Question about the eminent domain law.

[Brutuskend]

So the city comes along and takes you house so some asshole can build condos or whatever.

If, like in a lot of cases, you bought the house WAY back when when property was cheap but yet you are FORCED out and they pay you for the house and you end up making quite a bit more then you paid when you bought it, do you THEN have to pay capitol gains on the property?

If so, THAT REALLY REALLY sucks!!

Personally, I think if they are going to force you out, not only should they have to pay fair market value on the property, I think if the owner wishes, the city should have to pay to have the house relocated to a piece of land that the owner choses. I also think they should be TOTALLY exempt from any and ALL capitol gains on the sale.

Man this whole eminent domain thing chaps my ass. And it has since I first heard about it way back when I was a young kid.

Does anyone remember that old movie about the Tennessee Valley Authority and the river they damed up back in the 30's or 40's or whenever it was?

 

[Goosemaster]

Yeah...it is a bad ruling in my part. Although it legitimizes the progression of local development, it does so at the cost of its own people only for the sake of money.

If anything, it should have been worded more specifically to prevent the rampant abuse that is sure to follow

 

[Mill]

There is an exemption (up to a certain value) before you have to pay taxes when selling a house. Not sure how eminent domain affects this, however.

 

[Rightwinger]

EMINENT domain

 

[ElFenix]

i believe you do have to pay capital gains, but then i'm not a tax expert

 

[Brutuskend]

Originally posted by: Rightwinger
EMINENT domain

Sorry, I attended public schools.

A LONG time ago...

 

[Analog]

Originally posted by: Brutuskend
So the city comes along and takes you house so some asshole can build condos or whatever.

If, like in a lot of cases, you bought the house WAY back when when property was cheap but yet you are FORCED out and they pay you for the house and you end up making quite a bit more then you paid when you bought it, do you THEN have to pay capitol gains on the property?

If so, THAT REALLY REALLY sucks!!

Personally, I think if they are going to force you out, not only should they have to pay fair market value on the property, I think if the owner wishes, the city should have to pay to have the house relocated to a piece of land that the owner choses. I also think they should be TOTALLY exempt from any and ALL capitol gains on the sale.

Man this whole eminent domain thing chaps my ass. And it has since I first heard about it way back when I was a young kid.

Does anyone remember that old movie about the Tennessee Valley Authority and the river they damed up back in the 30's or 40's or whenever it was?

Absolutely - you cannot avoid taxes. Sucks.

 

[GarlicBreath]

As the law stands now, you don't pay capital gains on the sale of your primary residence if you've lived there for at least two of the last five years. This applies for up to $250,000 of profit for a single person, or $500,000 for a married couple. This became law in 1997. So the answer to your question is "no", I guess. Unless you made more than $250K/$500K.

That being said, I'd like to add that this court ruling on eminent domain is perhaps the single most disturbing thing I've seen in my lifetime. America is gone. So long, it's been good to know ya'.

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: Brutuskend
So the city comes along and takes you house so some asshole can build condos or whatever.

If, like in a lot of cases, you bought the house WAY back when when property was cheap but yet you are FORCED out and they pay you for the house and you end up making quite a bit more then you paid when you bought it, do you THEN have to pay capitol gains on the property?

If so, THAT REALLY REALLY sucks!!

Personally, I think if they are going to force you out, not only should they have to pay fair market value on the property, I think if the owner wishes, the city should have to pay to have the house relocated to a piece of land that the owner choses. I also think they should be TOTALLY exempt from any and ALL capitol gains on the sale.

Man this whole eminent domain thing chaps my ass. And it has since I first heard about it way back when I was a young kid.

Does anyone remember that old movie about the Tennessee Valley Authority and the river they damed up back in the 30's or 40's or whenever it was?

The power project clearly benefits the public at large.

Taking the land to give to a private Company such as Walmart or a Condo developer is not a public benefit at large.

It should be as cut and dry as that in the wording of the law.

 

[SearchMaster]

Your scenario reminds me of something that happened in Georgia about 15 years ago...

A farmer had a good bit of land that the county wanted for various projects. The projects apparently didn't qualify under eminent domain, so they couldn't outright seize it. Instead, they kept raising the value of the property for tax purposes so that he could no longer afford to pay them. Then they tried to seize the land for nonpayment of taxes and offered him 10% of what they had been assessing it for as a "settlement". He was stuck - I believe some local residents raised money to pay his taxes but I don't know what happened after that. Certainly with this ruling the county would take it anyway.

But GarlicBreath is right - you usually don't pay CG anymore if you live in the property and apply the amount toward an equal/greater value "upgrade".

Can anyone remember a SC decision that has caused EVERYONE to get upset like this one? I can't.

 

[psiu]

Originally posted by: yellowfiero

Originally posted by: Brutuskend
So the city comes along and takes you house so some asshole can build condos or whatever.

If, like in a lot of cases, you bought the house WAY back when when property was cheap but yet you are FORCED out and they pay you for the house and you end up making quite a bit more then you paid when you bought it, do you THEN have to pay capitol gains on the property?

If so, THAT REALLY REALLY sucks!!

Personally, I think if they are going to force you out, not only should they have to pay fair market value on the property, I think if the owner wishes, the city should have to pay to have the house relocated to a piece of land that the owner choses. I also think they should be TOTALLY exempt from any and ALL capitol gains on the sale.

Man this whole eminent domain thing chaps my ass. And it has since I first heard about it way back when I was a young kid.

Does anyone remember that old movie about the Tennessee Valley Authority and the river they damed up back in the 30's or 40's or whenever it was?

Absolutely - you cannot avoid taxes. Sucks.

Luckily, Michigander's don't have to worry...yet.

Detroit News article

 

[guyver01]

Justice O'Connor and Justice Thomas hit the nail on the head, when they wrote

"The court today significantly expands the meaning of public use," O'Connor wrote. "It holds that the sovereign may take private property currently put to ordinary private use, and give it over for new, ordinary private use."

Clarence Thomas joined O'Connor's dissent.

"The consequence of today's decision are not difficult to predict, and promise to be harmful," he wrote. "So-called 'urban renewal' programs provide some compensation for the properties they take, but no compensation is possible for the subjective value of these lands to the individuals displaced and the indignity inflicted by uprooting them from their homes."

 

[GarlicBreath]

Originally posted by: SearchMaster


But GarlicBreath is right - you usually don't pay CG anymore if you live in the property and apply the amount toward an equal/greater value "upgrade".

The requirement to use the money for an "upgrade" no longer exists. That went away with the "Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997".

Right now, you can sell you primary residence and pay no capital gains tax whatsoever on up to $250K/$500K (single/married), even if you don't buy another house.

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/real-estate/20041018a1.asp

 

[Brutuskend]

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

Originally posted by: Brutuskend
So the city comes along and takes you house so some asshole can build condos or whatever.

If, like in a lot of cases, you bought the house WAY back when when property was cheap but yet you are FORCED out and they pay you for the house and you end up making quite a bit more then you paid when you bought it, do you THEN have to pay capitol gains on the property?

If so, THAT REALLY REALLY sucks!!

Personally, I think if they are going to force you out, not only should they have to pay fair market value on the property, I think if the owner wishes, the city should have to pay to have the house relocated to a piece of land that the owner choses. I also think they should be TOTALLY exempt from any and ALL capitol gains on the sale.

Man this whole eminent domain thing chaps my ass. And it has since I first heard about it way back when I was a young kid.

Does anyone remember that old movie about the Tennessee Valley Authority and the river they damed up back in the 30's or 40's or whenever it was?

The power project clearly benefits the public at large.

Taking the land to give to a private Company such as Walmart or a Condo developer is not a public benefit at large.

It should be as cut and dry as that in the wording of the law.

Thats very true and I can understand taking property in a case such as this (Sad as it is) but this crap they are pulling now, well, it sounds like something you would expect to happen in NAZI Germany or the old Russia. This country is going downhill fast if you ask me....

 

[KarenMarie]

You dont really get 'fair market value' . the b/f's family have been trying to fight an eminent domain property seizure for about 3yrs now. I spoke to the lawyer. He said that they look to see how much taxes are paid on the property. You know how the town/city sends the accessor around so he can tell you what your property is worth.

Well...they look at the value that you are being taxed on.. then they send another accessor out and if you dont accept THEIR version of 'fair market value' they call the other town guy out to have the property listed as condemned. see what it is worth as condemned.

It has nothing to do with what the property is worth or what you could get for it by selling it.... it is what THEY decided they want to pay for it.

 

[Safeway]

I hate this law. People lose everything to it. They don't have enough money to rebuy or build alot of the time.

 

[Brutuskend]

Originally posted by: KarenMarie
You dont really get 'fair market value' . the b/f's family have been trying to fight an eminent domain property seizure for about 3yrs now. I spoke to the lawyer. He said that they look to see how much taxes are paid on the property. You know how the town/city sends the accessor around so he can tell you what your property is worth.

Well...they look at the value that you are being taxed on.. then they send another accessor out and if you dont accept THEIR version of 'fair market value' they call the other town guy out to have the property listed as condemned. see what it is worth as condemned.

It has nothing to do with what the property is worth or what you could get for it by selling it.... it is what THEY decided they want to pay for it.

That's BULL SH!T. :|

I not only think they should have to pay you what the property SHOULD sell for, but to be fair, they should have to pay what it WILL be worth after the new building goes up.

This is just legal THEFT if you ask me....

 

[KarenMarie]

Originally posted by: Brutuskend
That's BULL SH!T. :|

I not only think they should have to pay you what the property SHOULD sell for, but to be fair, they should have to pay what it WILL be worth after the new building goes up.

This is just legal THEFT if you ask me....

Here is the scam that Gov. McGreedy and his pals had going for years... what they did to the b/f family:

Developers want land. They 'contribute' heavily to the Govenor. So, the governor decides that a County needs new schools. He is not sure exactly WHERE these new school are gonna be, so what does he do? I will use the town of Passaic for example cause that is where the family property is.

Gov. goes into Passaic. He picks FOUR different areas on which he MIGHT be a school. So, everyone in these four areas gets a letter. From this point on, they cannot sell the property, they cannot renovate the property and if they dont have tenents there already, they cannot rent the property. It is frozen while the Gov. decides where this school will be.

He will leave everyone hanging for about a year or so... hoping that ppl will just fold. If he makes a definate decision on which area he wants...that frees up the rest of the areas and that is BAD for his developer freinds. In the case of b/f family... they had purchsed the property two yrs earlier and had totoally gut it and practically rebuild it. Once they got the letter, they had to stop renovating, so they could not even make money on the property. But everyone still has to pay taxes...!!! They were paying taxes on a building that they could not open the business on cause the business was not running when they got the letter.

Ok, so these four areas... prop owners are begging for a decision. Dont get one. They contact lawyers who specialize... It get to be an expensive battle... and the town decides that anyone who doesnt sell the property will have it condemned. Town workers are all over the place looking for reasons to condemn it. If they cannot find any (or make any up) they will list the whole area as blighted. Once this happens, the property is worth next to nothing.

So, now you have all these property owners... locked up. They cannot sell, they cannot removate and they have been kept hanging for so long ...WHILE PAYING TAXES.... that many of them just fold. They sell. Now the Gov. has four new areas of property that he has forced the owners off.

A new school may or may not be built... cause in reality ... it was never about a new school. It was about the gov tying up ppls lives and forcing them off their property so he could sell it to the developers who have given him sh!tloads of money.

They did this thru the State for a very long time.

(the b/f family property... well, they got sick of it and just bought 15.5 acres in PA but continue to fight the fight for the other owners in that area, cause they think it is wrong to screw all those ppl out of their life long family owned buisness).

With this new law... nothing will change in this state... it just means there wont be any more game about it.

 

[Brutuskend]

I can't believe they get away with this sh!t....

 

[BurnItDwn]

Originally posted by: Brutuskend

Originally posted by: KarenMarie
You dont really get 'fair market value' . the b/f's family have been trying to fight an eminent domain property seizure for about 3yrs now. I spoke to the lawyer. He said that they look to see how much taxes are paid on the property. You know how the town/city sends the accessor around so he can tell you what your property is worth.

Well...they look at the value that you are being taxed on.. then they send another accessor out and if you dont accept THEIR version of 'fair market value' they call the other town guy out to have the property listed as condemned. see what it is worth as condemned.

It has nothing to do with what the property is worth or what you could get for it by selling it.... it is what THEY decided they want to pay for it.

That's BULL SH!T. :|

I not only think they should have to pay you what the property SHOULD sell for, but to be fair, they should have to pay what it WILL be worth after the new building goes up.

This is just legal THEFT if you ask me....

In addition ....
They damn well ought to cover ALL move related costs, as well as a "time wasted finding another place, moving, dealing with crap" fee.

There are times when eminent domain makes sense, but simply trying to get more tax revenue for the government while not providing a DIRECT service to the public good, is a terrible abuse of the law. Yes there is more tax money, so the town will be "better off" financially, but the costs certainly outweigh the benefits.

 

[hg321]

It's sad times Brutuskend

 

[KarenMarie]

Originally posted by: Brutuskend


I can't believe they get away with this sh!t....

yea.. it is bad...

and realize... since all of these new strip malls, and housing developements and such go up... commerical property gets REALLY expensive. So, in the case of the b/f... bought their place privately. Paid like $600,000. for the property. Gov. comes in and has it condemned and offers $400,000.... BUT since property is so much more expensive... they look for a new place in the area and for the same size and location... cannot touch it for less than $1.6 million.

Not only arent they allowed to finish the renovations and open the business to try to get some one the $120,000. they invested into it thus far... they cannot even include the $120,000. into the property value cause it wasnt an up and running business when they got the letter.

 

[Brutuskend]

Originally posted by: KarenMarie

Originally posted by: Brutuskend


I can't believe they get away with this sh!t....

yea.. it is bad...

and realize... since all of these new strip malls, and housing developements and such go up... commerical property gets REALLY expensive. So, in the case of the b/f... bought their place privately. Paid like $600,000. for the property. Gov. comes in and has it condemned and offers $400,000.... BUT since property is so much more expensive... they look for a new place in the area and for the same size and location... cannot touch it for less than $1.6 million.

Not only arent they allowed to finish the renovations and open the business to try to get some one the $120,000. they invested into it thus far... they cannot even include the $120,000. into the property value cause it wasnt an up and running business when they got the letter.

:disgust::evil:

 

[Rastus]

Property values is the rub here. A piece of property has a certain value, but if the government or WalMart says it's a blighted area, the value plummets and they get the land cheap.

 

[waggy]

i have to say the current rulling really terrifies me.

the only good part is the area i live is not going to be built up for a long time. well after i am dead.

I just cant see how takeing private ladn and giving it to private company's is legal. It goes against everything the Founding fathers stood for.