Section 6: Sale of Right of Way (Fee Simple) No Longer Needed for a State Highway Purpose to the Abutting Landowner(s)
Anchor: #i1003882Overview
If a GE does not exercise its priority right to purchase a tract of right of way, abutting landowner(s) may be notified of their priority right to purchase the right of way. The purchase price of the right of way cannot be less than the amount offered to the GEs in their priority period.
In any sale or exchange where the abutting landowner is a trust, or a person who is a trustee, contact ROW Division Headquarters.
TxDOT may choose to offer the priority right of abutting landowners to purchase a share of the right of way that is proportionate to the amount of shared property line between the abutting tract and the subject right of way interest or TxDOT may choose to offer the entire tract to each owner of land abutting the property. If abutting landowners are offered a portion of the right of way tract, and any of the abutting landowners decline to exercise their priority right to purchase their portion, the remaining abutting landowners may purchase the adjusted portions of the tract, provided there is no interference with an adjacent owner’s rights, including access to the highway facility
If only one of the abutting landowners is interested in purchasing the right of way interest, the entire tract can be sold to that owner, even if their property does not abut the entire tract.
If multiple abutting landowners are offered their priority right to purchase an entire real estate tract of which a portion abuts their land, and in response, multiple abutting landowners express their intent to purchase on the offered terms, then the exercising abutting landowners will enter a sealed bid or cry-out auction just among those abutting owners that expressed intent to purchase to determine who the purchaser will be.
If an abutting landowner proposes to exercise its priority right, the landowner will provide a current licensed attorney’s opinion that based on an examination of the deed records, identifies all of the landowner(s) abutting the property to be sold.