Looks like it's going to happen to us and it would e nice to speak with someone who has gone through it.
BB
Ever had part of your property seized for a road project?
Wow! Can't believe it. I feel for you.
Happens quite often. Lots of folks here. Negotiate, don't take the first offer unless it is a really good one. Particularly if it messes up your property, by cutting entrances etc.A widow friend here is fighting to get a new entrance and a reconstruction of her garage as they are taking enough land to force backing out of her garage onto the new four lane highway. Fortunately the money shortage has put the project on hold for the moment. The Savanna River Project relocated two whole towns and a lot of farms.
Thanks:
Sugarloaf Parkway is coming to my neighborhood. Gardens are safe. Any work will be in the front and at the reat of the porperty.
After looking at some stuff on Google and speaking with some folks at work (I work for a homebuilder), I think we will get an attorney. We thought we dodged the bullet but doesn't look like it now. Better get good advice.
I'm really curious at the role of the mortgage holder in this whole process.
BB
BB, sorry to hear about this. I remember when I was a kid ... they widened the Sandersville/Tennile Hwy from 2 lanes to 4. It completely took up my grandparent's front yard. Years later, a couple of drunk kids were chacing an ambulance at 120 miles an hr and landed in her living room. Of course, they were driving under the influence and waaay too fast ... but her house was too close to the road. This was an old southern home with french doors, screened in porches and plaster walls. You wouldn't believe the amount of damage. Of course, those 2 boys died. :-( Good luck with your settlement, and get what you deserve.
Thanks Susan
From what I know of the plans, our gardens are safe.
BB
still it won't be the same with a highway in front or back of your house... Good luck.
BB, get legal advice. Maybe if your neighbors are effected too, y'all could secure a lawyer together? Demand full value for your property and watch the zoneing codes should "they" decide to rezone your property!.
We should have gotten legal advice when we had an issue with our county's eminent domain action towards our property when we tried to get the county to pay for some improvements to the drain tiles leading to our pond. Even though these underground pipes drain into our pond & serves the whole neigborhood, we alone ended up forking over $3,000 to correct the drainage problem. The county wouldn't pay. When we told them we'd just fill up the pond with dirt. They said no; that our pond was considered eminent domain since the sub-div. drainage tiles leads to the pond. Well duh!...It's flooding everywhere when it rains and needed to be fixed. Had we secured a lawyer,we may have been able to let the eminent domain issue work in our favor in that regard.
Also, how about the property taxes........they should be reduced accordingly....HA! Fat chance huh??
We contacted an attorney yesterday. They are seizing a 60 foot by 150 foot parcel from our neighbor. It will basically wipe out an embankment that runs down the front of their property and move the road in front of our homes over towards his property. And they also want to raise it the road significantly so the parkway will run under it. Yeah it's going to be a mess.
Once my neighbor told me what the county was going to do, I knew instinctively what they were going to take at a minimum. Our property sits lower than his, so they are going to need to take at least an equivalent amount in order to grade it properly.
Luckily I work for one of the major homebuilders in the area, So I have access to resources that other folks might not.
Oh well. I remember when I first joined Dave's, I thought they were going to take my whole property and I was freaking out because there was no way I could afford to replace my property in this area. So I guess this is progress.
Hey they'll probably end up raising the taxes! LOL What I'm concerned about if the position of the mortgage company and how they would handle any payment. I don't want to be in a position where they will take any settlement and leave us with nothing with which to make what will obviously be costly repairs.
We are also concerned with all the blasting they will be doing. They are blasting the heck where they have started and this road will literally be a stones throw from my house.
I'll keep ya'll posted.
BB
Good, glad to hear you secured a lawyer. Wishing you and the Mrs. the best.
What a mess BB!!! I guess no chance of selling REALLY well to county and relocate elsewhere?? I have a feeling this is going to be a daily aggravation. The noise factor alone. You have some pics of your property. I have disastruous pics in my mind when you say " they are going to be in front of your house".
Keep in mind also what this will do for you on later basis in terms of reselling. Hold on to that lawyer.
Property taxes can be adjusted. You need to go through fine print in FEDERAL taxation first, and once that is done for that year, you can use it to prove a change for local property taxing. A very experienced accountant can help, as well as some internet digging.
The feds actually do have paperwork up on the net to value stuff like this.
After the Tornado here my DH found out that we can claim our large trees for taxes next year as loss and devalue of property which will lead to them having our property re-valued and taxes decreased. It may take a few years but should be retroactive to losing the big trees. The Feds put a price on trees and property footage etc.
Keep on it BB!! And I'm sorry you are having to deal with this.
GGG
Hmmm BB I never thought about a lien holder or mortgage holder. That is a good question about where exactly the money goes. I would assume directly to the homeowner but you are devaluing something that you owe money on.
Taxes would be tricky to change. First off your property has to taxed at its real value. I know in my case that I can sell my home for much more than the value the county puts on it. If I was to fool around with the taxes I would end up paying more then I do now. We have so much growth around my area and some strange tax things happened, LOL that it's really not in a lot of peoples interest to question a tax bill. A lot of non building permit work has done which is one problem.
I called my mortgage company and well,,,the person I spoke with seemed clueless. Had to look up my question in the system and from what she was reading from it, it didn't seem like it dealt with my situation. Anyway someone will contact me.
Our attorney advised us to have our own appraiser present when the county appraiser comes out. I spoke with the President of my company and he's finding us an appraiser who's experienced in this type of stuff.
So until then, it's a waiting game. I'll be hunting my tomato thief until them
BB
And a tomato theif too. Oh BB, I'm so sorry to hear that too.
Yeah, I have a thread about it in the tomato forum. Based upon everyone's comments, I think I have some sort of burrowing varmint. I will need to re-watch Caddyshack to come up with a suitable action plan. :-)
Our attitude with the road project is we'll see what happens and go from there. We aren't freaking like we were 2 years ago. Our gardens and house will remain intact. Whether it will be our primary residence after all is said and done remains to be seen. But our issue is minor compared with what a lot of people are going through right now.
BB
Well.....
The appraiser hired by the county came out yesterday. We are pretty much losing half of our entire front yard. We'll get a little back once the project is done but as of now, the front yard is toast. There goes our orchard we were planning.
The appraiser seemed very sympathetic. Helped that he was a big gardener. He has to appraise not only the land value but also the "damage" we will sustain by the project which includes the loss of character of the neighborhood. Hopefully he'll do the right thing when calculating a price. Our attitude is "It is what it is" We'll take whatever they give us and sock it away as a down payment on a larger farm somewhere.
Our more immediate concern is trespassing and possible crime. The county has already purchased several of the homes near us and they are sitting empty. And these aren't rundown homes. One of the homes was on the market of 3/4 of a million dollars until the county brought it. And now it sits boarded up; sticking out like a sore thumb that shouts "Come steal something".
Mrs. Bronx and I were sitting on the patio yesterday and she noticed someone peeking into the windows of the empty home next to my neighbor. She hollered at them and we walked out with our dogs to see what they were doing. They immediately hopped back into their car and drove off. But they did stop by and a guy I recognized from a tomato plant sale hopped out. He said he had the demolition job on the home and was checking to see if everything was still in the home. Not sure if I believe him because he story didn't jibe with some things he told me a few weeks earlier. I jotted down his plate number and will have some family in LE check it out.
Our next door neighbor is in his 80s and yesterday he told me he needs to have both of his legs amputated. The county is really cutting up his property and the parkway will literally become his driveway. After we spotted the poeple peering into the windows of the empty house, I went over to let him know. It was then that he told me that someone has been STEALING THE GAS OUT OF HIS PICKUP TRUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. He can't fit it in the garage because he has a special lift on it for his wheelchair. He parks it in a certain way now to prevent this. His wife went into a nursing home several months ago and I think people may know he's there by himself. We never had any issues like that around here. I really wish the county wouldn't buy the properties until they are actually ready to demolish them.
At any rate, we now have to live with this apprehension. We're lucky in that we have several very large dogs who will not hesitate to challenge a stranger but now I'm concerned about my crops etc. While we have always kept firearms, the wife and I are strongly considering taking handgun training and purchasing some pistols.
I will keep ya'll posted.
BB
Oh BB, it doesn't sound like this situation will get back to "normal" for an enjoyable homesite no time soon. Looking for a farm to buy would be a good move for y'all especially with your veggie and orchard gardening. Hopefully the appraiser will put himself in your shoes when he writes up the value and factors in your loss so you can find a great farm to buy.
Gone are the days of opened windows and unlocked doors. Now are the days of guard dogs and guns to protect our homes from invaders. Even where I live in the sticks, we had invaders roaming our neighborhood breaking into cars in the middle of the night. We were missed that night mainly due to our barking dogs, thank goodness.
My heart goes out to your elderly neighbor. He's a sitting duck and easy pickins for those bad guys.
Thanks Cordele:
We are keeping a closer eye on him.
BB
Us Georgia folks really have the blues lately. So sorry to hear what's going on. You know...you hope and you dream and you plan and then one twist (or twister) of fate changes everything! You and Mrs B are sounding very strong.
I hope you have alarms on your home and property. Can you and the man next door put some kind of trip bell that lets him know if someone enters his drive? We have a number of friends with those. You can always move up to Cleveland. Even with global warming you won't be growing oranges anytime soon :).
Laurel
Thanks Laurel
We have an alarm plus our dogs so we'd be the last place someone would picj but my neighbor has nothing. Mrs Bronx sent him some dinner last night and I sat with him awhile and found out his sister died Saturday. The poor guy has just had a terrible 1st half of the year.
We are going to make sure we are very attentive.
BB
How nice of you to be concerned for him. Doesn't he have any grown children to help?
Yes he does and they do look after him. But they aren't very close.
I think the docs want him to be put in a nursing home, an idea he doesn't seem to be too keen on.
Actually Mrs. Bronx just called and said they had to take him to the hospital again this morning.
BB
BBs,
All of this does not sound very good to me. I am so sorry for you guys. To me coming from Europe where this seldom happens that the government can take (well buy I hope) your property just cause they need it! That s...s big time!
I am not too far - is there anything I can do?
Now that your neighbour is in hospital, let's pray the vultures are not coming at night to take whatever they want.
the "good old days" seem gone I'm afraid. I am so sorry for you.
Thanks Coby:
Not too much we can do. Need to wait for the offer which should come in about 60 days.
I'm calling the County Commissioner today. I'd rather have an empty lot there rather than empty homes that attract thieves and vandals.
BB
Sorry to hear about your problem. I worked for the city for 23 years and my job was to buy property and move people. Is the property being bought by the County or the Ga. DOT. It does make a difference in the money that is paid. If the State or Fed. buy, it activates a whole new set of rules such as relocation benefits. As was mentioned earlier on this thread be sure that your appraisal includes any damages to the remaining of your property. If you don't agree with the appraisal you can get a 2nd appraisal. Since you mentioned that some of the houses are empty are they? buy whole properties or just enough to put in the street? Be sure that the appraiser doesn't miss a bush or a tree, lawn or shrubs. Also if there are any nice shrubs at the empty houses you might ask the County if you can relocate them after your appraisal. Also they should let you move any shrubs after the appraisal. I have seen this happen many times and it is not pleasant. My son owns a skating rink and they are going right through the middle of it. It is going to cost him a million dollars to replace what he has and I don't think they are going to offer him that much. Good luck and stay safe. I hope your neighbor gets better and maybe someone needs to buy a locking gas cap for him. Elaine
Gosh Elaine, what great advice. Good to have you on the side of a fellow gardener. Hope I never need your expertise, but you brought up some interesting points.
Laurel
Thanks Elaine:
Your advice is very much welcomed.
The county is buying it. We do have an attorney and appraiser lined up but they both advised us to wait until the county makes an offer before having them get involved.
I spoke with my neighbor's son yesterday and he is going to take steps resolve the gas situation.
BB
Believe it or not sometimes the buyer does make a good offer and one you can live with. Of course they want to try for the lowest price they can buy it for as every project has a budget. We are building a judicial center and we put 1million in the budget to buy the property and have exceeded that amount because the special master awarded some absorbent prices when we went to court. When counties or cities are buying property most people think that they(county) have deep pockets. What they don't think of is the money that is spent is THEIR
tax dollars. I think everyone should get fair market value but remember they are using their TAX dollars to buy it. Being now a county commissioner I have been on both sides. Good luck and let us know how it goes. Elaine
Thanks Elaine
OK
This just get weirder.
My neighbor is in the hospital. He was running water for his bath, forgot about it and it overflowed. He walked back into the bathroom and slipped and broke his leg. I talked to his son and told him we would keep an eye on the place.
I get home yesterday and the guy up the street is driving his lawnmower across my neighbors property. He does cut the guys grass but he had just cut it a little while ago. Anyway he brought us some steaks and chicken the other day from a BBQ and I took his dish out along with some money I owed him from cutting my grass.
So I'm emptying my car of some stuff I brought and up he drives. He has a bottle of Zima in one hand and the bag I gave him in the other. Forget for a moment that I didn't even realize that they still made Zima, let alone that there were people who actually still drank it. He said I owed him more money for some trimming he had done. I didn't ask him to trim anything and said I would need to check with Mrs Bronx as she usually arranges these things. I told him to check back later when she got home. I was starting to get a little annoyed with the guy cause he likes to tease the dogs.
So he leaves and my dogs follow him until he leaves the property and the all of a sudden they start going nuts. I walk around to the front and they are barking at a truck that is at the large boarded up house across the street. I have to post a picture of it because when you think of a boarded up house, this would be the last house that would come to mind. Anyway, I watched a girl and a guy get out. He had one of those wheelie things that measures. as they walk. I watched them until they went around back and it took them a long time to come around so I went over.
Turns out he was with the company doing the demo work on the house. He was very cooperative in showing me credentials and other stuff. I asked him about the house where we caught the people peering into the windows. He said that the house wasn't even scheduled for demolition yet and even if it was, only one of 2 companies would be awarded the work. And neither of them was the company that this guy who was casing the joint told me. So I told Mrs Bronx about the events of the day and we both agreed that we need to be vigilant.
So I get up this morning and was doing my normal thing; Let the dogs out and was having a cup of coffee and surfing the net when I hear my dogs start barking and my wife starts calling for me and told me to go outside which I do. And here comes this guy driving his lawnmower up my driveway. AT 5:30 IN THE MORNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I asked him what the heck he was doing and he said he was wanted to make sure the edging was straight and ,oh by the way, we owe him $70 and did I have it. I took a hard look at him and it was apparent that his was tweaking on something. Don't know if it was crack or meth but it was definitely more than alcohol. He was half-dressed and shivering. I reminded him that I paid him his grass-cutting money yesterday and that neither myself nor Mrs. Bronx asked him to do weed trimming. I asked him to leave and that I would see him later. I wanted to give him an earful but he was so hammered, it wouldn't get through. And my Bull Mastiff absolutely detests any type of power tool (She has bitten my tiller on several occasions) was acting a little squirrelly because her hip is bothering her and there was a nut on a lawnmower in the driveway.
Mrs. B was livid. I'll deal with the guy when I get home. I started giving it some thought and it occurred to me that this guy was probably who was stealing my neighbor's gas. I called my neighbor's son. And let's just say that after comparing notes, a lot of things make sense now.
So there is at least one silver lining in this. His house is being taken by the county.
AHHHH. Life in the country!
BB
This message was edited May 23, 2008 2:42 PM
Apparently you need to get further out in the country. That's creepy. I'd be packing my tomatoes and peppers in a POD. What is Zima? Cheap beer/booze?
I'll stay tuned. This beats the Billy Dillworth show and his old Eddie Arnold clips (about the only TV we get up here).
Laurel
BB, I'm not a lawyer but have spent a lot of time and money in court to protect my property. If it isn't too late, you should demand that the entity funding the highway project should purchase your property for enough money to buy another home of similar value, not your property's current value!!! (PLUS moving+legal expenses!) When you think of the millions (or billions?) they are going to spend on the stupid highway, a request of a larger settlement is a pittance, and you deserve more if they're destroying your way of life. You have to be a big nuisance, though!!! The squeaky wheel gets the grease, so you need a loudmouth atty. that will use very dramatic words like "Traumatize" "emotional distress" etc. The whole idea is to be a pest so they have to pay you to go away!
This may turn out to be a positive thing!
Oops, I'm not from GA!!!
I just noticed this because I knew relatives in Illinois who had a highway built across their farm in the '70's. It was on the back of the property but made part of their land virtually unreachable. Your situation sounds worse. I hate that the government can take people's land and homes for whatever. The family in Illinois was paid less than they would've liked. They also had to drive several miles to reach the home of their aging parents rather than just walking or riding over on the tractor. They no longer had the quiet and privacy they once did. However, they decided to put the whole back acreage in to Christmas tree farming. Before long the trees provided a screen so the home could not be seen from the highway. Noise was somewhat decreased and the trees brought in a little extra income besides being renewable. Later, they sold the property and moved in to town. The area became more of a suburb. It was something unexpected but maybe inevitable as the population in the area increased. Hope you are holding up o.k.
BB, so sorry ya'll are having the stress of dealing with this. And so sorry for your old neighbor. Hope everything works out for you and maybe you can move further out to the country.
My tomatoes are growin like crazy and this rain tonight will make them zoom up.
Elaine