- May 18, 2001
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Yes, this is a blog post. Sue me.
There is a .73 acre lot adjoining my property that TDOT took via eminent domain to build a highway. It's a piece of steep hillside property with little value - but I've always wanted it, just to make my property larger (& thus more attractive to buyers). So a few weeks ago I started the process to purchase it from the state. It would cost me roughly $500, they said.
When this all began, TDOT emailed me a PDF with basic details of the process. It was simple, they said.
A few weeks into it, TDOT sent me an email saying that I had to have their lot surveyed for the process to go forward. I could either use their surveyor for about $1700, or I could hire my own (which I found would cost me $1000). At the time it seemed reasonable, so I hired my own guy to survey TDOT's land.
TDOT approved the sale and the process neared completion. Then a few days ago, I received an email stating that to continue forward, I owed TDOT a non-refundable $2500 "appraisal fee." WTFx100. It turns out that without ever looking at the property, TDOT assigned it an estimated value of over $10,000. That's a problem... had they estimated its worth at less than $10k, then I would have paid a flat fee of $500 and the lot would be mine. Since their estimated value was $10k or more, they had a requirement to get an appraiser to look at the land and give an actual value. If I wanted the land, I would then have to pay 5% of the actual value instead of just $500.
The lot is worth nowhere near $10k. I can make a strong case for that based on other similar lots in the area that are currently for sale, the average cost of an acre in my county, and the actual condition of the lot.
I asked if there was any way to appeal their initial estimated value. As it turns out, there is a way: pay the non-refundable $2500, and the appraiser just might find that its value is less than $10k.
In other words, it's a Catch-22. To avoid the $2500 fee, the lot has to be valued at less than $10k. For the lot to be valued at less than $10k, I have to pay the $2500 fee.
I went up their chain of command, thinking that surely I could find someone in government who had some ability to think logically, and perhaps, compassionately. Nope - all I got were recitations of rules and regulations, and a lot of "our hands are tied."
So, good people of Tennessee... Please enjoy the survey of that stupid lot that I have provided for you at my own expense.
There is a .73 acre lot adjoining my property that TDOT took via eminent domain to build a highway. It's a piece of steep hillside property with little value - but I've always wanted it, just to make my property larger (& thus more attractive to buyers). So a few weeks ago I started the process to purchase it from the state. It would cost me roughly $500, they said.
When this all began, TDOT emailed me a PDF with basic details of the process. It was simple, they said.
A few weeks into it, TDOT sent me an email saying that I had to have their lot surveyed for the process to go forward. I could either use their surveyor for about $1700, or I could hire my own (which I found would cost me $1000). At the time it seemed reasonable, so I hired my own guy to survey TDOT's land.
TDOT approved the sale and the process neared completion. Then a few days ago, I received an email stating that to continue forward, I owed TDOT a non-refundable $2500 "appraisal fee." WTFx100. It turns out that without ever looking at the property, TDOT assigned it an estimated value of over $10,000. That's a problem... had they estimated its worth at less than $10k, then I would have paid a flat fee of $500 and the lot would be mine. Since their estimated value was $10k or more, they had a requirement to get an appraiser to look at the land and give an actual value. If I wanted the land, I would then have to pay 5% of the actual value instead of just $500.
The lot is worth nowhere near $10k. I can make a strong case for that based on other similar lots in the area that are currently for sale, the average cost of an acre in my county, and the actual condition of the lot.
I asked if there was any way to appeal their initial estimated value. As it turns out, there is a way: pay the non-refundable $2500, and the appraiser just might find that its value is less than $10k.
In other words, it's a Catch-22. To avoid the $2500 fee, the lot has to be valued at less than $10k. For the lot to be valued at less than $10k, I have to pay the $2500 fee.
I went up their chain of command, thinking that surely I could find someone in government who had some ability to think logically, and perhaps, compassionately. Nope - all I got were recitations of rules and regulations, and a lot of "our hands are tied."
So, good people of Tennessee... Please enjoy the survey of that stupid lot that I have provided for you at my own expense.
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