Start anywhere
Something is happening to your property. Start by naming it.
Most people arrive here without knowing which question they have. Two choices below will usually narrow it down, and from there the answer is one page away.
Step one
What has actually happened
I received a letter or a notice
Something arrived and you are not sure what it is or whether you have to do anything.
Someone told me they need my land
A project has been announced, a surveyor appeared, or an agent visited. Nothing formal yet.
I received an offer with a figure in it
There is a number on the table and a decision to make about it.
I have an offer and I think it is too low
You have read it, you do not accept it, and you want to know what to do next.
Step two
What kind of question is it
A valuation question
Is the number right. Why is it that number. What is my property actually worth.
A process question
What happens next, how long it takes, what the deadlines are.
A legal question
What my rights are, whether they can do this, whether I need a lawyer.
A state specific question
Procedure and compensation differ substantially by state.
A tax question
What the tax treatment of a condemnation award is.
An evidence question
Which experts a case needs and how their testimony works.
Why this site is short
It is a signpost, not an encyclopedia
There are already thorough sites covering valuation, process, state law and tax. Writing a seventh version of all of it here would not help anyone, and it would compete with the pages that answer those questions properly.
So this site does one job. It helps you work out what you are dealing with, gives you the small number of facts that are true everywhere, and sends you to the page that goes deep on your actual question.
If you are in a hurry, the single most useful thing is to establish whether a deadline is running. A notice of interest has no deadline. A filed petition does, and in some states it is measured in days.
The basics
Four things worth understanding first
What eminent domain is
The power of government to take private property for public use, on payment of compensation.
How the process works
Notice, appraisal, offer, negotiation, and only then a lawsuit.
What you can be paid
Fair market value, plus damage to what you keep, minus a long list of exclusions.
Your rights
Fewer than most owners expect on whether, more than most expect on how much.
Quick answers
The questions people ask in the first hour
Can they really take my property
If the entity holds the power and the use is public, generally yes. Challenges to the right to take succeed rarely. What is genuinely open is the amount, and in a partial taking the extent.
Do I have to accept what they offered
No. The first offer is an opening position based on one appraisal commissioned by the party buying. Most acquisitions settle above it.
How long do I have
It depends entirely on what you have received. A notice of interest, no deadline. A written offer, usually a soft date. A filed court petition, a strict and sometimes very short one.
Do I need a lawyer
For a small, clean acquisition at a defensible price, often not. If a petition has been filed, if part of your property is being taken, or if the sums are substantial, speak to one.
Will I get paid for having to move
Moving costs are handled under a separate relocation programme, not as part of the valuation. They are frequently not claimed because owners do not know the programme exists.
Is this the same as my house being condemned by an inspector
No, and this confusion is common. A building official declaring a structure unsafe is code enforcement, and no compensation is paid.
Still not sure which question you have
Start Here walks through it in a few short steps and ends with a specific place to go.