Tag Archives: cost-to-cure

How Eminent Domain Appraisers Can Benefit from “Cost-to-Cure” Services

How Eminent Domain Appraisers Can Benefit from “Cost-to-Cure” ServicesWhen it comes time to defend your appraisal, are you sure that it will stand up to opposing council? Whether it’s your appraisal or your opinion on the replacement costs for buildings and other improvements for cost-to-cure designs and cost estimates, the opposing council will be ready to poke holes in your case.

As an appraiser, sometimes you are working on an eminent domain case where part of a parcel of property is condemned and the use of the remaining property is impacted. In such cases, a consultant can support your work with customized, reasonably calculated cost-to-cure estimates and designs that follow agency guidelines and eminent domain law.

When the new right-of-way severs a structure or improvements, the consultant will develop a design for removing the portions of the improvements affected by the right-of-way, while renovating the remaining portions to cure the damages caused by the property taking.

An experienced cost-to-cure consultant can assist appraisers and other interested parties by enhancing their appraisals for complex structures, improvements, and cost-to-cure values. The cost-to-cure consultant with the added benefit of relocation expertise on eminent domain projects can help in a number of ways by providing a single source and point of contact with expert knowledge in eminent domain issues including cost-to-cure, replacement costs, separation of relocation costs from cost-to-cure and replacement costs, preliminary design, and commercial construction.

Cost-to-Cure Services are Time and Cost Effective

Benefits of Cost-to-Cure estimates and designs for appraisers include:

  • Quick understanding of the assignment and project issues.
  • Efficient turn around of costs and reports.
  • The ability to speak on most of the issues with knowledge of when to hand additional detailed explanations to other experts.
  • Knowledgeable identification of additional experts that may be necessary for the project.
  • Coordination of those experts for the project for their scope of work and reports.
  • Distinguishing between cost-to-cure issues and relocation issues saves time and offers a comprehensive package to the client that includes cost-to-cure needs and relocation needs.
  • Perform analysis of plans and costs developed by the opposing side to determine their effectiveness and reasonableness.

I support appraisers in Eminent Domain cases with timely and affordable cost reports and designs that are, typically, self-supporting.

If challenged, I stand ready to further support and clarify the cost reports in mediation, deposition, or even trial when necessary.  My status as a recognized specialist in this niche comes from an extensive history of creative solutions, credibility and clarity. The documents that I prepare for appraisers are based on defensible fact and stated in detailed but understandable language and also include design drawings that are approachable for the layman.

When you have a difficult or questionable Eminent Domain matter to appraise, please feel free to give me for a free telephone consultation.  I look forward to hearing from you.

North Tarrant Express and Eminent Domain

TxDOT’s filing of eminent domain on the North Tarrant Express may be the positive aspect this project needs for right of way acquisition. 

Eminent domain provides a set of rules that the property owners, tenants, and the public agency (TxDOT) have to follow. These rules make the acquisition process smoother and often more fair for the property owner and tenants.

Eminent domain regulations spell-out how fair market value is determined for the properties and what relocation benefits are available to the tenants.

Even with regulations in place, there can still be significant differences in the interpretation of these rules. Typically, these obstacles involve the disparity in property values and relocation costs.  However, eminent domain regulations are in place to help all parties involved to reach bilateral goals resulting in a quicker and fairer outcome.

Martyn Daniel has helped hundreds of businesses successfully relocate; often to more prosperous locations.  Martyn offers one-on-one consulting services, group workshops and online seminars for clients who need the relevant facts to make an educated decision. 

To schedule a free 15-minute no obligation call with Martyn, please click here for an appointment https://my.timedriver.com/F8VSS .

I-15 Core Project – Eminent Domain and Business Relocations

Business Relocation

The I-15 Core expansion adds several new lanes and revised intersections spanning 24 miles starting in the town of Lehi and heading south passing through American Fork, Pleasant Grove, Orem, Provo, Springville, and Spanish Fork.

For the size of this project, there are relatively few businesses having to relocate.  What I see is a good effort by the design team to utilize the existing right of way, already owned by the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT), avoiding significant impacts to businesses and property owners.

There are a large number of partial, or strip takings, which minimizes the typical impact on businesses on a project of this size.  Strip takings may create some severance damages resulting in UDOT making cost-to-cure payments to solve problems and make a property functional after the new right of way severs the properties.  This will likely create some business relocations, which sometimes show up when the impact to the property is understood by the property owner or the business tenant.

 Although minimal, there are some full acquisitions of commercial properties were UDOT is using eminent domain to force the sale of the property.  This has triggered business relocations with the use of UDOT’s Acquisition and Relocation Guidelines.

 UDOT’s guidelines closely follow the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Acquisition and Relocation Guidelines. However, UDOT has enhanced the federal guidelines by increasing payments in two areas, the in-lieu payment category, and the reestablishment category.  

 The in-lieu payment, which is a one-time payment to businesses based on their average annual income, was increased from the FHWA limit of $20,000 to a maximum payment of $75,000. The in-lieu payment requires the business to wave all of their rights to other relocation benefits, which can be a significant sacrifice for a business even at the increased level. 

 The increased reestablishment category, which FHWA limits at $10,000, UDOT increased to $50,000.  The reestablishment category covers a certain number of business cost reimbursements that are in addition to the moving, reinstallation, and other costs related to the business relocation.

Eminent Domain and Severance Damages

Eminent domain is the power of the government to take private property for public use.  The government is obligated to pay the property owner appropriate monetary compensation for their property, in a process called condemnation.  When invoked, eminent domain often takes entire properties, but there are some occasions in which only part of the property is taken (condemned).  For many projects, eminent domain is used only to condemn parts of properties.

Reasons include:

New road construction Road widening Parks Utilities. In this case, the condemning authority must pay not only the value of the part of the property that is taken, but must also pay for the impact on the rest of the property caused by the loss of the portion.  This is known as severance damages.

Effects of Partial Loss on Property Values. There are many ways in which the loss of a portion of property can affect the value of the remaining property.

Some of these losses are:

Loss of frontage road or easement, Nonconformity with zoning ordinances after loss of available parking space, Loss of architectural and natural beauty.  When a road widening or improvement project requires the condemnation of the front of a residential property, there are many ways in which the remaining property may be decreased in value.  Setback from the road (which is likely to be busier following widening) is reduced, which will affect the resale value of the house.  Old-growth trees may have to be removed, along with hedges or fences that blocked the road from the front of the house.

Likewise, the value of a business may also suffer from a partial taking.  It may lose parking spaces, aesthetic arbors, benches, outside dining areas, even part of the building as a result of the partial taking.  All of these may impact the viability of a business, and should be included as part of severance damages.

Partial Loss and Possible Non-Viability –  If the property is not considered viable for its current use following the condemnation, then a cure must be part of the eminent domain settlement.  Examples of non-viable properties are businesses with too few parking spaces, or structures where part of the building must be torn down as part of the condemnation.  In these cases, the condemning authority and the property owner can both present cures to make the property viable again after the condemnation, such as rebuilding or modifying a house, rearranging parking spaces, creating a patio area on top of a restaurant to compensate for one lost out front, etc.

In some cases, once the partial taking is affected, the remaining property may violate zoning ordinances.  For example, a house may no longer have a legal setback from the widened road.  This will depreciate the remaining property further, increasing compensation, and in some cases it may mean that the condemning authority must compensate the property owner for the full property.  In other cases, the zoning authority may grant a variance for that property which may restore some of the value.