City wants to buy my land

[Marcus Holloway]

Hey BP, 

I purchased two vacant lots in NW Indiana 4 years ago and recently got a letter from the city stating they want to buy due to downtown renovation. As a buy and hold investor, I've never actually sold any of my properties but am considering selling since I don't have an immediate plan to build on them. 

My question is does anyone have negotiating tips or personal stories they can share about selling to municipalities. 

Thanks! :)

[Theresa Harris]

Quote from @Ben Baker:

Why don't they pay the county assessed value? I mean that's the "real value" as determined by the government, right?! I guess the argument only works if your assessed values are astronomically high as compared to what you could actually sell something for (like ours are in our county). 

 The assessed value is for tax purposes and is often lower than the market value.