Eminent Domain Can Affect Any House, Including a House of Worship

Q: Can you stop an eminent domain taking on your church’s land?

Preventing an eminent domain taking is rare. We recommend property owners focus on pursuing maximum compensation instead. However, if you contact us as soon as you know your church is in the crosshairs, we may be able to work with the NCDOT to negotiate changes to some parts of their plans and reduce the impact on your church’s property.

Q: Is it costly to hire an experienced eminent domain attorney?

While it can be costly not to hire an eminent domain attorney to help you fight for maximum compensation, at our firm we offer a no-fee guarantee. At the NC Eminent Domain Law Firm, you pay no attorney’s fee at all if we don’t recover compensation for you. Guaranteed. We also advance all costs of fighting your case, so you pay nothing upfront. There is no hourly fee and no retainer fee – even the case evaluation is free (and comes with no obligation). Here’s an example of how it can work: Let’s say the NCDOT offers you $300,000 for the land they’re taking from your church. We leverage our network of land experts and inside DOT knowledge (remember, four of our attorneys used to represent the NCDOT) to get your offer raised to $500,000. Our fee only comes from that additional $200,000, never your original offer. After our standard 1/3 contingency fee, $433,300 would remain – a $133,300 increase over your initial offer.* *Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes in future cases because each case is unique and must be evaluated separately. 195% (nearly 3x more) is an average of each case’s increase as of 12/31/24.

Church property is subject to eminent domain takings, but the condemning authority often fails to understand – and often significantly underestimates – your church property’s value.

Discuss Fair Compensation for Your Church

Church Property and North Carolina Eminent Domain Condemnation

When the government wants private land for a public project, even sacred land, they can generally force you to sell it. Unfortunately, even a small taking can dramatically harm your church and its services.

While church land is not immune to a government taking, you are not helpless as a steward of the church. You have the right to pursue maximum compensation for the harms your church will suffer from the government’s taking. And we can help.

Complex legal and appraisal rules apply to eminent domain takings of religious property, but we know how to help you. Several of our attorneys used to represent the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), handling many big cases. We left the NCDOT because we saw too many property owners, including church property owners, struggle while trying to go at it alone without an experienced eminent domain attorney.

Church property cases are particularly important to Stan Abrams, a lead attorney in our practice. He grew up in the church and has served as a deacon, Sunday School teacher, and member of church committees.

For a free professional evaluation of your church property case with no obligation, call us at 1-877-393-4990 today!

Key Takeaways

Church and religious properties in North Carolina are not exempt from government takings through eminent domain.
The primary legal challenge in these cases is typically focused on obtaining full and fair compensation, not on preventing the property taking.
Valuing church property requires a complex analysis, and initial government offers may not account for the property’s unique factors that can increase how much you may be owed.
Potential damages from a taking can include loss of: parking, access, signage, the ability to conduct services and community activities, and more.

How Eminent Domain Takings Can Affect Churches and Religious Property

An eminent domain taking may have many possible impacts on your church and congregation:

Traffic Patterns: Will traffic around your church be rerouted? Will those new traffic patterns affect the accessibility of your church or the safety of your congregation?

Access: Could development block, move, or eliminate entrances and exits to your church property?

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Signage: What if the NCDOT takes the portion of your land where your church’s sign currently is? Can you relocate the sign under strict signage regulations?

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Parking: Will the taking affect your parking capacity? Will the size of your congregation decrease due to insufficient parking?

Church Buildings: Will you need to alter your church building or facilities due to the NCDOT’s project? Do you stand to lose some or all of a building?

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Activity Space: Will the DOT’s taking reduce or eliminate space your church needs to serve the community, from outreach and gatherings to events and athletics? Or what if you were planning to use that land for a new church building?

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Conformance With Regulations: After the NCDOT’s taking, will what remains of your church property lawfully conform to municipal laws? Will non-conformance restrict how your church can use the property in the future?

We have represented many churches across North Carolina in their fight for just compensation. We have created a statewide network of appraisers, engineers, and other land experts that we can call upon as needed to help us build your case.

Before you agree to any DOT offer, call us at 1-877-393-4990 or contact us online today for a free case evaluation.

Frequently Asked Questions About Church Property and Eminent Domain

Can you stop an eminent domain taking on your church’s land?

Is it costly to hire an experienced eminent domain attorney?

Get a Free Case Evaluation Today

We handle eminent domain exclusively, and we are led by 6 attorneys with prior experience working for the NCDOT, handling some of their biggest cases. This experience is why we encourage you to contact us for a free case evaluation.

In a free case evaluation, you’ll get:

a thorough review of how your property may be impacted
recommendations on what to do next
No obligation!

Is the government taking your North Carolina church property? You do not have to accept its initial offer. Contact the NC Eminent Domain Law Firm at 1-877-393-4990 for a free case evaluation.

Get a free case
evaluation today.

There are only a handful of attorneys in NC who practice eminent domain exclusively, and even fewer with NCDOT experience. We have six. That’s why it’s worth getting in touch with us for a free case evaluation.

Here’s how it works:

1) Tell us about your situation.

2) We research your property as needed, using DOT maps, our own technology, and experience to see the exact effects.

3) We will give you our professional evaluation of your legal situation and recommend next steps. This evaluation is free, and there’s no pressure or obligation to hire us after.

But please don’t wait to act. Waiting can hurt your case, and the cost is the same: free.

1-877-393-4990

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