Eminent Domain and Rural Land in Texas

What rural land is worth

Rural tracts trade on frontage, access, water, cover and what a buyer believes could be done with them. Highest and best use matters more here than on almost any other property type, because the current use is often minimal.

Common concerns

• A corridor that divides the tract into pieces that sell for less than the whole.
• The loss of the obvious homesite or building envelope.
• Restrictions on planting, building or storing anything on the strip.
• Effect on hunting leases and recreational income.
• Gates and access routes that the corridor interrupts.

Development potential

Texas values property for the highest and best use it could lawfully be put to, and a reasonable probability of a change in use can be considered. Where a tract sits in the path of growth, a corridor across the best building area affects the after value even though nothing is currently built.

Recreational and hunting use

Lease income, cover, water and the sense of seclusion all contribute to what recreational land brings. A cleared corridor and a maintenance road change all four, and the effect is measurable through comparable sales of similarly encumbered tracts.

Access and frontage

County road frontage and the location of gates determine how a tract can be divided and sold later. A taking that reduces frontage or moves the entry can reduce the number of ways the land could be used.