Acquisition Manual

March 2008

This manual was current as of this revision date. Changes may have occurred since that time. For updates, please contact the Office of Right of Way's appraisal section, Iowa Department of Transportation, 800 Lincoln Way, Ames, Iowa 50010, or 515-239-1258.

Note: If you wish to print or view a complete Acquisition Manual, you may download a PDF file of the Acquisition Manual (3,014 KB) or download a ZIP version of the Acquisition Manual (1,175 KB) of the PDF file which can be printed or used for off-line viewing. For viewing the parts of the Appraisal Operational Manual listed below, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader™.

		Page
	Index Page	3-5
	Acquisition Unit - Policies	6
	Acquisition Unit Function	6
	Statement of Property Owner Rights	6
	Pricing Policy	8
	Uneconomic Remnant	9
	Right to Renegotiate Construction or Maintenance Damage	9
	Privacy of Appraisal Information	10
	Altering of Standard Forms	10
	Appraisal Waiver Process	11-13
	Determining Title and Providing Addresses	13
	Report of Record Ownership and Liens	13-14
	Front Ending	14-16
	Initiation of Negotiation for Parcels That Have Been Appraised	16-17
	Offer to Donate	17-18
	Ninety-Day Notice and Rights to Payment	18
	Plan Revision Requests	18
	Tenants	19-20
	Major Leasehold Interests	21-22
	The Function of the Acquisition Agreement	22-23
	Verbal Agreements Eliminated	23
	Court Approval in Guardianships/Conservatorship	23-24
	Administrative Settlement	24
	Payment Variances	25
	Record of Contracts	25
	Archaeological, Historical or Grave Sites within Proposed ROW	26
	Abandoned Wells, Underground Tanks, Burial Sites, and Contaminated Sites	26
	Taxes	27
	Owner Represented by Counsel	27
	Conflict of Interest	27
	Standard Forms of Purchase Agreements	27-29
	Description of Premises	29-30
	Buildings Purchased With Right of Way	30
	Insurance	30-31
	Relocation	31-32
	Purchase of Access Rights	32-34
	Possession	34-36
	Date of Conveyance and Payment	36
	Tabulation of Payments — Lump Sum Agreement	36
	Standardized Special Clauses for Use in Acquisition Agreements	36-37
	Borrow Agreements	37-40
	Topsoil Policy	40
	Channel Changes	41
	Flowage Easements	41
	Temporary Construction Detours	41
	Stock Passes	42-43
	Wells Purchased by the State	43
	Septic Systems Within Required Right of Way	43-44
	Special temporary Easement Clauses	44
	Crop Policy	45-46
	Impounding of Water	46
	Farm Title and Fence Repair or Replacement	46-47
	Fencing	47-50
	Outdoor Advertising Devices in Right of Way	50
	Notarizing	50
	Abstracting Requirements	50-51
	Acceptance of Agreement by Iowa DOT	51
	Transmit Agreement to Fiscal and Title Unit	51
	Information for Condemnation	52
	Damage Claims	52
	Appendix A - Agreement Clauses	A1-26
	Appendix B - Working Documents
	Access Purchase Agreement Administrative Settlement Determination Breakdown Certification of Negotiator and Parcel Check Sheet Compensation Estimate Condemnation Hearing Report Damage Claim Drainage District Consent Agreement Information for Condemnation Proceedings Landowner Consent to Property Examination Mobile Home Tenant Purchase Agreement Offer to Donate Offer to Purchase and Notice of Earliest Move Date Offer to Purchase — Compensation Estimate Purchase Agreement Receipt for Abstract of Title Record of Contact Request for Right of Way Revision Residential Tenant Purchase Agreement Revised Offer to Purchase Temporary Easement Purchase Agreement Ten Day Negotiation Waiver Tenant Purchase Agreement Tenant/Lessee Offer to Purchase/Notice of Earliest Move Date Total Purchase Agreement	B-3 B-5 B-6 B-7 B-9 B-10 B-12 B-13 B-15 B-16 B-17 B-20 B-21 B-22 B-23 B-26 B-27 B-28 B-29 B-30 B-31 B-34 B-35 B-38 B-39