described, and valued separately accordinp; to the appraiser's estimate of 

 their worth to an average farmer, rural resident, or other local user. It is 

 not clear that more than incidental attention was given in the basic ap- 

 praisal to specific uses being made of the property, or to the owner's cur- 

 rent net earnings from the property. The apparent purpose was to estimate 

 jiiarket value under conditions of optimum use and management. 



Despite the limited amounts of certain types of information contained 

 in appraisal records, property owners, by and large, received a reasonable 

 "market value" for their holdings. Viewing the tracts in total (Table 18), 

 it is apparent that appraiser's classifications of land were liberal, in keep- 

 ing with the legal concept of potential rather than actual use being made of 

 these lands. Table 19 summarizes a few pertinent facts relative to real estate 

 purchases for the Franklin Falls. Blackwater. and Surry Mountain projects. 

 Of particular significance is the fact that the aggregate purchase price for 

 tracts containing 10 acres or more of farm land did not vary more than 

 10 percent from the appraised value. 



However, these totals can obscure any individual cases in which greater 

 relative differences existed. As one might suspect from the Surry Mountain 

 totals, many settlements were concluded on the basis of the owners' asking 

 prices which were below the appraisal valuations. Such imperfect knowledge 

 on the part of the seller probably should not be exploited when undertaking 

 public acquisition of private holdings. Much may be lost in terms of public 

 lelations. Perhaps the initial appraisal valuation should be disclosed to each 

 owner, or tendered as an initial offer, eliminating the seeking of an intial 

 asking price. 



Table 18. Uses of Land in Four Reservoir Areas Prior to Acquisition, 

 Appraisal Classifications and Actual 



1 Cultivated crops and hayland. 



- Includes 23 acres of cropland subsequently sold back into private ownership, 

 17.71 acres held under flowage easements, and 1.44 acres paid for by N. H. Highway 

 Department, as used in the relocated highway. 



3 As developed under section 2.a., this report. 



4 Includes brush pasture and woodland pastured. 



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