Adapted from Capital Area Realtor® magazine, May-June 2017

After securing a new listing, placing a FOR SALE sign out in front is the next step, right? Not quite. There are a few things to remember before digging that hole.

Each time someone plans to put a shovel in D.C., Maryland, or Virginia soil, they must first make a request to “Miss Utility.” However, many Realtors® and brokers don’t know who is responsible for making that request, and who is liable if something goes wrong.

Prior to breaking ground, Miss Utility must be notified and given a minimum of 48 hours to mark the utility locations. Dan Deist, whose company does real estate sign placements, tells his clients it’s a three-day process at a minimum – two days for Miss Utility to approve and one day for his company to place the sign. Miss Utility doesn’t work weekends, so installations may take longer. While many companies advertise a much quicker turnaround – one day, Deist says, “It’s not a level playing field because we’re coming up against companies who are either unaware of the law, choose not to follow the law, or intentionally mislead Realtors® in terms of who is liable or at risk if something goes wrong.”  

Are there penalties for violating the Miss Utility laws? Absolutely. Violators can incur actual repair costs and civil penalties of up to $2,500 per violation. In addition, a penalty of up to three times the actual repair cost of the damaged utilities, plus punitive damages up to $10,000 per incident might be assessed.

Parties to a transaction might be named in a lawsuit regardless of who actually holds liability. If a dangerous gas line or electrical cable is hit, property owners are going to look at both their Realtor® and the installation company referred by their Realtor® to pay damages.

Steps to take before the sign goes up:

• Ask the sign company you’re working with if they contact Miss Utility before they dig.
• Ask for the Miss Utility service ticket confirmation to verify that Miss Utility has been contacted.
• If the sign company says that they can install your sign the next day, same day or in two days and Miss Utility has not been called, the company is breaking the law and putting you and your seller at risk!

To learn more, visit missutility.net.