2. Are you saying the line is in the wrong place and not covered by the easement? Is there a title issue and the title insurance or city have made a mistake?
3. If they are willing to do the work are you willing to pay? I am guessing you will say no but I can not tell what the background is to the message.
4. If the lot is being purchased make it a condition of the sale or get the price adjusted.
Dear John, Thanks for your reply. I bought the lot at the courthouse steps (tax sale) several months back. It is a great lot that I got at a great price. Everything looked ok on it (researching the information online etc.). A neighbor to the lot called yesterday and asked if I knew that sewer lines ran on the property (not in the easement). I plan to go to the appraisal district tommorrow to find out if this is true. I also plan to call the 1800 dig # for further confirmation of whether this is true. I am trying to get educated if this is true. Yes I am willing to pay to move them (if need be) but I am hoping to find out if they are in the wrong place (as far as building) what is normal so I have some frame of reference when talking to the city. Thanks for your help! Lisa
If there are sewer lines traversing your lot, they have been placed there by some quasi-governmental entity. As I said in my prior post, the city should have plans and a map of the existing sewer lines and should be able to tell you when the line was installed. It's unlikely that they will allow you to remove the line.
THEORETICALLY, and I repeat that this is very theoretically, the sewer lines have to be inside an easement. If they are not you MIGHT get a court to order the appropriate entity to move them or to compensate you for the loss of value to your property.
Meanwhile I don't think you have enough data to start fretting about the problem. Does the "concerned neighbor" tell you that the sewer lines are a problem in some way? Almost all lots have sewer lines under them. Thats how the sewage gets away from the house.
Thanks for the replies and help. The city, appraisal district etc. had no maps or plans of what is there. They rec. I call the dig number which I already had. WIthin 48 hrs (they said) everything should be marked. One more question, Will I be able to tell by the markings what is there and if it is ok to build on? or will I need a building contractor to tell me? Also the dig # people asked if I would be digging deeper than 16 inches, I told her I did not know, that I just need to know what is there, so she said they would mark everything. I am wanting to make sure main sewer lines are not there (I am referencing back to the remark from the "concerned neighbor". If anyone has any other comments or help, I would be very greatful. Lisa
You need to go to the local public works department, or who ever oversees the sewer lines and taking care of them. They will know where the lines are at and they ought to have a map. It should take them less than 5 minutes to be able to tell you.
many small towns have no mapping and limited resources to locat old sewer lines. It is extremely hard to "force" a public entity to do anything through the courts that they are unwilling to do. This is because of their limited immunity.
Generally, small localities will not move the sewer lines and you will have to be the one to move them. A year ago we had a situation where two neighbors were sharing the same sewer line as our customer and the line runs right under their new addition and through the main house (you can see the line in the basement. The city would do nothing to address this problem and had no blueprints as to where this line should run....
[addsig]
If in fact they are there, then consult with a lawyer.
I would think that the city would have to move them unless they were on an easement.
Either way, I would be willing to take them to court over it.
I believe if you rattle enough chains then things will get done.
I fellow contractor friend went through the same thing.......at first they gave him the run around.....then they said he would have to pay......he brought in a lawyer and the city took care of everything.
We all pay enough tax dollars......they should be spending those dollars on useful things instead of silly gov programs to get votes...............oh oh....there I go again about taxes.........lol.
Thanks everyone for all your help and replies. All the utilities showed up today and marked their lines. My contractor came and looked at everything and said we can for sure build. Were going to get a survey now. So, we can either build on it or sell it and we are not concerned with "concerned neighbor" comments. Thanks again!
Curious about something here. You indicated that nobody had sewer maps or plans. Who determined that there isn't a sewer line on the property and how did they determine that?
Dear Nancy, Yes that is correct no one had anything. You call the dig # and all the utilities come and mark thier lines etc. Their is a sewer line on the property but it is to the side (not sure if it is in the easement or not) not running through it. We are going to have it surveyed and see exactly where the property lines are. Lisa
When the sewer people came out to the property, how did they locate the line since they don't have any sewer maps or plans? Did they just look for manhole covers or did they use some other method?
Nancy, I do not know. I was not there when any of the different utilities came out. I only saw the property with the flags and paint later. I will however ask the builder that went out and ckd the flags for me to see what they meant etc. He would likely know what method they use. I'll let you know if I find out. Lisa
Most municipalities in my area have sewer and water mapping and plans. But I've found out that apparently what some people do to locate sewer lines is use a combination of shovels and metal detectors. Sort of hunt and peck. LOL.
When I first recommended you call the 1-800 number to find out where the utilites where located, I forgot to say in some of the backwards areas they still do use a shovel, however this is for digging the holes for outhouses. In those areas sewer lines are not a problem.
Could you share a bit more?
1. Why do you want it moved?
2. Are you saying the line is in the wrong place and not covered by the easement? Is there a title issue and the title insurance or city have made a mistake?
3. If they are willing to do the work are you willing to pay? I am guessing you will say no but I can not tell what the background is to the message.
4. If the lot is being purchased make it a condition of the sale or get the price adjusted.
John
[addsig]
Dear John, Thanks for your reply. I bought the lot at the courthouse steps (tax sale) several months back. It is a great lot that I got at a great price. Everything looked ok on it (researching the information online etc.). A neighbor to the lot called yesterday and asked if I knew that sewer lines ran on the property (not in the easement). I plan to go to the appraisal district tommorrow to find out if this is true. I also plan to call the 1800 dig # for further confirmation of whether this is true. I am trying to get educated if this is true. Yes I am willing to pay to move them (if need be) but I am hoping to find out if they are in the wrong place (as far as building) what is normal so I have some frame of reference when talking to the city. Thanks for your help! Lisa
Lisa,
If there are sewer lines traversing your lot, they have been placed there by some quasi-governmental entity. As I said in my prior post, the city should have plans and a map of the existing sewer lines and should be able to tell you when the line was installed. It's unlikely that they will allow you to remove the line.
THEORETICALLY, and I repeat that this is very theoretically, the sewer lines have to be inside an easement. If they are not you MIGHT get a court to order the appropriate entity to move them or to compensate you for the loss of value to your property.
Meanwhile I don't think you have enough data to start fretting about the problem. Does the "concerned neighbor" tell you that the sewer lines are a problem in some way? Almost all lots have sewer lines under them. Thats how the sewage gets away from the house.
Thanks for the replies and help. The city, appraisal district etc. had no maps or plans of what is there. They rec. I call the dig number which I already had. WIthin 48 hrs (they said) everything should be marked. One more question, Will I be able to tell by the markings what is there and if it is ok to build on? or will I need a building contractor to tell me? Also the dig # people asked if I would be digging deeper than 16 inches, I told her I did not know, that I just need to know what is there, so she said they would mark everything. I am wanting to make sure main sewer lines are not there (I am referencing back to the remark from the "concerned neighbor"
. If anyone has any other comments or help, I would be very greatful. Lisa 
You need to go to the local public works department, or who ever oversees the sewer lines and taking care of them. They will know where the lines are at and they ought to have a map. It should take them less than 5 minutes to be able to tell you.
many small towns have no mapping and limited resources to locat old sewer lines. It is extremely hard to "force" a public entity to do anything through the courts that they are unwilling to do. This is because of their limited immunity.
Generally, small localities will not move the sewer lines and you will have to be the one to move them. A year ago we had a situation where two neighbors were sharing the same sewer line as our customer and the line runs right under their new addition and through the main house (you can see the line in the basement. The city would do nothing to address this problem and had no blueprints as to where this line should run....
[addsig]
If in fact they are there, then consult with a lawyer.
I would think that the city would have to move them unless they were on an easement.
Either way, I would be willing to take them to court over it.
I believe if you rattle enough chains then things will get done.
I fellow contractor friend went through the same thing.......at first they gave him the run around.....then they said he would have to pay......he brought in a lawyer and the city took care of everything.
We all pay enough tax dollars......they should be spending those dollars on useful things instead of silly gov programs to get votes...............oh oh....there I go again about taxes.........lol.
NC
Thanks everyone for all your help and replies. All the utilities showed up today and marked their lines. My contractor came and looked at everything and said we can for sure build. Were going to get a survey now. So, we can either build on it or sell it and we are not concerned with "concerned neighbor" comments. Thanks again!
Curious about something here. You indicated that nobody had sewer maps or plans. Who determined that there isn't a sewer line on the property and how did they determine that?
Dear Nancy, Yes that is correct no one had anything. You call the dig # and all the utilities come and mark thier lines etc. Their is a sewer line on the property but it is to the side (not sure if it is in the easement or not) not running through it. We are going to have it surveyed and see exactly where the property lines are. Lisa
Lisa,
I should clarify the question I asked.
When the sewer people came out to the property, how did they locate the line since they don't have any sewer maps or plans? Did they just look for manhole covers or did they use some other method?
Nancy, I do not know. I was not there when any of the different utilities came out. I only saw the property with the flags and paint later. I will however ask the builder that went out and ckd the flags for me to see what they meant etc. He would likely know what method they use. I'll let you know if I find out. Lisa
Lisa,
Most municipalities in my area have sewer and water mapping and plans. But I've found out that apparently what some people do to locate sewer lines is use a combination of shovels and metal detectors. Sort of hunt and peck. LOL.
Thanks.
Nancy
alexcturner,
When I first recommended you call the 1-800 number to find out where the utilites where located, I forgot to say in some of the backwards areas they still do use a shovel, however this is for digging the holes for outhouses. In those areas sewer lines are not a problem.
John $Cash$ Locke