Sorry to hear about this happening to you and what you will be going through.
A good friend of mine had his place taken by eminent domain in CA to expand the size and access of a park. It had been an ongoing process where the bought out neighboring property owners until he was the only one left. He refused to sell, so they started harrassing him and tried to shut down his easments. He won every battle, but they only have to win one time.
When they took the land, they offered ten grand an acre. That was more then he paid for it, but land down the canyon from him had just sold for $100,000 an acre. That was a very good comp, but because he was surround by park land and required an easement to access his land, they said the comp wasn't any good. He hired a lawyer who had allot of experience in this and in the end, got $30,000 an acre.
All that matters is that you get as much as possible so you can go into the hunt for a replacement property with the funds to by what you want. The economy is going to get worse, so the longer you hold out on the appraisal value, the less your land will be worth. That's just my opinion, but unless there's a big improvement in the job numbers, nobody is going to have the money to buy and as a result, property values will continue to drop. The good news is that after you sell, you will be in a strong buying position!!!!
When hiring a lawyer, be sure to talk to at least five. The biggest mistake people make when hiring anybody is to hire the first or second one they talk to. Make it a point to have a list of names before you talk to any of them. Then promise yourself that you will not hire any of them until you have talked to all of them. Some are very good salesman, others are very likable and make you feel like a friend. What you want is one that's good at what he does, and is better then all the others. He/She may or may not be a nice person, but if they get results, that's all that matters.
Good luck,
Eddie
