why cant you say no when the government wants to buy your property?

Question

i just wanted to know

Answer 1

You can say no. If a government wants your property anyway, they have to declare eminent domain. That can be challenged in court.

Answer 2

Assuming this is English Law (US, UK and others that use eminent domain) the gov't can perform a taking. Eminent domain is one of those powers that the gov't is assumed to have, the US Constitution merely limits how the gov't may perform it. The gov't cannot take private property for public use without just compensation per the 5th (applying to Fed gov't) and 14th Amendments (applying to State gov't). Public use is broadly defined now since Kelo v. New London. Just compensation is determined by how much the owner would get for the property NOT how much the property is worth on the open market.
You COULD say "no," but if the gov't wants your property it will likely get your property. The courts would have to settle it (if you can afford to press the issue).

Answer 3

in actuality you can say no to the government when they want to buy your property. Just depends on how much you are willing to put up with in retaliation for saying no. your best defense is having your property evaluated for taxes (by a non-governmental agent not from the county/city tax assessors office), reasonable market value, and resale value. the reason I state this is because the government will try to low ball you on the value of the property. meaning you will get nothing more than what it takes to pay of the loan. are willing to fight the eminent domain clause the government has kept in the law, then you should be able to use a lawyer and a good realestate property agent to help you get the most value for your property. however if try to fight this on your own you will lose big timeand have your credit destroyed in the process. get a lawyer and a real estate agent on your side to protect your interest and bank account as well as your credit. good luck

Answer 4

When the government wants to buy your property and re-use it for the "good of the public," this is called using eminent domain. Their actions are protected by the constitution, which under the Fifth ammendment, requires adequate compensation for this practice, which is measured by market value of the property. According to Wikipedia, "the legal definition of market value is defined as the most probable price that would be paid by a willing but unpressured buyer to a willing but unpressured seller, both being fully informed as to the property's attributes and its good and bad features, including its highest and best use."

However, there have been many issues with defining "public use" and there have been many instances in which the government has used eminent domain to re-distribute land to corporations for redevelopment of houses, office buildings or shopping centers.

In Berman v. Parker (1954), "The (Supreme) Court ruled that private property could be taken for a public purpose with just compensation. This case opened the door for later cases ruling that condemnation of property needing economic improvement is a public purpose and therefore constitutional."

** edited re: below comment **
Sure, you can hold out for eternity on your deed, but that doesn't mean you can say 'no'. You can lock the government in litigation by arguing for market value and you might even get a bigger settlement (see source below), but this wasn't addressing the question. The question was why you can't just say no, and that's because the constitution makes this practice legal, and the courts have continually upheld various renditions of it. If you want to reallllly press your luck, you can end up as a single holdout, which results in building AROUND your property, and seriously, who wants to be in the middle of a parking lot or freeway? I have included a link with a few examples of such holdouts.

Answer 5

The law of Eminent Domain, with restrictions, allows the government to take property with just compensations.

Answer 6

Emminent domain allows the government to buy you land to build something that will benefit the communnity as a whole. they must compensate you at a value equivilent to what you would recieve in the open market.

In the Kelo (?) case before the Supreme Court, the court allows the use of Emminent domain for the government to buy the land and sell it to a developer to produce a greater tax revenue. This I am against and has been very controversial.

Answer 7

Hey Wes,
You can stand up & FIGHT for your right, get a good lawyer &
keep saying NO till the monetary$ has so many didgets you
will want to!
It's your property U have the DEED & they can't kick you off r
own property so long as you pay r Property Tax!
If in deed this is happening right now, Please Get back to me! Some people don't get the Rules & Legeslation of the Law!
Diana D

Answer 8

Its bs. The government caters to corporations. Lovely fascism don't you think?

Answer 9

eminent domain