What is a corner of my lot worth? Its being taken by development

Question

So here is a new one.

I recently bought a house in Monee, Il. Its on a corner lot. The road that runs adjacent to it has some funky intersections a few hundred yards away.

Well, I'm just wrapping up the rehab this weekend on that house and got a call a little bit ago from some development group.  Apparently, there is a road project that is in the works to fix that intersection and to widen the road there as well.

He told me that as part of that project, they are going to need to take a piece of my lot - supposedly just a part of the corner.  But obviously, they wouldn't be calling me if that "piece" was just a couple of feet.

I was told I'd be contacted by an appraiser next week and he will go over the changes with me and will present a number based on what he thinks that change will affect my property.

So now my question is this. Has ANYBODY ever had this happen to them? Again, this house is on a corner lot and the street that would move closer to the house is the one closest to the family room for this house. Any closer and the street is going to be right next to the front porch.

This not a city area either. Its a rural area. So its really strange that they would need to encroach any more on to this property.

If they move too close to the house, it may make the house completely un-rentable. I don't see anyone wanting to rent a house where the road is 15 ft from their front window. And thats actually the front door for the house as well.

Does anybody know what types of monetary claims I'd have here? House would probably be appraised for about 170k to 175k.  Rent is 1625/mo plus I'm renting out a second garage for another 75/mo.

Can I make the claim that by coming closer to the house, its going to affect my rents 300/mo. Times 12 mos/year. Times 30 years? And ask for 100k?  Can I force them to buy the house completely for market value because it has no value to me given the impact to renting it out which is why I bought it?

I really don't want to sell the thing because it was going to be a great money maker for me - my piti was going to be roughly 1150/mo and with little to nothing out of pocket.  But I don't know what this thing will rent for if they move the street closer to the house. It may not rent at all......

Jay Hinrichs · Answer

@Mike H. good negotiating.

Mike H. · Answer

@Zach Quick  No I haven't. I know the one on my side of west side where the road would be closest was pretty irate about it based on what my contractor told me he was telling them. He just bought his house in the last few months too.

I think these sellers pulled a fast one by not disclosing this stuff.

But as a rental the thing is a really good deal. I'm getting 1650/mo in rent plus 75/mo for the separate detached garage.   My piti once this refi closes will be roughly 1150/mo with only about 6k in the deal (points, closing costs, etc).  One of the better cash flowing deals I have.

Zach Quick · Answer

@Mike H. Have you talked to the owners of the other three lots yet?

Mike H. · Answer

@Jay Hinrichs   Yea. Thats basically about what they offered. 2k. I told em take a hike. It was too big a detriment to the rental if they were to ever build something thru to the right of way line they were asking to buy.

So the road development guy and the village (who was responsible for buying/owning the right away) met me out there.

So far, I've got the right of way negotiated out to a limited use easement. They will agree to only use that easement for underground utilities in that spot instead of granting them the right to do anything they want with it in the future.

And I've got them up from 2k to 10k.  So we're getting better.

But I think I'm going to push for 15k and a clause that grants me the right to be compensated whatever the maximum amount paid to any of the other three lots they are taking from. That way if somebody takes them to court and wins 40k, I can get that match.

I have a very legitimate argument that my property is the most impacted because the line they're redrawing actually puts them closer to my living space than any of the other 3.

We'll see how this goes.

btw: The appraiser was so in their pocket, it was silly. The initial appraisal came in at 125k. The appraisal I had for the recent refi was 175k. The govt appraiser used comps from 2014!  Not only that but he also used comps an entire town over. Well over 5 miles. Never seen anything like that.

When the developer showed me the comps, I about lost my mind. I told all 3 of them that I was going to court just to get the appraiser to have to justify that nonsense. I was irate. Thats when the village guy offered the 10k. I think they really want to do this road improvement project and they were telling me that if I take it to court it will delay the thing for a significant period of time.

So I do have a little leverage. And getting the right of way switched to an easement was huge for me. No risk of them building anything closer to the house than what they're proposing. As a right of way, they could have put something within 15 feet (right of way was 27 feet).

Jay Hinrichs · Answer

@Mike H.  had this happen multiple times.. I wonder if the previous owner was aware.

but it was usually value of land per sq ft .. pretty significant argument to make about loss of use ..

Mike Nelson · Answer

@Mike H. any news on this?

Jeff B. · Answer

Second Brooks above.  Base calc would be

• (sqft taken / sqft of the lot)  x county appraisal of the land

that's a straight proportional allocation of your loss.

Wayne Brooks · Answer

First, you said some "development group" as in a private co., not the go'vt?  Sounds like they're being made to do some off site improvements for something else they are doing?  If they're private, you can just say no, or anything you want.  If this ends up as an eminent domain, that's another ball of wax.

What is a corner of my lot worth? Its being taken by development

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