NCDOT POLICY FOR ACQUISITION

What you need to know

Acquisition is the process of obtaining right of way to real property in fee simple or easement through purchase or condemnation in connection with a transportation project.  Right of way is real property and rights therein used for the construction, operation, or maintenance of a transportation or related facility.  Right of way can be conveyed in fee simple or easement.

NCDOT has a written policy for acquisition that mirrors the Federal regulations and requirements established for federally funded acquisitions.  The policy is set forth below in summary fashion:

• Acquire expeditiously by negotiations
• Afford owner opportunity to accompany appraiser
• Establish Just Compensation amount (through appraisal of property)
• Provide written statement of and summary of basis for Just Compensation
• Owner retains property until settlement or amount deposited in court
• At least 90 days occupancy permitted after acquisition offer made
• Property may be condemned, owner not forced to sue to prove taking
• Offer to acquire uneconomic remnants
• Fully informed owner may donate right of way 

The date of acquisition is generally established in one of two ways:  First, the date could be established upon the successful negotiation of the purchase of your property – the date that title passes to NCDOT by the execution, delivery, acceptance, and recordation of a Deed or Easement.  Second, the default date becomes the time of the filing of a complaint, a declaration of taking, and the deposit of compensation in court.