The PATH Project has been terminated!
Are you in the path of PATH and/or have you been contacted by land agents?
PATH has not yet been approved by the West Virginia Public Service Commission and has not been granted permission to take land by eminent domain. Why the rush to acquire property, easements or survey rights? Because they want you to sign early and give up your rights before you have complete information to make a knowledgeable decision that protects your interests. Tell them to come back when they have a permit in their hand. Be wary of entering into deals with PATH at today's low real estate prices when it may be years before any actual construction begins (if ever!) PATH is not a certainty, no matter what their land agents tell you!
Taking property through condemnation and eminent domain is a long, complicated court process that PATH does not want to engage in. There is no chance that they will "take" your property and you will get nothing. Any offer is unlikely to be their "final offer", the offers will most likely continue (and increase) the closer your case gets to trial. PATH will go to almost any lengths to avoid the court process. The power companies pride themselves on successfully negotiating most right-of-way agreements and not resorting to the eminent domain process. This is because a large number of eminent domain lawsuits are bad for their image. How much is it worth to them to make you happy and avoid the eminent domain process? You may be surprised, if you have the backbone to stick it out for a long period of time. It is not true that you will get less for your property through the eminent domain process. A possible eminent domain case will be held here in Jefferson County (or the county where your property is located) and the amount you will be paid for your property decided by a jury of your fellow landowners. PATH cannot predict the outcome of the court process in advance. Be a holdout!
Do not be pressured by slick land agent tactics designed to separate you from your land as cheaply and with as little fuss (for them) as possible. As part of their application to the Public Service Commission, PATH has set a code of conduct for land agents, which was a result of their shameful behavior in the TrAIL powerline case. You can download a copy here. If a PATH land agent violates the code of conduct, you should file a complaint with the Public Service Commission. Contact us if you would like assistance and/or support with land agent issues.
Do not sign any agreements with PATH land agents without consulting an attorney and tax consultant of your own choosing. Do not use a PATH-provided attorney, or worse yet, no attorney at all; PATH land agents are not attorneys! Protect your rights!
Here's an example of how a Thornton, WV, couple were treated by land agents for the TrAIL power line, and a more recent follow-up letter where the property owner is "at his wit's end and soon drastic things are about to happen!". Can we expect to be treated any differently by the PATH companies? The PSC has refused to provide any enforcement on TrAIL issues that have arisen and instead pushed the burden onto the landowners to pursue through civil court at their own expense.
StopPATH WV members met with John & Janie Ives several months ago when they traveled to Jefferson County to relate their experiences at the hands of TrAILCO. We found them to be extremely nice folks who have been pushed to the limit of their patience by deceitful land agents and corporate indifference. The Ives warned us to be wary of how property purchase proceeds are classified for tax purposes. Their payment was split between payment for the right-of-way and something called "damages". When tax time rolled around, the Ives were hit with a huge tax bill on the "damages", which was considered regular income for tax purposes. Before signing an agreement with PATH, protect yourself by consulting with a tax professional. The Ives also relate that they have been subjected to a long string of different land agents, each with different tactics and approaches, as TrAILCO sought to find the right individual to coerce them to sign a right-of-way agreement. They also caution to get all promises in writing on the signed agreement, as verbal agreements or other written agreements not part of the actual agreement that is filed at the courthouse were not honored.
See for yourself what has happened to the land and environment where the power companies are currently constructing the TrAIL line. What if one of those properties in the pictures were yours?
Results of power company 'survey' in Tucker Co., WV
PATH has also been trying to acquire survey rights from property owners along its route. They are offering no monetary compensation for these rights. PATH's definition of "survey" will most likely not coincide with yours. While conducting their survey, PATH may clearcut, bring in heavy equipment (and build access roads to do so) and drill core samples. This "survey" may be highly destructive to your property and leave it looking like a war zone afterwards. This photo shows what happened to a property whose owner signed a survey agreement for the TrAIL power line. You do not have to allow PATH to survey your property, no matter how much they pressure you -- tell them to go away until they have their permit, which cannot happen before February 9, 2012, or to bring you a court order allowing them access to your property.
If you have already signed a survey agreement and want to change your mind, it's not too late to rescind your agreement, according to Bill Howley of The Powerline. See his post about rescinding survey agreements. You may also download the forms to rescind a survey agreement, as well as a notice to deny access to PATH land agents (which prohibits them from contacting you unless and until PATH receives a permit to begin construction) from the Potomac Stewards website. (see section titled "PATH Land Agents and How to Avoid Them")
As provided in the PATH Code of Conduct for land agents, you do not even have to speak to land agents, if you do not want to be pressured. If you want them to stop contacting you before their permit has been issued, you can simply give PATH written notice that you do not wish to be contacted. Be sure to send a copy of your request to the WV Public Service Commission so your wishes can be officially recorded. If you need assistance with land agent issues, please contact us and we will be happy to help.
If you have already signed a survey agreement and want to change your mind, it's not too late to rescind your agreement, according to Bill Howley of The Powerline. See his post about rescinding survey agreements. You may also download the forms to rescind a survey agreement, as well as a notice to deny access to PATH land agents (which prohibits them from contacting you unless and until PATH receives a permit to begin construction) from the Potomac Stewards website. (see section titled "PATH Land Agents and How to Avoid Them")
As provided in the PATH Code of Conduct for land agents, you do not even have to speak to land agents, if you do not want to be pressured. If you want them to stop contacting you before their permit has been issued, you can simply give PATH written notice that you do not wish to be contacted. Be sure to send a copy of your request to the WV Public Service Commission so your wishes can be officially recorded. If you need assistance with land agent issues, please contact us and we will be happy to help.
Land Agent Deceit
We have met with several Jefferson County property owners and heard many stories of inaccurate information given to property owners by PATH land agents. One that we have heard repeatedly lately is, "PATH is going to run the line right over top of your house and you'll get nothing", as a threat when negotiations between property owner and land agent break down. This is absolutely not true! A dwelling cannot remain inside the transmission line right-of-way!
Another land agent tactic is to insist that the property owner must sign the Right to Survey form before a price for the property can be set and negotiations can begin. This is not true! Their Right to Survey form has nothing to do with determining value (see survey section above).
Here's another story we have been told about PATH agents and surveys. A representative of PATH has been badgering property owners to sign over permission to survey for bats and to carry out other environmental studies conducted by PATH. The representative told a tentative property owner that if they did not permit the surveys now, that they would be forced to pay for environmental surveys later out of their own pocket. THIS IS NOT TRUE! PATH cannot force a property owner to pay for environmental surveys, now or later. Do not be intimidated! PATH environmental surveys are not required and are nothing more than PATH's attempt to circumvent a truly impartial environmental study later by producing their own environmental studies in advance, with their own hired contractors, who will most likely produce the results they are paid to produce. Environmental studies conducted by PATH contractors are not in the property owner's best interest.
If you don't think you're being told the truth by PATH land agents, please contact us for a free one-on-one information session with a member of StopPATH WV. We want you to have all the information necessary to make the decision that is right for you. Unlike PATH land agents, we have no interest in your property and will only visit if and when you ask us to. Our goal is to ensure that all Jefferson County residents are knowledgeable enough to insist that they be treated fairly in the land acquisition process.
Another land agent tactic is to insist that the property owner must sign the Right to Survey form before a price for the property can be set and negotiations can begin. This is not true! Their Right to Survey form has nothing to do with determining value (see survey section above).
Here's another story we have been told about PATH agents and surveys. A representative of PATH has been badgering property owners to sign over permission to survey for bats and to carry out other environmental studies conducted by PATH. The representative told a tentative property owner that if they did not permit the surveys now, that they would be forced to pay for environmental surveys later out of their own pocket. THIS IS NOT TRUE! PATH cannot force a property owner to pay for environmental surveys, now or later. Do not be intimidated! PATH environmental surveys are not required and are nothing more than PATH's attempt to circumvent a truly impartial environmental study later by producing their own environmental studies in advance, with their own hired contractors, who will most likely produce the results they are paid to produce. Environmental studies conducted by PATH contractors are not in the property owner's best interest.
If you don't think you're being told the truth by PATH land agents, please contact us for a free one-on-one information session with a member of StopPATH WV. We want you to have all the information necessary to make the decision that is right for you. Unlike PATH land agents, we have no interest in your property and will only visit if and when you ask us to. Our goal is to ensure that all Jefferson County residents are knowledgeable enough to insist that they be treated fairly in the land acquisition process.
PATH's Option for Real Estate Sale and Purchase
Now landowners can see for themselves, before the land agents come to call, PATH's Option for Real Estate Sale and Purchase. Take a good look at this document before a land agent starts distracting you by waving money around and use your common sense -- there's always a catch!
We are not lawyers, and this is not intended to be legal advice. However, we consider ourselves to be fairly intelligent and this is not a document any of us would ever sign. So, consider this nothing more than friendly, neighbor-to-neighbor conversation. Do yourself a huge favor and see an attorney before signing! Many attorneys will give you a free 30-minute consultation. If you need a recommendation of one to call, please contact us. You will never regret consulting an attorney before entering into a deal that could end up costing you a great deal of money, time and future hassles.
From my own layperson's reading of this document, here are the problems I'd personally have with signing this document:
1. This is only an OPTION for possible future purchase. This is not a sale of property. I would still retain ownership of the property for up to three years and as such I would be responsible for real estate taxes, property insurance, local road fees or assessments, and any financial obligations resulting from the property, just as if I had not signed the option. I would not have "sold my property to PATH" and should only abandon the property and move away if I could afford to pay for two places to live for up to three years.
2. I would be agreeing to sell my property based on today's low real estate prices. Once I sign this Option, the price is set, no matter what the value of my property may be when it is exercised.
3. The option prices paid to me during the option period would be deducted from the total sale price I would receive at the completion of the deal. The option payments would not be "free" money, but come off the total I would eventually receive.
4. This Option is assignable. That means that PATH could give any other entity the right to purchase or use my property under this agreement, and I couldn't do a thing about it.
5. I would be agreeing to keep the title to my property clear until sale, up to three years in the future. This means that I would have to be current on all my taxes and bills and stay that way. Any number of events could end up resulting in a lien on my property that I would be financially required to clear up before the sale. I would also be agreeing to be financially responsible for clearing any old liens or clouds on my property's title, even those that may have occurred during previous ownership. If I couldn't produce a clear title to PATH's satisfaction, my only recourse would be to return all the money they had paid me during the option period. I would put all that money in the bank and not touch it until the sale was completed. I would also consult a tax professional because I might be subject to regular income tax on the option payments I receive before the sale, since I will have actually sold no real estate and would not be eligible to claim a sale of property. A PATH land agent is NOT a tax professional any more than they are a lawyer, and nothing they told me would be binding or even close to accurate. I would probably ask my dog for tax and legal advice before I'd ask a PATH land agent.
6. PATH would have the right to enter onto my property at any time during the option period and pretty much do whatever it wants. It would probably be much worse than having an annoying house guest I couldn't kick out! And if I couldn't afford to pay for two properties, I would be stuck living there while PATH destroyed my property around my ears and created hazards on the property that may injure myself, my family, pets or guests.
7. I would be responsible for taking care of any "environmental condition" that PATH finds on my property. And since they don't define "condition", they could come up with anything. An old abandoned, buried oil or gas tank that has leaked could end up costing me a small fortune, even more than the amount I agreed to sell the property for. I could end up paying PATH to take my property away from me and spend my future buried under a mountain of debt! My only recourse would be, again, to return all the money I had received. Unless I had another huge pile of money laying around with which to pay any income taxes on the initial option payments received, I would be unable to return all PATH's money, even if I put it straight into the bank and left it there. The IRS would most likely still want its cut first and foremost. I would make PATH responsible for any unknown "conditions" that are later discovered, if I was writing this contract.
8. I would know that the entire agreement between myself and PATH is contained in the four corners of this written contract (hey, I watch Judge Judy, too). Nothing the PATH land agent promised me, either verbally or in writing, would be valid or enforceable. A hand shake means nothing to the land agent. Everything I want and expect must be explicitly laid out in this agreement before I sign.
9. I would be agreeing not to record this agreement (at the court house, where it becomes a public record). Instead I would be agreeing to record a separate Memorandum of Option, which gives only minimal information. Agreeing to keep this deal "secret" tells me that there may be something wrong with it that can't stand direct sunlight. Perhaps if it was a public document, someone could clue in on how the landowners may be being taken advantage of in these deals and word would get around in my community. It would also reveal the price, making it that much harder on PATH land agents to negotiate with my neighbors and tell them false tales about whether I have sold my property and for how much.
10. I would be certifying that no real estate broker or agent was a part of this deal. I might question if this was a circumvention of West Virginia law. And, again, I might suspect that there's something wrong with this deal that a licensed broker or agent could advise me against.
11. This Option would be binding upon my heirs or successors. If I were to die before the sale was completed, I would be leaving a heck of a mess for my kids or other heirs to deal with.
No thanks, PATH. I would NEVER sign one of your Option for Real Estate Sale and Purchase agreements unless I had first consulted both an attorney and a tax professional (and most of my brains had leaked out my ears).
PATH's Right-of-Way Agreement
To see one of PATH's Right-of-Way Agreements and read some good advice from another WV landowner about its contents, check out this article on Calhoun Power Line. Once again, this legal agreement is designed to benefit PATH and take advantage of the landowner. Don't be one of PATH's victims, hire your own attorney!
We are not lawyers, and this is not intended to be legal advice. However, we consider ourselves to be fairly intelligent and this is not a document any of us would ever sign. So, consider this nothing more than friendly, neighbor-to-neighbor conversation. Do yourself a huge favor and see an attorney before signing! Many attorneys will give you a free 30-minute consultation. If you need a recommendation of one to call, please contact us. You will never regret consulting an attorney before entering into a deal that could end up costing you a great deal of money, time and future hassles.
From my own layperson's reading of this document, here are the problems I'd personally have with signing this document:
1. This is only an OPTION for possible future purchase. This is not a sale of property. I would still retain ownership of the property for up to three years and as such I would be responsible for real estate taxes, property insurance, local road fees or assessments, and any financial obligations resulting from the property, just as if I had not signed the option. I would not have "sold my property to PATH" and should only abandon the property and move away if I could afford to pay for two places to live for up to three years.
2. I would be agreeing to sell my property based on today's low real estate prices. Once I sign this Option, the price is set, no matter what the value of my property may be when it is exercised.
3. The option prices paid to me during the option period would be deducted from the total sale price I would receive at the completion of the deal. The option payments would not be "free" money, but come off the total I would eventually receive.
4. This Option is assignable. That means that PATH could give any other entity the right to purchase or use my property under this agreement, and I couldn't do a thing about it.
5. I would be agreeing to keep the title to my property clear until sale, up to three years in the future. This means that I would have to be current on all my taxes and bills and stay that way. Any number of events could end up resulting in a lien on my property that I would be financially required to clear up before the sale. I would also be agreeing to be financially responsible for clearing any old liens or clouds on my property's title, even those that may have occurred during previous ownership. If I couldn't produce a clear title to PATH's satisfaction, my only recourse would be to return all the money they had paid me during the option period. I would put all that money in the bank and not touch it until the sale was completed. I would also consult a tax professional because I might be subject to regular income tax on the option payments I receive before the sale, since I will have actually sold no real estate and would not be eligible to claim a sale of property. A PATH land agent is NOT a tax professional any more than they are a lawyer, and nothing they told me would be binding or even close to accurate. I would probably ask my dog for tax and legal advice before I'd ask a PATH land agent.
6. PATH would have the right to enter onto my property at any time during the option period and pretty much do whatever it wants. It would probably be much worse than having an annoying house guest I couldn't kick out! And if I couldn't afford to pay for two properties, I would be stuck living there while PATH destroyed my property around my ears and created hazards on the property that may injure myself, my family, pets or guests.
7. I would be responsible for taking care of any "environmental condition" that PATH finds on my property. And since they don't define "condition", they could come up with anything. An old abandoned, buried oil or gas tank that has leaked could end up costing me a small fortune, even more than the amount I agreed to sell the property for. I could end up paying PATH to take my property away from me and spend my future buried under a mountain of debt! My only recourse would be, again, to return all the money I had received. Unless I had another huge pile of money laying around with which to pay any income taxes on the initial option payments received, I would be unable to return all PATH's money, even if I put it straight into the bank and left it there. The IRS would most likely still want its cut first and foremost. I would make PATH responsible for any unknown "conditions" that are later discovered, if I was writing this contract.
8. I would know that the entire agreement between myself and PATH is contained in the four corners of this written contract (hey, I watch Judge Judy, too). Nothing the PATH land agent promised me, either verbally or in writing, would be valid or enforceable. A hand shake means nothing to the land agent. Everything I want and expect must be explicitly laid out in this agreement before I sign.
9. I would be agreeing not to record this agreement (at the court house, where it becomes a public record). Instead I would be agreeing to record a separate Memorandum of Option, which gives only minimal information. Agreeing to keep this deal "secret" tells me that there may be something wrong with it that can't stand direct sunlight. Perhaps if it was a public document, someone could clue in on how the landowners may be being taken advantage of in these deals and word would get around in my community. It would also reveal the price, making it that much harder on PATH land agents to negotiate with my neighbors and tell them false tales about whether I have sold my property and for how much.
10. I would be certifying that no real estate broker or agent was a part of this deal. I might question if this was a circumvention of West Virginia law. And, again, I might suspect that there's something wrong with this deal that a licensed broker or agent could advise me against.
11. This Option would be binding upon my heirs or successors. If I were to die before the sale was completed, I would be leaving a heck of a mess for my kids or other heirs to deal with.
No thanks, PATH. I would NEVER sign one of your Option for Real Estate Sale and Purchase agreements unless I had first consulted both an attorney and a tax professional (and most of my brains had leaked out my ears).
PATH's Right-of-Way Agreement
To see one of PATH's Right-of-Way Agreements and read some good advice from another WV landowner about its contents, check out this article on Calhoun Power Line. Once again, this legal agreement is designed to benefit PATH and take advantage of the landowner. Don't be one of PATH's victims, hire your own attorney!