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bcardarella OP t1_j9zf9a5 wrote

Reply to comment by Icy-Neck-2422 in Comcast left a note stating they plan to dig up my lawn upgrade a line. I don't even have Comcast and I don't want them digging. How can I stop this? by bcardarella

Nope, literally marked all the way from the street to the corner of my house where our utilities come in. Not an easement. Note left stated the intention to install Comcast fiber lines which I do not want and have not requested. It's about 200 ft from the street.

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DeffNotTom t1_j9zgrzz wrote

You can likely call them and just say you don't want it. But if you deny it now and ever want to switch to their internet, you'll have to pay a hefty sum out of pocket to get connected. Could be an issue for you down the road if you want to sell. Running fiber isn't like laying something like a water or sewer main, it shouldn't require them tearing up a large portion of your lawn. Usually just a small cut that can be covered/hidden again pretty easily.

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bcardarella OP t1_j9zhitw wrote

What blows me away is that they were going to dig a 200ft trench on private property and tear up a front walk way and plant bed without permission. I spoke with the owner of the company Comcast contracted for this work and he said he'd have a supervisor speak with me but it wasn't clear that they don't plan on doing this still. I could wake up to the sound a crew in my yard next week.

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DeffNotTom t1_j9zk1w7 wrote

I'd be surprised if they have to tear up the walkway. Or really anything. The line they're going to run is very small so they shouldn't have to do a whole lot and it can be ran under the walkway without a lot of hassle. You're house is still probably on some list saying you have Comcast equipment like an ONT in it, even though you're not a customer.

I'd be annoyed too, but it's likely just a case of poorly updated databases. There's probably still Comcast service off the main line at the street so they think it has to be updated with everything else.

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theman808 t1_ja00jdw wrote

Fiber doesn't require a trench. They have a machine that lays it down with just a slit in your lawn.

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bcardarella OP t1_ja03c4g wrote

Ok, I still don't want it.

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[deleted] t1_ja095yg wrote

[deleted]

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bcardarella OP t1_ja09q46 wrote

What? This doesn't affect anybody else. They're able to upgrade the street line and do whatever work necessary within the setback. Running the additional line to my house is what I'm referring to. It's not necessary and not something I agreed to.

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FrankySobotka t1_ja2ccc3 wrote

I'm just a stupid guy on the internet but I think I see both where you and the people you're replying to are coming from, even though his comments are deleted

You don't want your property and plant beds changed without your permission and some assurance they'll be mindful. Meanwhile you'd be shooting yourself in the foot to not get this fiber terminated at your house fo free while it's being offered

Idk man sleep on it, see if you can't get the owner/supervisor of the contractor to agree to not break ground until you're there

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[deleted] t1_ja09zeb wrote

[deleted]

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AllGrey_2000 t1_ja0d9t6 wrote

I don’t think it’s a big deal for a future owner to have comcast install it then. If Comcast wants the business, they will.

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bcardarella OP t1_ja0r0fb wrote

Wow. That's is some special level of internet rage for a hypothetical situation you just dreamed up.

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JohnnyRebe1 t1_ja1jy8y wrote

I don’t understand why you’re being downvoted.. children that have never owned anything I guess. I wouldn’t want those duckers cutting up my yard or installing their crap either.

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BigChickenpips t1_ja40guj wrote

I think it comes down to people understanding he’s upset that no one called him and asked and explained what is actually being done, I would also be upset and suspicious.

While on the other hand he’s saying no to something that is free and will be covered up practically instantly after the work is done (many of us know what this entails, while OP believes it to be a traumatic event to his lawn) and that may cost him or someone else much more down the road if he chooses not to allow it.

However everyone is downvoting for their own reasons. It just seems a bit dramatic to me. (I’ve had this done to me)

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Caduceus1515 t1_ja04pjj wrote

So you don't own the house?

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bcardarella OP t1_ja0506f wrote

I do. Sorry, by "owner" I meant owner of the contractor company that Comcast hired to do the work.

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Caduceus1515 t1_ja0550t wrote

OK, then not sure what you meant by owner...the contractor maybe?

Edit: I seem to be getting downvoted for a stupid question - but OP stealth-edited...

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sugarplum811 t1_ja0v63i wrote

The owner? Are you renting?

Edit - nevermind. Answered elsewhere, op owns.

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George_GeorgeGlass t1_ja1c1of wrote

No. If they do the work anyway you go out there and shut it down immediately. They do not have the right to do that. Most people likely don’t fight or stop them. If they show up and start digging you go out, tell them no and call the cops. It’s that simple. It’s a battle but the principle matters. If it’s that important to you, you have a fight.

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johndburger t1_j9zgl76 wrote

You’re not really answering the question. Are you sure there is not an existing easement on your property? Nothing in all the papers you signed when you bought the house? If there’s an existing line as you indicated, it wouldn’t be surprising that they have an easement.

Not sure about Boston, but many cities have generic easements in place for all utilities, and the 2015 Net Neutrality legislation classified broadband as a utility.

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bcardarella OP t1_j9zgrxr wrote

There is no easement. I checked for any when I bought the property in 2017.

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imseasquared t1_j9zxkve wrote

By "checked for any" do you mean you looked at the title exam for the property? Just because your deed didn't contain easement language doesn't mean that a deed into a prior owner did and somewhere in the chain of title the easement was accidentally omitted. I can't tell you how many deeds I've seen that were just cut & pasted from the last deed without any verification that the property description is accurate.

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bcardarella OP t1_j9zym5p wrote

It was 2017 so I forget which town office it was but I requested to know about any easement claims that may be on the property as part of our due diligence when purchasing. I was told there aren't any and we haven't given permission for any since then.

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bostonaliens t1_ja0xw3p wrote

Easements run with the land. Where my bird lawyers at?

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lenswipe t1_ja0wubo wrote

> the 2015 Net Neutrality legislation classified broadband as a utility

Trump-era FCC rolled back that I think...not sure if they rolled back only parts of it, or all of it..

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erp3d t1_j9zyyja wrote

If it’s to the corner of your house where utilities come in, there may be a utility easement.

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andr_wr t1_ja0aec4 wrote

Whether they marked anything doesn't have anything to do with an easement nor does the location of the origin and destination mean that something is/is not an easement.

A utility easement can be implied - that is, not written and recorded at the land registry - because the presence of something (like existing utility lines) implies that an easement must have been intended whether or not it was recorded. For utilities like Comcast, these are permanent/perpetual easements because utilities are public services.

If they don't have existing lines, then, yes, you can force them to seek an easement.

If they do have existing lines and the easement was just never recorded, you can negotiate with them still. For example, you can ask for some standard of how they return the property to you after add their lines. At my family house, we had asked them to use matching sod instead of just patching things over which they happily did.

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dante662 t1_ja0d8i7 wrote

How do you know this for sure? Have you looked this up in city records? Utility companies often have broad access easements.

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bcardarella OP t1_ja0lbrt wrote

I’m going to double check on Monday when town hall opens.

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Game_ofThreads t1_ja0zf6r wrote

I would check your county registry of deeds for any recorded easements. All should be accessible online.

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bornconfuzed t1_ja1j17q wrote

The county handles the registry of deeds, which is where any recorded easement would be. Suffolk County Registry of Deeds is searchable online. I would be fairly shocked if there wasn’t a utility easement that Comcast is entitled to use. I also think you’re being shortsighted, those easements normally require them to put the yard back the way they found it as long as you haven’t built, like, an in ground pool in the way.

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sheepsleepdeep t1_ja634qb wrote

This happened with my house is PA. They came through after securing a franchise with the township. They have a machine that cuts a slit and buries the cable, if they have to bore under a path that's easy too.

When they do these initial buildouts it's free. If someone in the future wants a line, they'll have to pay for it. You're better off on the long run letting them run it, especially if it's their crew. You don't want a buyer giving you grief over it when selling it a few years from now.

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DooDooBrownz t1_ja810ig wrote

every property has a utility easement, they can trim a tree on your property or do whatever else is necessary without your express permission

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throwaway_faunsmary t1_ja47gnw wrote

Not fiber though? I don’t think Comcast offers any fiber optics services, just coax cable. So they just want to install a new coax line?

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MrPap t1_ja4yhab wrote

They run fiber for businesses but are starting to roll out residential fiber. Here’s a press rerelease for a town in Connecticut.

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