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  1. #1
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    Mar 2017
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    Default What to Do if a City Wants to Run a Public Road Through Your Land

    My question involves real estate located in the State of: MN

    I have around 5 acres in a the greater metro area of Minneapolis, MN. On this acreage is our primary home and it is zoned SFA. The city is planning and implementing a road improvement project that includes public water and sewage as well as significantly changing the grading and direction of a road we are on. This property has been publically listed for sale for a little over 1 year via the MLS. The city in order to execute their project will take several thousand square footage of our property, and the newly designed road will be run worrisomely close to our current home. That being said, there is an obvious effect on the potential sales price since the property and its location away from the current road are both factors in the potential sale.

    We have not gone through the assessment procedure, since the project is still in its planning phase. That being said, I am trying to wrap my head around my options. While I am sure the city will compensate us, is there a provision whereby if the price of the home would be affected so significantly that the city must just purchase the entire property at its current list price?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
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    7,056

    Default Re: City Running Public Road Through Property for Sale

    No. The city will first offer that you grant an easement to the land and if you refuse, then offer you a price for the land they need for the taking of the land under eminent domain. They will not compensate you for the value of the home or the rest of the property. They only want what they need.

  3. #3
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    Mar 2017
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    3

    Default Re: City Running Public Road Through Property for Sale

    thank you for your response

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
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    165

    Default Re: City Running Public Road Through Property for Sale

    The jurisdiction has to compensate you for the value of the land, and you generally have the right to hire your own assessor to help establish the value of the land. There are other things you can negotiate as part of that. So if you believe that the value of your property is going to be reduced, you need to work with an assessor to try and quantify that loss, along with other losses you believe might arise from the project. The general idea is that they (the jurisdiction) need to make you whole. Much of that is covered in state statute, and an experienced property assessor can help you.

    Beyond just the monetary issues, also try and engage with the project managers as things move forward. Review the design concepts, and if there are things you feel concerned about, try to discuss them. For instance, grade issues can often be mitigated early in the design process, or they can be resolved by including a fence or retaining wall. Most agencies and their project managers do work hard to try and accommodate residents, and to make folks happy, as much as they are able.

    Good luck with this!

  5. #5
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    Nov 2013
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    Default Re: City Running Public Road Through Property for Sale

    The time to hire a private assessor is after the jurisdiction has made whatever offer they are going to make and the property owner wants to challenge it in court. Before that time, the jurisdiction is going to offer what they think the land is worth and why they appraised it as such. Before that time, it is a waste of money.

    Make you whole is an extremely subjective concept when a jurisdiction is using eminent domain.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
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    165

    Default Re: City Running Public Road Through Property for Sale

    The process that must be followed in MN is laid out here:

    https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=117

    More relevant to the point raised by budwad, above, is here:

    https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=117.036

    Something to be aware of for the original poster:

    (b) The owner may obtain an appraisal by a qualified appraiser of the property proposed to be acquired. The owner is entitled to reimbursement for the reasonable costs of the appraisal from the acquiring authority up to a maximum of $1,500 for single family and two-family residential property and minimum damage acquisitions and $5,000 for other types of property, provided that the owner submits to the acquiring authority the information necessary for reimbursement, including a copy of the owner's appraisal, at least five days before a condemnation commissioners' hearing. For purposes of this subdivision, a "minimum damage acquisition" means an interest in property that a qualified person having an understanding of the local real estate market indicates can be acquired for $25,000 or less.

  7. #7
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    Nov 2013
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    Default Re: City Running Public Road Through Property for Sale

    There is no doubt that the land owner has the right to hire a private appraiser and maybe compensated for it. It is the timing that can have a significant affect. The appraisal for an eminent domain case is far different than one for fair-market-value for the sale of the property. There are two very different approaches within an ED appraisal. One is government favored methodology and another being a property owner favored methodology.

    If a land owner has an appraisal done before they understand what is being offered and why (best use of property, zoning, severance damages, etc.), they can end up with a premature number (and it may be a low number). That report is discoverable in a court challenge. However, if you wait to receive the jurisdictions offer and report, a low ball number can be argued against. That is the reason to wait.

    And just an aside, not all appraisers are created equal when it comes to an ED case. I don't think $1,500 would come close to covering the cost.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
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    3

    Default Re: City Running Public Road Through Property for Sale

    thanks everyone for your responses!

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