5 Comment

• commonsense August 26, 2015 at 8:59 am

  They’re still talking about that silly high speed Dallas train? With oil at $40 a barrel and with all expectations that it will not go higher than $70-$80 a barrel within the next decade, the choo-choo ain’t happenin’.
• joel August 26, 2015 at 9:47 am

  Regardless of whatever discussions have been had since the last failed bond I’d still put my money on Montgomery County voting down the bond again, especially at this stage in the game. Would like to see it pass though as better transit options north of the city keeps demand and those folks out of the city.
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  Enjoyed the Museum Park condo article and all the false bartering chips each party raises. Nobody would’ve ever bought that location with the intention of building a highrise so saying they decided to scale it down to a midrise is just misleading. Looks like it’ll be a nice addition to the area though, if they can squeeze their price points enough to still get it built.
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  And I just found this comical. Where on earth do these real estate consultants see potential for huge wage rises over the next 3 years to support another housing boom? Wages are currently falling in Houston.

  “Houston home prices will continue to rise over the next three years, albeit at a slower pace due to cooling job growth during the oil slump, said Mollie Carmichael, principal with John Burns Real Estate Consulting.. However, the Irvine, California-based real estate research firm expects home prices to surge back to double digit increases by 2018”
• JohnQ August 26, 2015 at 11:54 am

  The TCR site has two “proposed station locations” for Dallas shown on a map, but nothing for Houston. The overall route map seems to show the line going into the northwest side of Downtown. Maybe the post office property? The Amtrak station? Some other plot near the Amtrak station?

  Also, I guess if they run the TCR over the rail that goes along Washington they’re going to have to expand the ROW. All those people that bought townhouses within 50 feet of the track (like if there’s an accident, the train will literally derail through your house) are going to have to move.
• tejas August 28, 2015 at 12:36 pm

  I went to one of the rail meetings. Still can’t tell me if they will be outright buying the land they use or just getting a right-of-way. The existing right-of-ways for utilities still allow the landowner to use the surface for grazing etc. When you grant a right-of-way, you still have to pay taxes on that land, albeit slightly less. If I can’t use the surface at all, I don’t want to have to pay taxes on it for the next 30 years. They would need to buy it outright or I would want a yearly right-of-way fee that covers both the taxes and for the lost income from loss of property use, with inflation calculated in.
• Ornlu August 29, 2015 at 2:36 pm

  @tejas
  I think you’ve got some of your terminology confused. There’s 3 ways to do utilities:
  1. Easement in Fee – aka “fee strip” – the utility company pays the landowner a fee either all up front or annually. Usually this is for aerial power lines or underground pipelines. The landowner still retains the right to use the property but can’t build any permanent structures in it. Owner pays full tax on the land for this one. These may or may not convey if the land is sold to a new owner.
  2. Easement by Deed – this is the normal method for utilities. Utitility Co. has paid the landowner money up front, and he pays taxes on it at a reduced rate. These always convey to the purchaser, and are VERY difficult to abandon.
  3. Right of Way. The utility company owns the land outright, with no other parties having a stake at all (unless…. the utility company turns around and sells an access easement back to the original owner or something like that).
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  So if they told you in that meeting that they were getting “Right of Way” for it, they’re saying they’ll buy it outright.