Road project

Hi everyone,

I recently received a letter from NSW Government advising a possible compulsory acquisition of my property due to road project. It is one of six strata units in the building. Also the project won't commence before 2016, so I think I still have a bit of time to have my exit plan sorted.

I have since looked around the internet, and found out that I need to get an independent legal advice on this matter, and the cost would be covered by the acquiring party. I would also need to arrange a meeting with the acquiring party to clarify the process and so on.

But I thought before I start all that, I wonder if anyone would share their experience in this matter?

Things that I'm not too sure about are as follows.

a. Would it be better for me to go to the negotiation alone or together with other owners (ie. using one solicitor to negotiate as a class action)? I would imagine it would be really hard to have an agreeable offer to be presented to the acquiring party, in terms of timing and price, given that different people may want to move at different times, have different priorities, and value their property differently?

b. Would it be better for me to go in to the deal earlier or later? ie. to achieve the best compensation, should I negotiate early, or wait until right the last minute? Being the first one in the building, middle or the last?

c. Any other negotiation points I need to think about? I've lived here more than a decade, so relocation would be highly inconvenienced, let alone if I have to move out of the area. Thinking about the stamp duty in my new purchase scares me already.

d. Since this is a strata unit, and the entire building will be acquired, are we/am I entitled to the land component of it?

Looking forward to hearing some valuable insights from those who are in the know.

Thanks in advance,

Sam