A partial taking removes land worth $80,000 from a property worth $500,000, and the remainder is then worth $390,000. What are the total damages?
Correct Answer
A) $110,000
Why this is correct: The before-and-after method calculates total damages as the difference between the property's value before the taking ($500,000) and the value of the remainder after the taking ($390,000). $500,000 - $390,000 = $110,000. Why the other choices are wrong: '$80,000' is only the value of the land taken, not the total damages. '$30,000' is the severance damage to the remainder, not the total. '$390,000' is the value of the remainder after the taking, not the damages. Exam tip: For partial takings, total damages = Value Before - Value After. This captures both the land taken and any damage to the remainder.
Why This Is the Correct Answer
Five hundred thousand minus three hundred ninety thousand equals $110,000, which is total damages under the before and after method. The figure necessarily includes both the $80,000 attributable to the land taken and the $30,000 of severance damage to what remains. Presenting the total alongside its two components is standard practice, because condemnation reports are typically required to allocate between the part taken and damages to the remainder. The method's strength is that it captures the whole loss without requiring the appraiser to build it up piece by piece.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Option B: $80,000
Eighty thousand is the value of the land taken alone and omits the $30,000 of damage the taking inflicted on the remainder. Paying only for the acreage acquired would leave the owner uncompensated for an inferior residual property. The figure is a component of the answer rather than the answer, which is why it appears as the most plausible distractor.
Option C: $30,000
Thirty thousand is the severance damage component, the diminution in the remainder's value beyond the part taken. It is computed as total damages minus the value of the part taken, so selecting it means reporting the smaller piece of a two-part total. It is a meaningful figure that the report should state, just not the total.
Option D: $390,000
Three hundred ninety thousand is the after value of the remainder, which is an input to the calculation rather than a measure of loss. Reporting the remaining property's value as the damages would confuse what the owner keeps with what the owner lost. A sanity check helps: damages cannot exceed the whole property's before value.
Before Minus After
Two values, one subtraction. What it was worth whole, minus what is left, equals what was lost. Then split the loss into the piece taken and the harm to the piece remaining, and confirm the two components sum to the total.
How to use: Compute total damages first as before minus after, then back into severance by subtracting the value of the part taken. Read the stem carefully to see which of the three figures is being requested.
Exam Tip
Check that your components reconcile: part taken plus severance must equal total damages. If they do not, one of the three figures was misread.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- -Reporting only the value of the part taken as total compensation
- -Omitting severance damages where the remainder is left in an inferior condition
- -Assuming offsetting benefits apply without confirming the jurisdiction's rule
Concept Deep Dive
Analysis
Partial takings are valued by the before and after method, which is the dominant approach in eminent domain work because it captures every element of loss in one measurement. The appraiser develops an opinion of the whole property's value before the taking, then an opinion of the remainder's value after the taking, incorporating the changed size, shape, access, and any effect of the project on what is left. The difference is total compensation. That single subtraction contains two conceptually distinct components: the value of the part taken, and severance damages representing the diminution in value of the remainder caused by the taking or by the project. Here the before value is $500,000 and the after value is $390,000, so total damages are $110,000. Because the part taken was worth $80,000, severance damage to the remainder accounts for the remaining $30,000, which might reflect an awkward residual shape, lost frontage, or impaired access. In some jurisdictions any special benefits conferred by the project may offset damages, which is a legal question the appraiser must confirm rather than assume.
Background Knowledge
You need the before and after method, the definitions of the part taken, the remainder, and severance damages, and the concept of cost to cure where a remainder defect can be economically remedied. You should also know that offsetting benefits are treated differently across jurisdictions and that the applicable rule is a legal matter to confirm with counsel.
Real-World Application
An appraiser handling a highway widening values the whole property before the taking, then values the remainder reflecting its reduced depth and relocated access. She reports total compensation of $110,000, allocates $80,000 to the land acquired and $30,000 to severance, and notes that a cure for the access problem was considered and priced against the damage.
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