Author Topic: New guy just got punched in the face  (Read 7192 times)

Hedge_87

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New guy just got punched in the face
« on: July 13, 2013, 03:53:08 PM »
Hello everybody. Just stumbled across the blog about a week ago. I've never been a big spender (or so I thought). When I was 20 years old I started working for the power company as a lineman. (Great job, get to be outside and work with my hands, also made about $60k my first year on the job) As you can imagine this was a lot of money for someone my age and since it came so easy... You guessed it. It was spent easy.
Fast forward 5 years I'm engaged to a beautiful and smart woman. We bought a house out in the county (13 miles from my place of work and 15 from hers or the nearest grocery store) SMART!!! Anyway I've been thinking a lot about finances now that there is two of us and after reading this forum I can't believe how stupid I've been with money. Next year with both our incomes combined we will be making about $150. Hopefully we can make some changes in our spending habits and get on the right track and not be stuck working forever for nothing.
This all came to a major head (face punch) this morning. When our neighbor stopped by to warn us about next week when they move a hydraulic fracturing drilling rig into our front yard. I was furious I don't want to have that crap right in my front yard!! Then I got thinking how we are partially to blame. We had to live here and me driving26 miles a day and Sam driving 30 for a total of 56 miles a day is a stupid idea. Why am I so stupid!!! Ok enough complaining I've had my face punched now to work on fixing the problem

MoneyLifeandMore

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Re: New guy just got punched in the face
« Reply #1 on: July 13, 2013, 05:29:33 PM »
Glad to see you woke up, but it stinks about the fracking. Hopefully it is gone as quick as it comes, but somehow I doubt that =/

marty998

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Re: New guy just got punched in the face
« Reply #2 on: July 13, 2013, 05:53:57 PM »
Why are they allowed to frack in your front yard?

There's a backlash here about drilling 2kms away from houses on the outskirts of Sydney. The government quickly backed down and cancelled the drilling permits of the energy company involved.

If it's your front yard that's a whole other matter. Sign your petitions, hassle your local politicians and "Lock the Gate" (the local protest slogan here).

Then I got thinking how we are partially to blame.

I don't think you are to blame. You should have the right to tell a mining company to piss off.

Hedge_87

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Re: New guy just got punched in the face
« Reply #3 on: July 13, 2013, 06:49:15 PM »
Ok maybe front yard was a bit of a exaggeration but my new neighbor across the street will be a gas well in a matter of two weeks. I live in a very sparsely populated area (I am the only residence in a one mile radius) which is kind of what pisses me off. If they would move 1 mile south it would be WAY less of a mess/danger to my family or anybody at all. (I'm a volunteer firefighter and am trained to handle emergencies at thes locations. I also know about how many dangerous chemicals can be found on a sight). And I guess the icing on the cake is I've never sold any mineral rights or even been propositioned for them. My neighbor said "they are only looking at that section (1 mile X 1 mile square) for now. But I don't see how they can't be pulling gas from under me being just 1/4 mile away. It's not like there is an invisible glass bairrer between the property lines that shoots down 100,00 feet or anything

TrulyStashin

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Re: New guy just got punched in the face
« Reply #4 on: July 17, 2013, 10:16:37 AM »
Check your real estate sales contract.   It's possible that there is a clause requiring the previous owner to inform prospective buyers (you) about certain issues with the home -- example, lead paint, underground oil tank, asbestos (varies by state law).

It's a reach as it likely doesn't cover actions that are happening on an adjoining parcel but if there is any kind of clause that applies to changes in zoning or land use it might be worth pursuing an argument that the previous owner knew of an issue but failed to disclose it prior to the sale.  You might be able to unwind the home sale.

I suspect that previous owner had following the permitting process/ zoning necessary for the fracking to be legal and knew it was coming so they sold and dumped the problem in your lap.  Very bad karma, IMHO.  I'm sorry it happened to you.

If that doesn't help, you should review ALL the permits issued to the fracking company.  There will likely be limits on their operations and how they can behave on the site.  At the very least you can monitor their actions and make sure they stay within the limits of their permits.  Call your county's land use/ planning department to start with.  Your state agency that deals with mines and minerals will also likely be involved.

Good luck.

StubblyNortherner

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Re: New guy just got punched in the face
« Reply #5 on: July 17, 2013, 12:04:26 PM »
Ok maybe front yard was a bit of a exaggeration but my new neighbor across the street will be a gas well in a matter of two weeks. I live in a very sparsely populated area (I am the only residence in a one mile radius) which is kind of what pisses me off. If they would move 1 mile south it would be WAY less of a mess/danger to my family or anybody at all. (I'm a volunteer firefighter and am trained to handle emergencies at thes locations. I also know about how many dangerous chemicals can be found on a sight). And I guess the icing on the cake is I've never sold any mineral rights or even been propositioned for them. My neighbor said "they are only looking at that section (1 mile X 1 mile square) for now. But I don't see how they can't be pulling gas from under me being just 1/4 mile away. It's not like there is an invisible glass bairrer between the property lines that shoots down 100,00 feet or anything

I'm pretty sure that they can produce under your property (Not sure if the wellbore can go underneath your property though).  Right of first capture.  I've seen cases where people have said no to companies holding out for more money and then they get undersold by adjacent properties and the resource gets drained. Unfortunately i'm a pipeline / facilities engineer in canada and know very little about the business down south.   

footenote

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Re: New guy just got punched in the face
« Reply #6 on: July 17, 2013, 12:31:52 PM »
Check out your state's law. I know in Ohio property is separate from gas or oil rights. My parents sold off 15 acres to a real estate developer, but did not sell the mineral rights. Gas extraction continued as the acreage was developed into a subdivision.

Rebecca Stapler

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Re: New guy just got punched in the face
« Reply #7 on: July 17, 2013, 03:02:13 PM »
Also check your local nuisance laws to see if the fracking is going to cause a nuisance, and what you can do about it if it does.

TrulyStashin

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Re: New guy just got punched in the face
« Reply #8 on: July 17, 2013, 08:20:46 PM »
Check out your state's law. I know in Ohio property is separate from gas or oil rights. My parents sold off 15 acres to a real estate developer, but did not sell the mineral rights. Gas extraction continued as the acreage was developed into a subdivision.

+1

Kazimieras

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Re: New guy just got punched in the face
« Reply #9 on: July 18, 2013, 08:37:33 AM »
Check out your state's law. I know in Ohio property is separate from gas or oil rights. My parents sold off 15 acres to a real estate developer, but did not sell the mineral rights. Gas extraction continued as the acreage was developed into a subdivision.
There is something to be said about spending the typically paltry sum of money to buy mineral rights below your house :)

Spork

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Re: New guy just got punched in the face
« Reply #10 on: July 18, 2013, 09:57:14 AM »
Check out your state's law. I know in Ohio property is separate from gas or oil rights. My parents sold off 15 acres to a real estate developer, but did not sell the mineral rights. Gas extraction continued as the acreage was developed into a subdivision.
There is something to be said about spending the typically paltry sum of money to buy mineral rights below your house :)

Around here (Texas) it is almost impossible to do so.  Mineral rights were retained by some previous owner 50+ years ago.  If you don't inherit them, it's really hard to get them.

And around here -- the original complaint is pretty common.  Hell, they might even decide they want to put a bigass metal building on your property to house parts for a well/pipeline.  You get a "Sorry, mate, but that's how the mineral rights laws are written". 

Hedge_87

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Re: New guy just got punched in the face
« Reply #11 on: July 20, 2013, 01:21:10 PM »
Its kinda frustrating how the laws all seem to protect the big guys (guess thats what waving big $$$ around a bunch of crooks gets you). According to the real estate company I bought this property from the mineral rights came with the property (i'm sure that is why it auctioned off higher than i was expecting to pay but still 5k under my top limit). At the time when I bought it the "gas boom" had not quite made it to this area yet but everybody was saying it was coming. A lot of the farmers in the area have leased their rights with prices ranging anywhere from $200-$900 an acre. I guess cant blame the guys for leasing. 

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!