By James Hamon, Vice President, Appraisal Services — The Ambrose Group Certified General Real Estate Appraiser (Texas) | Licensed Property Tax Consultant
What is eminent domain appraisal? It is an independent, written opinion of what your property is worth when a government agency or another entity with condemnation power wants to take all or part of it. For a whole taking, it estimates market value. For a partial taking, it also estimates how the taking changes the value of what you keep. In Texas, that opinion is the evidence your compensation rests on, and the entity’s own appraisal is where the conversation starts, not where it ends.
If a letter from a condemning authority just landed on your desk, feeling unsettled is a reasonable reaction. You didn’t ask for it, the process has its own vocabulary, and the deadlines are real. Nobody expects you to know how it works, and no question is too basic. This guide is the learning part. When you’re ready to talk about an actual assignment, that’s what our eminent domain appraisal page is for. And if you want the appraisal process itself explained first — inspection, the approaches to value, the report — start with our real estate appraisal guide.
Key takeaways
- The Texas Constitution requires adequate compensation when property is taken for public use (Art. I, §17). The appraisal is how that amount gets supported.
- Before suing, the entity must make a bona fide offer: a written initial offer, a final offer at least 30 days later backed by a certified appraiser’s written appraisal, and at least 14 days for you to respond.
- The entity’s appraisal is a credible opinion prepared for its purpose. Yours can reach a different conclusion, and what matters is which is better supported.
- A partial taking has two parts: the value of what is taken, and any damage to what remains.
- Independence is what gives the opinion weight. An appraiser who promises a number has stopped being an appraiser.
- Start before the final offer, and well before the special commissioners hearing, where disclosure deadlines can arrive in days.
What happens when an entity wants your property
The process is set by Chapter 21 of the Texas Property Code. The Attorney General summarizes it for owners in the Landowner’s Bill of Rights. In order:
- You receive the Landowner’s Bill of Rights. The entity must provide it before, or when, it first claims eminent domain authority.
- You receive a written initial offer. It must include the Bill of Rights, a bold statement of whether the amount covers damages to your remaining property or rests on an appraisal that does, a deed or easement for you to review, and a contact person. The entity must also disclose appraisals of your property from the past 10 years.
- You receive a final offer, at least 30 days after the initial one, with the appraisal it relies on. You have at least 14 days to respond.
- If you can’t agree, the entity files a petition in court and sends you a copy by certified and first-class mail.
- The court appoints special commissioners within 30 days.
- The commissioners hold a hearing and issue an award. Either side can object, which takes the case to trial.
The bona fide offer requirement, in plain terms
Texas doesn’t let an entity skip to a lawsuit. It must try to buy the property voluntarily first, and the statute defines what counts as a real attempt (§21.0113).
The final offer must come after a written appraisal from a certified appraiser covering the property taken and any damage to your remaining property. The final offer must be at least that appraisal’s amount. It must arrive with a copy of the appraisal, the conveyance document, and the Bill of Rights.
If a court finds the entity didn’t make a bona fide offer, it must pause the suit, order a proper offer, and order the entity to pay costs and the owner’s reasonable attorney and professional fees tied to the violation (§21.047(d)). Whether an offer meets the standard is a legal question for your attorney. An appraiser can help by reading the appraisal that supports it.
Why the government’s appraisal is the starting point, not the answer
The entity’s appraiser is a certified professional working under the same professional standards I do. The report is a credible opinion. It is also an opinion prepared for a specific purpose, the entity’s acquisition, and the statute makes it the floor for that entity’s final offer. It is not a ceiling on what your property is worth.
Two credible appraisers can reach different conclusions from honest work. They may choose different comparable sales, reach different views of highest and best use, treat the remainder differently, or assume different things about the project. The question is never whose number is higher. It’s whose reasoning the evidence supports.
I explain market value with Family Feud. There’s one question on the board: what’s this property worth? We survey the market, and my job is to find the number-one answer, the one the evidence supports most strongly. It isn’t the only defensible number, but it’s the one the data points to most often. That’s the standard for both appraisals.
You’re entitled to see what the other side relied on. When reading it, check four things:
- The date of value and the property rights taken. A permanent easement is not a fee taking.
- Highest and best use. What the report assumes the property could do changes everything after.
- The comparable sales, and how they were adjusted.
- The remainder. If a part of your property is being taken, does the report address what happens to the rest, or does it say nothing?
What an independent appraisal actually establishes
Market value of what is taken. For a whole taking, Texas measures damage as the local market value of the property at the time of the special commissioners’ hearing (§21.042(b)).
Damage to the remainder, for a partial taking. The commissioners estimate the injury and the benefit to the owner, including the effect of the condemnation on the value of the remaining property (§21.042(c)). The Texas Supreme Court has held that a landowner recovers remainder damages only with evidence that the condemnation itself caused the loss in the remainder’s value (State v. Petropoulos, Tex. 2011). In practice, a credible report doesn’t just state a “before” value. It develops a reasoned “after” value for the remainder and ties any difference to the taking.
Which injuries count. The statute draws a line. Injury peculiar to your ownership and use, including a material impairment of direct access to a public road that affects the remainder’s market value, can be considered. Injury you share with the general community, such as circuity of travel and diversion of traffic, cannot (§21.042(d)). An appraiser who doesn’t know that line can’t tell you what’s compensable.
Benefits. Commissioners may also weigh benefits to the remaining property (§21.041). A credible report addresses them honestly rather than ignoring them.
What it doesn’t establish. Whether the taking is for a valid public use, whether it’s necessary, and what the easement terms should be are legal questions. They belong to the court and your attorney, not the appraiser.
The work itself is what you’d expect: a site inspection, market research, analysis under the sales comparison, cost, and income approaches as the property warrants, and a written report that shows its reasoning. I always ask why you need the appraisal, because purpose determines the assignment. Here the purpose is a taking, so the date of value, the rights acquired, and the plans for the project all shape the analysis.
Independence is what makes the opinion carry weight
Here is the sentence I’d want you to remember: when I appraise a property, I don’t work for either side. I work for the truth of the number.
That may sound odd when you’re the one paying. It’s the point. The profession’s ethical standard, USPAP, requires an appraiser to be impartial and objective, and prohibits advocating the cause or interest of any party or accepting an assignment for a predetermined result. A fee that depends on the outcome would be an ethical violation. If an appraiser tells you what the number will be before the work is done, walk away.
Independence is also what makes the opinion useful. A report that reads like a position paper gives the other side an easy target. A report that shows its reasoning, with every comparable adjusted and every assumption stated, invites scrutiny and is built to survive it. When two appraisals disagree, the one the commissioners or a judge can follow, step by step, to an unbiased conclusion has the advantage. I can’t promise you a result, and nobody who can be trusted should.
Your attorney advocates for you. Your appraiser supports an opinion. That division of labor is a strength.
The special commissioners hearing
Within 30 days of the petition, the judge appoints three disinterested real property owners who live in the county, plus two alternates. Each side may strike one commissioner. They swear to assess damages fairly, impartially, and according to the law (§21.014).
The hearing can’t be set before the 20th day after the commissioners are appointed, and you’re entitled to written notice at least 20 days before it (§§21.015-.016). The commissioners admit evidence on the value of the property taken, the injury to you, the benefit to your remaining property, and the use the entity will make of it (§21.041). They decide compensation. They don’t decide whether the taking is proper.
Disclosure deadlines move fast:
- The entity must give you its current appraisal reports at least three business days before the hearing if it will use one.
- You must give the entity your appraisal reports by the earlier of 10 days after you receive them or three business days before the hearing (§21.0111).
Attending is your choice, and if you attend, you can present evidence and question witnesses. After the award, the entity can take possession once it pays the award or deposits it with the court (§21.021). The Bill of Rights explains how withdrawing deposited funds can affect what you may later contest, so ask your attorney before you do.
The appeal path
The award is not final if you object. A written objection is due by the first Monday after the 20th day following the date the commissioners file their findings (§21.018). If nobody objects in time, the court adopts the award as its judgment (§21.061). If someone does, the court tries the case like other civil cases, with a judge or jury, and the judgment can be appealed (§21.063).
Costs follow the numbers. If the award or the court’s determination is less than or equal to what the entity offered before the proceeding began, the owner pays the costs. If the commissioners award more than that offer, or a court later awards more than the commissioners did, the entity pays (§21.047). That’s one more reason the appraisal belongs in the file early: it shapes whether an objection is worth filing.
When to get your own appraisal
Start when the initial offer arrives. The statute’s own spacing gives you at least 44 days between that offer and a lawsuit: 30 days before the final offer, plus 14 days to respond. After a petition, the commissioners are appointed within 30 days and can hold the hearing 20 days after that, so the calendar compresses quickly.
A credible appraisal takes real time. It involves an inspection, market research, and analysis, and a rushed report is a weaker one. Getting started early gives you three options at each stage:
- At the initial offer, to test whether the entity’s number is supported.
- Before the final offer, to negotiate with a documented position.
- Before the hearing, to meet the disclosure deadline with evidence you’ve had time to review with your attorney.
Gather what you can: the legal description and plans showing the taking, your survey, leases and operating statements, prior appraisals, tax bills, photos, and correspondence with the entity. An entity that isn’t subject to the Public Information Act must produce information about the taking of your specific property if you ask (§21.025).
For the litigation side, including expert reports and testimony, see our real estate litigation support.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to accept the government’s first offer? No. The offer is an attempt to buy your property voluntarily, and you may accept it, negotiate, or decline. If you can’t agree, the entity’s next step is a lawsuit, so watch the response deadlines. The final offer gives you at least 14 days.
How is just compensation determined in Texas? The Constitution requires adequate compensation. For a whole taking, the measure is market value at the time of the commissioners’ hearing. For a partial taking, it’s the value of the part taken plus any damage to the remainder, after considering benefits. The commissioners decide it from the evidence at the hearing.
Can I get my own appraisal, and who pays for it? Yes. You may hire an appraiser and an attorney, and the owner generally pays for them. The statute shifts fees only in specific situations, such as when the entity drops the case after filing (§21.019) or a court finds the offer wasn’t bona fide.
What if I disagree with the special commissioners’ award? You can file a written objection by the first Monday after the 20th day following the date the commissioners file their findings. That sends the case to trial, with a judge or jury. Missing the deadline means the award becomes the judgment.
How long does the eminent domain process take? There’s no single timeline. The statute sets minimums, such as 30 days between offers and 20 days’ notice of the hearing. If nobody objects to the award, it can resolve quickly. If someone does, the timeline follows the court’s docket.
If you own commercial property and want to understand what a taking means for its value, our commercial real estate appraisers can talk through your situation, and if the honest answer is that you need an attorney first, we’ll say so. Talk to our team.
Texas Constitution Art. I, §17; Texas Property Code Chapter 21; Texas Government Code §402.031 and the Attorney General’s Landowner’s Bill of Rights; USPAP Ethics Rule (Appraisal Standards Board, current edition); State v. Petropoulos (Tex. 2011). Statutes checked 2026-10-12. This guide describes general practice and Texas law, not advice for your situation, and no value or outcome is guaranteed. Consult a Texas condemnation attorney about your rights and deadlines.
James Hamon is Vice President of Appraisal Services at The Ambrose Group, where he has spent his entire 21-year career. A Certified General Real Estate Appraiser and Licensed Property Tax Consultant in Texas, James specializes in complex valuations for litigation — with a particular focus on family law — and has testified as an expert witness in cases where an appraisal has to withstand full cross-examination. His work is built on a principle he won’t bend on: the valuation is the valuation, no matter who’s paying for it.