State taking property for road

[Southerndisney]

The state of NC needs a 5 acre strip of undeveloped land we own for a road. How do we find out how much land is selling for in the area? We do not live by the property. Is there a web site where we can look up recent sales in the area? We do not want to ask a real estate agent to look up the information because we will not be able to use them in the sale. Unless we get a lawyer, we will just be negotiating with the agent of the DOT.

 

[akcire]

The state of NC needs a 5 acre strip of undeveloped land we own for a road. How do we find out how much land is selling for in the area? We do not live by the property. Is there a web site where we can look up recent sales in the area? We do not want to ask a real estate agent to look up the information because we will not be able to use them in the sale. Unless we get a lawyer, we will just be negotiating with the agent of the DOT.

In an eminent domain situation you will want to get the value of the land plus a premium. I would price out the cost of purchasing a comparable 5 acre plot of land with similar amenities. You can also charge the state for any improvements you have done to the land or will need to do to a similar piece of land. Then you get to add a premium for your time. Typical improvements to undeveloped land include grading or having environmental studies, etc.

At a minimum I would consult a real estate attorney, but that's me.

 

[rock_doctor]

Just call a local property appraiser. They will do all of the work and give you a price and supporting documentation you can go to NCDOT with.

 

[scrapquitler]

The state of NC needs a 5 acre strip of undeveloped land we own for a road. How do we find out how much land is selling for in the area? We do not live by the property. Is there a web site where we can look up recent sales in the area? We do not want to ask a real estate agent to look up the information because we will not be able to use them in the sale. Unless we get a lawyer, we will just be negotiating with the agent of the DOT.

Land records and property transfers are public information. You can look up that information at the city hall where the property is located. In my area, the town clerk's office is the location in the city hall you need to go to for this information. In many areas, that is online. In North Carolina, I imagine it might be more at the county level than the town/city level. Try googling "property transfers CITY NAME, North carolina" for that information or call the clerk's office for more information on how to research it yourself. You might also find some ballpark estimates on Zillow, but I wouldn't count on that for accuracy, but just a ballpark.

I would NOT do this sort of a deal without consulting a lawyer.

 

[mblondie0509]

I work in land acquisition for our state DOT and can only tell you that our negotiator has told me that she would sell her land any day to DOT because they do really give you a decent deal Good luck!

 

[wiigirl]

Just call a local property appraiser. They will do all of the work and give you a price and supporting documentation you can go to NCDOT with.

This...

 

[MillauFr]

Depends on how much the property is worth. If the land in your area is worth $1m an acre or more I would definitely hire an attorney to negotiate on my behalf. If the land is worth less than $10k an acre I would just negotiate with the state myself after I hired an appraiser.

 

[Southerndisney]

Thanks for the advice. The land is probably $10,000 to $13,000 an acre.

 

[barkley]

In an eminent domain situation you will want to get the value of the land plus a premium. I would price out the cost of purchasing a comparable 5 acre plot of land with similar amenities. You can also charge the state for any improvements you have done to the land or will need to do to a similar piece of land. Then you get to add a premium for your time. Typical improvements to undeveloped land include grading or having environmental studies, etc.

At a minimum I would consult a real estate attorney, but that's me.

op is in North Carolina-their laws only allow for 'just compensation' which is defined as 'market value' (and they use real estate comps to determine the value). depending on what has happened sale wise where the property is located it could end up being less than what the owner might think-we live rurally, and because a few of the multi acre properties have been foreclosed on and sold at auction the value of the land portion of homes has plummeted. 10 acre properties (with wells and sewage already set up) took a huge hit when one of the only recent (last couple of years) foreclosures sold at auction for less than $20,000.00-people with existing homes saw that impact their values by 40 or 50,000 people who bought the land years ago planning on building retirement homes are finding they can't get loans b/c the land is horrendously devalued.


op it might be worth it to contact an attorney-your state has a 'quick take procedure' which means they can get title and start work before you reach agreement on the price (the state can determine 'just compensation' and if you contest it they go ahead with the title transfer while you contest your way through the courts).