Re: Custom Cable tv
- From: "Timothy Daniels" <TDaniels@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2007 12:12:44 -0700
"Warren H" wrote:
Timothy Daniels wrote:If they supply the parts and labor for the in-house wiring,
they can probably legally retrieve it and/or prevent you from
using it for satellite reception if you should close your account
with them. Here in L.A., our condo HOA chose to hire our
own cablers to put in the cable when we heard how the cable
company's yahoos were going to route the cables. 15 years
later, when dbs satellite was introduced, the cable company
wanted us to sign a 20-year exclusive use agreement in return
for a cheap bulk account. But, we reasoned that no such "gift"
is really free, and we turned them down. We eventually found
out that they had realized that *we* owned our cabling and they
wanted to block us from using it for satellite. Then, 5 yrs later,
we added a satellite system - that uses the same cabling. We
wouldn't have been able to do that if the cable company had
installed our cabling.
An apartment building, condo development, co-op, and common
areas of an HOA are very different than a single residential unit.
In a single residential unit, cabling installed ceases to be personal
property, and becomes part of the real property. In the other
situations, the cabling remains personal property or trade fixtures.
The cable company can only get back the cabling *installed* in
a single residential unit if they had a lien against the property. Even
then, they would need to restore the property to it's prior condition,
or pay for damages. And they'd have to provide the labor. That's
way, way beyond what it costs to just allow the cable to become
part of the real property it's installed in. And once it's part of the
real property you own, you can repurpose it for whatever you like,
as long as you disconnect it from their network.
In the case of multi-unit residential properties, things are different. In your state a duplex or even a four-plex may still fall under the
same rules as a single family home, but I don't believe that there
are any states where anything larger than a four-plex doesn't fall
under different property rules. And the common areas of a condo
association, co-op, or HOA definitely don't enjoy the same
protections as single family property in any state. In those situations,
they most likely can retain ownership of the cabling. They may have
to restore any damage done if they remove it, but they may also be
able to elect to leave it in place, but still prevent it from being re-
purposed.
As for the cable boxes and cable modems, they aren't installed in the real property. They are mealy connected to the cable. The cable
company may also ask for that short length of cable that you connect
between the boxes and the coax outlet in the wall, as it isn't installed
in the real property, either.
If you want to confirm my interpretation of the difference between
cable installed in a single unit and a multi unit, and at what point the distinction is made in your state, consult an attorney specializing in real estate issues. But as for the difference in legal status between the cable installed in a home, and the modem that's just placed there, any licensed real estate broker should be qualified to give you a definitive answer on that one. (And if they aren't, your state needs better licensing standards.)
--
Warren H.
Regarding the difference between cable installed in a single unit and a multi-unit building, I had a conversation with one of our owners
who is a licensed Real Estate Attorney in the State of California,
specialising in home owner association law. She works in the lien
division of a well-known HOA law firm in Los Angeles. She said
that she knows of no distinction in the law between cabling installed
in the walls of a single family residence and in the common area
(i.e. in the walls) of an MDU building, and she asked rhtorically,
"Why should there be?" Like an attorney, she did not deny what you
stated, but merely that she does not, in her legal training and experience,
know it to be true. Perhaps you have had contact with attorneys
more specialized in utility company law, or perhaps you have been
brain-washed by your company's corporate culture. Either way, the
ownership rights of cabling installed by a cable company and the right
to control its usage past the demarcation point is still cloudy.
I suspect that the normal procedure by a cable company installing
the cable itself in an MDU building is to require a contract that
guarantees it sole usage past the demarcation point since much
of the cabling installed would not immediately be used to support
a subscription and thus not result in immediate cash flow (unless
there were a bulk account covering ALL units). In a single family
residence, in contrast, there is a guarantee of an immediate cash
flow that would pay for the cabling job. That would explain why our
cable company was so surprised to find that they had no contract
with us - if they had installed the cabling themselves, there WOULD
have been a contract, and it is such a contract that would make
legally clear what the cable company's rights are. And that is why
they turned around and offered us a discount on a bulk subscription
in return for an exclusive usage contract - they knew satellite TV
was coming.
*TimDaniels*
.
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