A couple in Florida got the shock of their lives after they bought a plot of land for their dream home, only to find out they couldn’t build on it – all because of a utility pole.
Donna Hartl and her husband purchased the property valued at $17,500 with plans to move from North Dakota to Brooksville, Florida.
Their dreams were quickly crushed after a neighbor alerted them to a decades-old easement on the land with Duke Energy.
The easement prohibits any building within three feet of the utility pole, but the couple still had to pay taxes on the unusable land.
However, Hartl said they did their homework on the land and saw no red flags throughout the process.
“We really wanted to have some privacy, not be stranded in the countryside,” Hartl said WFLA. ‘We just thought this was the perfect match.’
The couple hired a contractor to draw up plans for their home and had county records confirm the property was zoned for residential or agricultural use.
‘I got the green light for everything. My property was placed on the county GIS map, I was given my setbacks, what I could and could not do. I could put in a modular home, a mobile home, or I could put in a single-family home,” Hartl told the outlet.
Donna Hartl and her husband bought the $17,500 property with plans to move from North Dakota to Brooksville, Florida, but their dreams were crushed after a neighbor told them they would never be able to build there
‘I got the green light for everything. My property was placed on the county GIS map, I was given my setbacks, what I could and could not do. I could put in a modular home, a mobile home, or I could put in a single-family home,” Hartl said
When they later came to visit the property, they found a row of huge concrete utility poles, one of which was on their property. “(We) came to our property on Monday, Nov. 11 and saw that pole behind us and said, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa,’” Hartl said
When they bought the property, all that was left was a small wooden utility pole that they thought would be at the back of their house.
But when they later came to visit the property, they found a row of huge concrete utility poles, one of which was on their property.
“(We) came to our property on Monday, November 11th and saw that pole behind us and said, ‘Wow, whoa, whoa,’” Hartl added.
“And a neighbor happened to come by and introduced himself and said, ‘I don’t know what you’re doing here, but Duke Energy has an easement over your entire property, and you’ll never be able to build here.’
While provincial workers insisted she could still build, they were later corrected by an uncovered 1955 document.
The document stipulated decades-old utility provisions that prohibited development within 100 feet of the pole in any direction, leaving almost the entire tract unusable for their new home.
What remained was a 600 square meter corner that was not suitable for a house due to septic and water well requirements.
“So then there’s nothing left,” she said.
The uncovered document stipulated decades-old utility provisions that prohibited development within 100 feet of the pole in any direction, leaving almost the entire plot of land unusable for their new home.
When they bought the property there was only a small wooden utility pole that they thought would be at the back of their house
Although they cannot build, the couple is still responsible for paying taxes on the land. According to WFLA, Hernando County has since lowered the assessed value by 50 percent to $6,691.
The outlet reported that after a deeper search for documents from the seller’s broker, a boundary survey makes no mention of a pole or the utility.
They also uncovered problematic findings from West Palm Beach-based licensed surveyor Nexgen Surveying LLC.
According to the outlet, in which surveyor Clyde McNeal signed off on the survey of the property the same month, he also agreed to a probationary period to settle five counts of inaccurate surveys.
McNeal agreed to pay a $5,000 fine with 12 hours of continuing education, which included review of some investigations by the board.
“You go through the evidence and the complaints that have been filed and a lot of them are very similar to this,” said former board chairman Chris McLaughlin. “A form of damage has been revealed by not showing something, by not making the user aware of the information on the ground.”
McLaughlin told WFLA that the pole should have been noticed and further investigation into the easement should have been conducted.
According to the outlet, Hartl said she has filed complaints with the Florida Attorney General’s office and several state regulators.
She added that Nexgen representatives told her they are taking note of the information provided to them by the property seller.