A couple in Florida were given the shock of a lifetime after they bought a plot of land for their dream home, only to find out they won’t be able to build on it – all because of a utility pole.
Donna Hartl and her husband bought the $17,500 property with plans to relocate 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 feet of the utility pole, but the couple were still left paying taxes on the unusable land.
Hartl, however, said they had done their homework on the land and saw no red flags throughout the entire process.
‘We really wanted to have some privacy, not to be stranded out in the country,’ Hartl told WFLA. ‘We just felt this was the perfect match.’
The couple brought in a builder to draft plans for their home and had County records confirm the property was zoned for residential or agricultural use.
‘I was getting the green light on everything. My property was being brought up on the GIS map at the county, I got my setbacks, what I could and couldn’t do. I could bring a modular home in, a mobile home, or I could do a single-family residence,’ Hartl told the outlet.
Donna Hartl and her husband bought the $17,500 property with plans to relocate from North Dakota to Brooksville, Florida, but their dreams were crushed after a neighbor told them they could never build there
‘I was getting the green light on everything. My property was being brought up on the GIS map at the county, I got my setbacks, what I could and couldn’t do. I could bring a modular home in, a mobile home, or I could do a single-family residence,’ Hartl said
![When they later came to visit the property, they found a line of huge concrete utility poles with one on their land. '[We] came to our property on Monday November 11 and saw that pole behind us and went "Whoa, whoa, whoa",' Hartl said](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/18/01/93255871-14203709-image-a-20_1734486661359.jpg)
When they later came to visit the property, they found a line of huge concrete utility poles with one on their land. ‘[We] came to our property on Monday November 11 and saw that pole behind us and went “Whoa, whoa, whoa”,’ Hartl said
When they had bought the property, all that stood was a small wooden utility pole which they believed would stand at the back of their home.
Yet, when they later came to visit the property, they found a line of huge concrete utility poles with one on their land.
‘[We] came to our property on Monday November 11 and saw that pole behind us and went “Whoa, whoa, whoa”,’ Hartl added.
‘And a neighbor happened to stop by and introduce themselves and said, “I don’t know what you’re doing here but Duke Energy has an easement over your entire property, and you will never be able to build here”.’
While county workers insisted that she could still build, they were later corrected by an uncovered document from 1955.
The document stipulated the decades-old utility easement that prohibited construction within 100 feet of the pole in any direction, leaving almost the entire piece of land unusable for their new home.
What was left was a 600-square-foot corner that wouldn’t accommodate a home due to septic and well requirements.
‘So, that leaves nothing,’ she said.
The uncovered document stipulated the decades-old utility easement that prohibited construction within 100 feet of the pole in any direction, leaving almost the entire piece of land unusable for their new home
When they had bought the property, all that stood was a small wooden utility pole which they believed would stand at the back of their home
While unable to build, the couple are still responsible for paying taxes on the land. Hernando County has since reduced the assessed value by 50 percent to $6,691, according to WFLA.
The outlet reported that, after digging deeper on documents from the seller’s broker, a boundary survey makes no mention of a pole or the utility easement.
They also uncovered problematic findings from licensed surveyor Nexgen Surveying LLC of West Palm Beach.
According to the outlet, that the same month surveyor Clyde McNeal signed off on the property’s survey he also agreed to state probation to settle five cases involving inaccurate surveys.
McNeal agreed to pay a $5,000 fine with 12 hours of continuing education, with some surveys reviewed by the board.
‘You go over evidence and complaints that were filed and a lot of them are very similar to this, said past board chair Chris McLaughlin. ‘Some kind of harm showed by failing to show something, failing to make the user aware of the information on the ground.’
McLaughlin told WFLA that the pole should have been noted and further investigation into the easement 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 have told her they note information provided to them by the seller of the property.
