Hi Everyone,
We were recently contacted by a land acquisition representative to inquire about a ROW for a pipeline for some property we own in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana. The ROW would run diagonally across our property (80 acre tract, rectangular, ROW extending from basically NW corner to SE corner.) Offer is:
- $8500/acre for Permanent ROW
- $2500/acre for Temp. Workspace
- $1500/acre for Timber
In a follow-up email, he says that this pricing is approximately equivalent to $155/rod. This sounds very low in comparison to other research we've done from talking to other landowners and on sites like this one.
Has anyone had this quoted like this before? (i.e. acreage vs. ROD) It seems that the ROD method is only a measure of length, and not area, so I'm not sure how the convert the $8.5k/acre to $/rod without knowing the width of the ROW. Can anyone offer any guidance on how to convert to $/rod units? What sort of range of pricing should we expect for this area? What range of pricing (per rod) is customary in this area?
It may be worth noting that they will be dropping the pipe in an abandoned pipeline already cut and cleared. It's seems to me that, since it is perfectly aligned with adjacent property by virtue of the abandoned pipeline, the construction costs should be lower and the incentive would be much higher to cross our piece. Does this seem reasonable?
Thanks in advance,
Cody
I can't be of much help here; however, I can add my viewpoint as follows"
1. First of all, the land owner is at a big disadvantage before this game even gets started, even if they have a large block of land.
2. Anytime a pipeline goes across our property, the value of all the property has been devalued greatly and then to have the pipeline basically cutting your property into two pieces with an easement down the middle is unbelievable bad news for this property.
3. I don't know that it matters from my perspective; however, you need to know the exact width of the ROW, both temporary and permanent. In addition if I had a chance, I would never talk to these guys when they are speaking in Rods. We understand feet and it is clear, Rods were used many years ago and the use of rods 16 1/2 feet is no longer a valid talking measurement since most people have no idea what it means.
4. If at all possible, there should never be a permanent ROW, even if it is 30 years, a temporary ROW is a must if at all possible.
5. Hopefully you can push the pipeline somewhere lese; but, that's not likely, so do your best to detail what rights you have as for traveling over the pipeline and limit their access to and from as much as possible.
6. Get help from a very knowledgeable pipeline attorney if at all possible.
7. $35-$50 per foot is not unreasonable, so press as hard as you can using that number as a target if this thing continues to haunt you and there is a lot of guidance out there if you keep searching.
Good luck!
Pipeline companies know they have "the iron hand" so they will do their best to squeeze you as hard as they can, so you are in for a fight unless you roll over for them.
3.
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