A plain account of what happens when government takes private property
The process
The first 30 days
Almost nothing in the first month requires a decision. Everything in it is preparation, and owners who prepare well usually do better than owners who respond quickly.
Checklist
Do these
- Establish what stage you are at and whether any deadline is running.
- Open a file and keep everything in it, including notes of phone calls with dates and names.
- Ask in writing for the complete appraisal, not a summary of it.
- Ask for the plans: what is being taken, where exactly, and what will be built.
- Photograph the property thoroughly before anything changes, including the features a valuer might miss.
- Gather your documents: deed, survey, title policy, leases, permits, tax bills.
- If you run a business or have tenants, identify every interest in the property.
- Find out whether the project has federal funding, because it changes which rules apply.
- Get a sense of what your property is worth independently, even informally at this stage.
- Decide whether this is a matter that needs a lawyer, and if the sum is substantial, speak to one.
Equally important
Do not do these
- Do not sign anything at the first meeting, including documents described as routine.
- Do not agree to a figure verbally. Agents record conversations in their files.
- Do not refuse the appraiser access. An exterior valuation is almost always lower.
- Do not assume the offer is fixed, or that negotiating will cause the agency to withdraw.
- Do not demolish, build or make significant changes to the property.
- Do not ignore a court document because the earlier letters were informal.
- Do not rely on what a neighbour was paid. Valuations are property specific.
None of this is adversarial. Right of way agents are usually straightforward people doing a defined job, and the relationship is easier when it is businesslike on both sides. What matters is that the agent represents the buyer and you represent yourself.
Not sure what to do next
Most owners are reacting to a document they did not expect. Working through it in order is easier than it looks.