Eminent Domain / Condemnation

Condemnation appraisals often value more than what is taken. In a partial taking, the appraiser values the whole property before the taking and the remainder after it, and the difference measures your total loss, including damages to the part you keep.

Severance damages require specialized analysis. Lost access, changed shape, reduced utility, proximity to the new public use, and impaired highest and best use can all diminish the remainder's value, and each must be identified and quantified with market evidence.

The legal framework shapes the assignment. Jurisdictions define just compensation, valuation dates, and admissible methodology differently, and an appraiser experienced in eminent domain prepares the analysis to the standards your case will be judged by.

In partial takings, most jurisdictions measure compensation by the before-and-after method. The appraiser determines the market value of the entire property before the taking, then the value of what remains after it. The difference is your compensation, capturing both the land taken and the damage to the remainder.

This is where government offers most often fall short. An offer based only on the square footage taken ignores severance damages, the loss in value to what you keep. A driveway that no longer works, a house now close to a highway, or a lot too small to redevelop can represent losses far beyond the strip of land itself.

An independent before-and-after appraisal quantifies the full loss. It is the difference between accepting the government's arithmetic and being compensated for what the taking actually cost you.