I just read this story in the Yakima Herald about a woman that received just compensation for having her land taken for a road improvement project in Selah, Washington. It appears Yakima County needed the woman's property for a county road improvement project. Although they just took a strip off the front of her property, her septic system was damaged, a historically significant fence was taken, and several very large oak trees were removed. As compensation, Yakima County officials offered about $44,000. The woman valued the taking at $190,000. After a trial she was awarded $170,000.
Although this may not be the case in all circumstances, this is a great example of why you should review eminent domain appraisals with a Washington condemnation lawyer. Its not necessarily that the government always undervalues landowner's property when they are taking it through eminent domain, but these numbers don't lie. And as I've said before, you are afforded $750 by the government to review the government's offer of just compensation. This is money you have to spend to receive. Use this money not to hire an appraiser, but someone that is an expert in eminent domain law (the rules for property appraisal are significantly different in eminent domain situations - any appraisal done on your property needs the direction of someone experienced in eminent domain law).
This Selah, Washington woman did the right thing. She challenged the government's analysis of the value of her property. And she was paid handsomely for it. Don't be the one who doesn't do everything they can to make sure they are paid fully for the taking of their property.
Condemning authorities have attorneys working for them, and so should you. If your Washington land is being taken by eminent domain please contact a Washington eminent domain lawyer for a consultation today.
Monday
Washington Condemnation Lawyer | Access vs. Routing
You may not believe it, but in Washington eminent domain law, there is a very large difference between access and routing. And depending upon which of the two is affecting your property, the determination of just compensation could be vastly different. Today I want to briefly discuss the differences between the two.
The right of access is a property right. And like your other property rights, it can be acquired by eminent domain. How is that valued, you might be asking? The calculation is done by determining what the property is worth if the access exists, and then determining what it is worth with the access gone. Sometimes this can be a very significant amount.
For example, a gas station that loses one entrance may no longer function as a gas station because cars cannot get in and out efficiently. If that was the case, that loss in value to the property would be paid to the landowner as part of his or her just compensation. This is where having a Washington eminent domain lawyer can come in very handy.
Let's take the gas station above (this is taken directly from one of my Kansas eminent domain cases by the way). Instead of being on a busy intersection, let's assume it is on a frontage road, but the frontage road opens up to the major road very close to the entrance of the gas station. The City of Seattle decides to do a road improvement project, closing the entrance from the major street to the frontage road, directly in front of your gas station. Now to get to your gas station the cars are going to have to go 1/2 mile down the road to an intersection and come back down the frontage road, causing a large loss of business.
In most cases this change in routing or loss of traffic flow, would not be a compensible item subject to just compensation. This falls under what is known as Seattle's police power, a power provided to keep the public safe and healthy. The way that traffic flows is primarily a function of safety, so the court's have determined this is not a compensible taking under condemnation law, even though in reality your gas station will likely have to close.
Condemning authorities have attorneys working for them, and so should you. If your Washington land is being taken by eminent domain please contact a Washington eminent domain lawyer for a consultation today.
Access is a Right - Traffic is Not
It is well settled case law that every property owner that has property which abuts, or sits up next to, a road, has a right of access to this road. Now, this doesn't necessarily mean the property owner has a right to put a driveway in wherever they want, but it does mean they have the right to put a driveway in somewhere. The reasoning behind recognizing this right is fairly straightforward - if you cannot get to and from your property for all intent and purposes it is worthless. Recognizing this right ensures properties abutting a road will have access to that road - unless access control is acquired by a governmental agency.The right of access is a property right. And like your other property rights, it can be acquired by eminent domain. How is that valued, you might be asking? The calculation is done by determining what the property is worth if the access exists, and then determining what it is worth with the access gone. Sometimes this can be a very significant amount.
For example, a gas station that loses one entrance may no longer function as a gas station because cars cannot get in and out efficiently. If that was the case, that loss in value to the property would be paid to the landowner as part of his or her just compensation. This is where having a Washington eminent domain lawyer can come in very handy.
The Flow of Traffic is not a Compensible Right
The difference between access and routing is subtle but very very important in your eminent domain case. The reason is routing and traffic flow, except under very specific circumstances, is not compensible. The best way to illustrate this is with another example.Let's take the gas station above (this is taken directly from one of my Kansas eminent domain cases by the way). Instead of being on a busy intersection, let's assume it is on a frontage road, but the frontage road opens up to the major road very close to the entrance of the gas station. The City of Seattle decides to do a road improvement project, closing the entrance from the major street to the frontage road, directly in front of your gas station. Now to get to your gas station the cars are going to have to go 1/2 mile down the road to an intersection and come back down the frontage road, causing a large loss of business.
In most cases this change in routing or loss of traffic flow, would not be a compensible item subject to just compensation. This falls under what is known as Seattle's police power, a power provided to keep the public safe and healthy. The way that traffic flows is primarily a function of safety, so the court's have determined this is not a compensible taking under condemnation law, even though in reality your gas station will likely have to close.
If Your Property is Being Affected Call a Washington Eminent Domain Attorney
The only way to know for sure if you deserve compensation for your loss is to consult a Washington condemnation attorney. Whether you are in Seattle, Yakima, Spokane, Tacoma, Olympia, Kennewick or anywhere in between you need help. Only after reviewing your property and what might happen will you be able to know for sure how your property has been affected.Condemning authorities have attorneys working for them, and so should you. If your Washington land is being taken by eminent domain please contact a Washington eminent domain lawyer for a consultation today.
Sunday
Seattle Washington Eminent Domain Law | Land Values
If you are reading this you probably live in Washington State, maybe even Seattle, and your property is being condemned, or taken thorough the power of eminent domain. Assuming your property is being taken for a public purposes (a road, government building, environmental mitigation, etc.) it is time to find a Washington State eminent domain lawyer to help you through this process.As soon you hire a condemnation attorney to assist you, the first thing they will do related to getting you the money you deserve for the taking of your property is try to determine what the value of your property is as a whole. So, for example, if you have agricultural ground, your attorney will try to determine what the agricultural land prices are in your area. If it is your home, residential prices will be examined, and so on.
The first thing your Seattle eminent domain lawyer will do is call the condemning authority and ask them for a copy of their appraisal of your property. To determine what you should be paid, an appraisal of your property must be completed. And, as you might expect, often these appraisals are riddled with errors. For the purposes of this post we are going to discuss the errors related to comparable sales.
The primary way the value of your property is determined is to look at other properties in the area that are similar to yours and see what they are going for. Then, depending on how similar your property is to the comparable property, adjustments will be made up and down to determine the value of your property.
For example, let's say you have a three bedroom townhouse in Wallingford, Seattle, Washington. The City of Seattle needs to take your house for the Seattle light rail project. The first thing they would do is hire an appraiser to go and look at recent sales in the area to find out what your house is worth. If they find a sale that say is in a similar location to yours but only has 2 bedrooms, they would then adjust the price of that home up to reflect the extra bedroom.
What? Where do they get the adjustment determination? Glad you asked. They make it up based loosely on the sales they see and their experience as appraisers. That is correct, your land is subject to a Washington eminent domain taking and the adjustments that will have a direct determination on your home value are extremely subjective. This is why you need to hire an expert in eminent domain - they have the experience necessary to see the holes in this evaluation and point those out to the people writing the check.
Another thing a condemnation lawyer can do for you is do the research required to make sure they didn't miss any properties that may help determine what your property is worth and that no other properties have sold in the meantime that increase the value of your property. In the example above, one single sale in the area for a high value could substantially affect the value of your home in an upward direction. We can find that sale (if it exists) and present it to the condemning authority in a way that is highly likely to get more money for your property.
Whatever you decide to do, take the time to really analyze how the condemning authority determined the value of your Washington property. You might be surprised how much value was left off the table.
Thursday
Eminent Domain Law | Going to Trial
I have an eminent domain trial on Monday. The facts are pretty simple. The state agency needed some properties to build public infrastructure. The taking consists of 0.6 acres. On that acreage sits a mobile home that was built in 1975, a 30x50 storage building that was built in 1975, and a 30x88 storage building that was built in 1960. The rental house is in fairly good shape. It was rented out at the time of taking. But the storage sheds were another story. They were standing and functional, but the big one had broken windows and missing siding and missing roof panels. The small one worked okay but was clearly getting on in years.
The state (I'm on their side this time) hired a certified appraiser who used all three recognized methods of property appraisal - cost replacement, sales comparison, and income capitalization (to be discussed more fully at a later time). After utilizing these three methods, he arrived at a value of the property of $55,000 (this is a property on the outskirts of a smallish farm town). His valuation of just compensation was based on facts and figures the market demonstrated. At an earlier hearing three disinterested appraisers determined just compensation to be $60,000.
Now, what does the landowner have to say? All he has to say is that he thinks the property is worth $195,000 because he can't go out and find a property like the one he currently has. He has no comparable sales, he has not done a correct replacement cost approach, and he has nothing other than his own story to rely on. $195,000! And he is going to trial armed only with this information.
Knowing this, wouldn't you think I'd be just as confident as all get out? Well, you would be thinking wrong. The wonderful thing about juries is that they provide an opportunity for anyone to be heard on an even ground. The very scary thing about juries is that often you have no idea what factors they will give weight to, and depending on which factors those are, the jury's decision could be dramatically different than you expected. Just so you know, if I had to guess I'd put the verdict at $75,000. It is a natural tendency for people to want to try to reach a middle ground. In these cases, it seems like they skew a little more toward the side they think has presented the best evidence (in this case it is my side).
So, lesson for the day, juries are great, but they are truly a crap shoot.
The state (I'm on their side this time) hired a certified appraiser who used all three recognized methods of property appraisal - cost replacement, sales comparison, and income capitalization (to be discussed more fully at a later time). After utilizing these three methods, he arrived at a value of the property of $55,000 (this is a property on the outskirts of a smallish farm town). His valuation of just compensation was based on facts and figures the market demonstrated. At an earlier hearing three disinterested appraisers determined just compensation to be $60,000.
Now, what does the landowner have to say? All he has to say is that he thinks the property is worth $195,000 because he can't go out and find a property like the one he currently has. He has no comparable sales, he has not done a correct replacement cost approach, and he has nothing other than his own story to rely on. $195,000! And he is going to trial armed only with this information.
Knowing this, wouldn't you think I'd be just as confident as all get out? Well, you would be thinking wrong. The wonderful thing about juries is that they provide an opportunity for anyone to be heard on an even ground. The very scary thing about juries is that often you have no idea what factors they will give weight to, and depending on which factors those are, the jury's decision could be dramatically different than you expected. Just so you know, if I had to guess I'd put the verdict at $75,000. It is a natural tendency for people to want to try to reach a middle ground. In these cases, it seems like they skew a little more toward the side they think has presented the best evidence (in this case it is my side).
So, lesson for the day, juries are great, but they are truly a crap shoot.
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