Waiting game

We are still waiting to hear from the large utility on purchasing additional easement on our little piece of hill-country pie. It's interesting to find that after we have researched other uses of eminent domain in Texas...this seems to be a tactic that utilities, municipalities and other large entities use. They send you a letter, saying they are coming through and they offer you "x" amount of money (generally well below market value). Then they ignore your counter-offer or offers, and claim that "there was no negotiating possible so we had to go to condemnation". We have made four good faith attempts to contact them in writing and other than a phone call here and there, there is a vast silence. I'm sure they will call us "non-negotiators" at any moment.

Yet, the work continues. Two days ago I came home to find mr. yahoo and his yahoo good ol' boy buddies from the "john doe" fence company cutting a gate in my fence. This is gate number two. Actually, if you count the only "real" gate, the herewegoagain gate, it's gate number three. There are now THREE ways to get on and off our property so I guess we are safe in a fire. Perhaps I should get some "exit" signs since we are becoming such a major thoroughfare. NO one called to tell me this was happening, and when I asked the nice-but-yahoo contractors, I literally heard the word, "oops" out of their mouths. I'm not sure that we needed that gate, I'm not sure that they needed that gate, but we have it nonetheless.

To me, it's like a neon light saying, "easement here" to anyone driving by, or even to any potential buyers in the future. It is another reason why we didn't like the first monetary offer. This property has been sliced and diced and we've lost considerable value....yet, we have so little to say in how we're compensated.

And the silence continues.