Who is responsible for determining the value of my property?

In Virginia, the responsibility of determining the value of your property in the event of an eminent domain action falls to the government agency that has decided to take your property and the qualified appraiser that they assign. The appointed appraiser is a professional who is qualified and experienced in appraisals of real estate and is therefore responsible for applying industry standards to value your property. The appraisal must be conducted using the accepted methodology and standards of the profession and a report must be prepared that explains how the appraiser arrived at the valuation. Usually, the government agency will rely on the appraiser’s opinion of the fair market value of the property. During the process, the property owner also has the right to obtain an independent appraiser to provide their own opinion of the property’s value. In certain cases, the property owner and the government agency may choose to select two appraisers to make a joint appraisal of the property. This is called a ‘condemnation appraisal’ and the two appraisers will evaluate the property together and set the fair market value. If they cannot reach an agreement, then the agency may take the case to court to have a judge decide on the value of the property. No matter which method is used, the government agency is ultimately responsible for deciding the value of a property in the event of an eminent domain action.

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