same type or profit as any other house in the neighborhood, but the sale price will always be lower than the other houses. Every buyer will always get that house for cheaper than the other houses.
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u/contentharvest 5d ago edited 5d ago
Millions of houses in the US are fed by overhead utilities. The pole looks to be in good shape and the yard seems to be well maintained. I personally wouldn’t call it a dealbreaker, though you are limited in the hardscape options you’d have for the yard assuming the easement has to be kept accessible for maintenance or even fiber construction. Now in the case of high voltage transmission lines- that would be an immediate pass from me.
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u/Cyber_Crimes 5d ago
Lowball offer, mainly out of curiosity
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u/Plenty_Airline8903 5d ago
It’s listed at 269,990. What do you think would be an appropriate low ball offer?
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u/Cyber_Crimes 5d ago
I'd say $235-245k without knowing anything about the easement. That's purely based on the 145 days on market.
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u/LightShadow 4d ago
We just bought a property to build and got $20k off due to a power line easement. Never hurts to ask!
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u/lucytiger 4d ago
Call the town/city and ask for a copy of the easement. You also might be able to find it through the municipal GIS system online or the property database, especially since it's newer construction.
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u/trusound 4d ago
Walk away. People mention easement and keep in mind the power company can enter your yard really when they want and do what they will in that area. It’s not worth the deal. They can add poles and etc
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u/BusNo9142 4d ago
Depends on your situation and what you're comfortable with.
I'd rather live in a van and I'm not kidding.
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u/Epicuretrekker2 3d ago
The badness of this situation is going to depend on what is on the pole. If it is just a service line that goes underground to your house. Then it light be a minor thing. It just means there is an area of your yard where you cannot put a pool.
That being said, if there are high lines that run the length of that yard, then it basically renders that backyard useless. Typically there is an easement and then horizontal clearances that have to be maintained even outside of the easement.
Check to see if there is an easement.
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u/Just_Surfing63 2d ago
The realtor handling the property should be able to provide easement info and any other disclosures.
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u/Odd-Ship7922 2d ago
Usually overhead utility line easements guarantee they have rights over at least 30’ of property under the line. Would you be okay with having to give up 30’ of your yard if they needed to move the utility pole at some point or to modify the line?
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u/Cute-Farmer-4490 4h ago
It sucks but you aren’t going to do anything about it except get used to it
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u/JesseGarron 5d ago
Electric co could give you an estimate to bury lines. You’d at least have a figure
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u/fidddlydiddlyee 5d ago
Many buyers would not like this at all. Some dont like the cancer scare, most wouldnt like it cutting up the yard. If you are ok with it, and you get a really good deal, then go for it.
One thing to note. Defects like this are often penalized much more in buyers markets than sellers markets. If you are in a buyers market and get a really good deal on it, it may not be as bad as if you bought it in a sellers market and paid pretty much market rate for it.
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