Right-of-way relocation ensures everyone involved in the right-of-way process can walk away with peace of mind and security in their future. When a company or administration is in need of resources on private land, the only way to rightfully access that land is to compensate the landowners and those who live and work within its boundaries.
SelectROW specializes in performing every step of right-of-way acquisitions, including communicating with existing landowners and making sure they walk away with the compensation they’re owed. Once you’ve handled relocation assistance, you can begin your true project of making the land more usable for the rest of the public.
Relocation Assistance
The precedent for right-of-way compensation dates back to the United States Constitution, ensuring that private property owners, leasers and renters can leave their property with adequate compensation for relocation and rebuilding everything they leave behind. Guidelines like this are further stipulated in the Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970.
The Act details that for any agency to receive federal funding for their project, they must compensate the bodies who live and work there in a manner equal to the value of:
- The property
- Relocation costs, such as moving expenses and technical installations
- Costs to re-establish a business in a new area
The idea behind paying for costs outside of the original property value is to attempt to make up for the significant inconvenience caused by surrendering the locale for public use. There are two main steps to relocation assistance — plan and payment.
The Plan
The best way to satisfy landowner concerns and minimize delays in your project is to create a relocation plan as early in the process as possible. This may mean having a dedicated researcher to explore property values and develop a projected budget. They should also look into existing real estate in the area and consider other relocation costs you may ultimately be responsible for.
Once you meet with the current landowners, you can present this plan and answer their questions along the way so you can streamline the process and keep everyone informed.
The Payment
When relocating, landowners must be sure to find properties that are “decent, safe and sanitary” to continue being eligible for repayment. Once they find suitable arrangements, they can submit claims for repayment, or in some cases, get an advance payment, to complete the transaction. During this time, ensure your agency keeps a close record of every communication and payment.
SelectROW’s Relocation Experience
For more than 50 years, SelectROW has been the resource of choice for hundreds of right-of-way projects. From planning and design to final result, we’ve proven ourselves as a dependable partner through our industry expertise and hands-on approach. Our long history has given us the chance to work on all kinds of acquisition projects, delivering satisfactory results to:
- Private businesses: Many of our private business partners are dedicated to bettering the world through environmental initiatives like building solar panel fields and improving telecommunication infrastructure.
- Public utility companies: As population growth continues, towns everywhere are in need of more resource support. Fiber optic cable installation has become one of our most common requests in this increasingly connected world, though our projects have also spanned across water provisions, electrical supplies and more.
- Government organizations: We’ve cultivated strong relationships nationwide with local, state and federal governments so we can cut through the red tape faster and keep every project on schedule, from road paving to flood control.
Contact Us Today to Start Your Right-of-Way Relocation
Approaching right-of-way relocation is a delicate process that requires a detailed plan, empathy and compassion for those who may be struggling with this land transfer. The team at SelectROW is well-versed in moving through this complex process as quickly as possible. Connect with the experts in right-of-way processes today.