Title 04 — Subtitle 02. Real Property Acquisition Policies

This regulation applies to all real property acquisitions to which the Department of General Services has any statutory role, except real property acquisition by the Department of Transportation and its model administrations, which are addressed in Regulation .02, below.

Before any real property is acquired from a private owner, other than by gift, the Board of Public Works shall obtain two independent appraisals of the property.

The staff review appraisers in the Office of Real Estate of the Department of General Services shall obtain and review the two independent appraisals for form, fact, and conclusions and, if they so elect may, with the approval of the Director of the Office of Real Estate, obtain a third independent appraisal, which they also shall review for form, fact, and conclusions. The staff review appraisers shall recommend to the Director of the Office of Real Estate a value for the subject real property, based on the approved appraisals. The Director shall determine the approved value of the property based on the reviewer's recommendation.

The Director of the Office of Real Estate shall offer to purchase the subject real property from the private owner, at a price not less than the lowest of the approved, independent appraisals, or at a price equal to the eminent domain award of the circuit court, as the case may be.

The actual consideration to be paid for any real property is subject to final approval by the Board of Public Works.

This regulation applies to capital expenditures for acquisition of real property by the Department of Transportation and its modal administrations (collectively addressed here as “the Department of Transportation”), unless the acquisition is in connection with State roads, bridges, or highways.

Instead of employing the procedures addressed in this regulation, the Department of Transportation may elect on a case by case basis to acquire real property in accordance with Regulation .01, above, provided the Department of General Services acquiesces.

In exercising its review of contracts for capital expenditures for acquisition of real property by the Department of Transportation, the Department of General Services shall defer to a Department of Transportation review appraiser's approval of the appraisal of the property in question, and to any administrative adjustment of the proposed expenditure recommended by the Department of Transportation.

This regulation does not apply to property to be acquired in connection with State roads, bridges, or highways.

Before any real property is acquired from a private owner, who occupies a dwelling there as his principal residence, the Office of Real Estate, Department of General Services, the Department of Transportation, or any of its modal administrations, may offer the owners a life estate in a portion of that property.

The value of the life estate, as determined by the Office of Real Estate, the Department of Transportation, or any of its modal administrations, is the amount equal to the agreed upon price of the total property, less a discount based upon the value of the life estate portion and the age of the youngest owner of record of the property. If the property is obtained through condemnation, the State shall pay the owner, or owners, a price equal to the inquisition for the total property, less a discount based upon the value of the life estate portion and the age of the youngest owner of record of the property. The discount will be determined by the Office of Real Estate, the Department of Transportation, or any of its modal administrations, by multiplying the agreed upon price or amount established by the condemnation inquisition for the life estate portion, that is, the residence, related improvements and the property which will be occupied and maintained by the former owner, or owners, by a valuation factor derived from computations using mortality tables and ages of the youngest owner, called Life Estate Valuation Table as approved by the State Board of Public Works.

The actual consideration to be paid for any real property subject to a life estate is subject to final approval by the Board of Public Works.