Drainage easement

[virgo]

Hiya

So, i have this back neighbour who is demolishing his old house and putting in a Clarendon double story house. His problem is drainage issue as his block slopes to the rear...

He wants to put in multiple dispersion pits..but first council requires him to get permission from me that I DO NOT ALLOW him to get an easement through my land......

The standard letter that council requires includes this clause "should you not grant an easement and an absorption pit be done, you may be affected by excessive rainfall or failure of the system"

Qn: i am now in a quandary as i do not want an easement in my backyard NOR do i want an ineffective absorption pit

What would you do?

 

[mflying]

you can refuse easement. but you wont be able to stop him doing pits!

 

[devank]

How much money can you get as compensation?
Can you use that money as a deposit for a new IP or any other investment?

Is your bank going to value your property any less if you give easement? Is it a problem if you are not planning to sell ever?

We were willing to pay 40K (+all cost of replacement of garden shed) but the neighbours refused.
At the end we had to build 30 sqm retention tank and a long absorption pit at the back at the cost of 40K.

 

[LeoT]

Hiya

So, i have this back neighbour who is demolishing his old house and putting in a Clarendon double story house. His problem is drainage issue as his block slopes to the rear...

He wants to put in multiple dispersion pits..but first council requires him to get permission from me that I DO NOT ALLOW him to get an easement through my land......

The standard letter that council requires includes this clause "should you not grant an easement and an absorption pit be done, you may be affected by excessive rainfall or failure of the system"

Qn: i am now in a quandary as i do not want an easement in my backyard NOR do i want an ineffective absorption pit

What would you do?

If you don't plan to develop your property and the pits are in a dead area anyway then I would try and see what I can charge for the easement.

Only really negative thing is when you (if you) sell the house you have to disclose easements and it might put some ppl off but I don't see why it should UNLESS the easement is in a place that would restrict say knocking down this house to build a new house or develop the land (if possible). but if its in a place where really wont affect any kind of future build then what the hell? Milk em for whatever you can get I know I've been milked before and I was happy(ish) to pay. Like Devank said, use the compensation to get your next IP

Leo

 

[eXc]

Assuming the easement is pipes underground to connect to storm water...

Having manholes on your property my be undesirable...but if there is a way you can stipulate there is to be no manholes on your block...

Would you prefer an easement which you can do pretty well everything except build a permanent structure, or no easement, but lots of soggy land.

Do you plan to build where the easement would be? If not, what's the big deal?

I spent a lot of time getting my yard dry, I wouldn't want to take on someone else's storm water.

Would it actually benefit you? does it mean you could pipe into it to do drainage of your yard?

 

[virgo]

Pump or Pit?

Thanks for all the replies.

So basically i have decided against an easement in my property.

My neighbour's letter states:

"The alternative to an easement is our developemnt be pumped and/or charged to our street, and/or an absorption /dispersal pit in the rear yard".

Qn: i have heard pits can fail; is a pumped system better for me?

Thanks

 

[knightm]

Thanks for all the replies.

So basically i have decided against an easement in my property.

My neighbour's letter states:

"The alternative to an easement is our developemnt be pumped and/or charged to our street, and/or an absorption /dispersal pit in the rear yard".

Qn: i have heard pits can fail; is a pumped system better for me?

Thanks

It sounds like its his system not yours, and you won't get to choose. Personally if I was involved I would prefer a charged system, then pumped or pits.

 

[virgo]

System

Hang on

You mean there are THREE systems to choose from?

1) Charged (whatever it means)
2) Pump
3) Pits

from virgo (who can't change a lightbulb- seriously)

 

[eXc]

pumped will cost the owner a lot more in both setup and maintenance, so they will take that as a last option.

the pit is the cheapest option, which they will take if allowed. It's essentially dig a hole and put gravel in, then it will discharge into your place (if you are downhill) and you will need to sort drainage on your side. Of course the theory is the pit will discharge at a rate that won't cause issues at your place...keep in mind communism works in theory.

Personally, unless I planned to build over the easement, I'd take the easement option. It also gives you a location to put storm water/subsoil water discharge if you need it.

 

[Scott No Mates]

Virgo, all systems can fail without proper maintenance.

Charged systems - Ryde LGA

My preference is a pumpout system - reasonably unlikely to fail as they should have 2 pumps (one is the backup pump).

 

[vaughan]

Personally, unless I planned to build over the easement, I'd take the easement option. It also gives you a location to put storm water/subsoil water discharge if you need it.

This. You can use their storm water yourself.

Be smart, take their money and give them an easement, then their water is not going to end up causing you problems.

Set your price a bit below the cost to dig the pit.

 

[albanga]

I have heard numerous stories of people making significant amounts of money from allowing an easement to be created within their property. I spoke to a developer on Saturday who paid $80,000 for the use of a neighbors property to run an easement which would have had no affect on future sales of that property.

As others have already said but have you considered where this easement will run? It may have almost no effect on your property such as running along a boundary that cannot be constructed on anyway.

The problem you have however is that this is not a developer so he probably doesn't have a profit margin he can stretch to allow for payment to yourself. Secondly he is likely going to be staying meaning you have to live next to him for the foreseeable future.

I would definitely be exploring that in greater detail as opposed to a pump system going in that may fail at some stage.
Simply explain that adding an easement will affect the value of your property (as stated it actually may not at all) and that you want full compensation for this which you have valued at X dollars, plus inconvenience and cost to repair gardens.

 

[willair]

Depends on the location and several other factors,imho, in my opinion go with the pumps that may well save you a lot of stress and legal fees,plus from the engineering there will be a standalone back up pump that will come on line when the stage one stalls..

 

[brazen]

If the Drainage easement will be parallel to your rear boundary, I'd take it every single time. Why?

If your own property falls (slopes) to the rear boundary as well, you can use it too. It actually ADDS value if it has a positive effect.

Brazen.

P.S. The amount the neighbour offers you should be >$40,000 for an 'average' area in Sydney right now. He then has to spend a lot of money laying the pipes and registering the easement etc.