Condemnation
"Condemnation," in real estate terms, refers to the seizure of private property by the government. The most common reason for a home to become condemned is that it was deemed unsafe to live in or use due to physical defects like chemical or mold toxicity, or structural problems such as storm damage that could cause the home to collapse. Other reasons for a home to be seized and condemned include criminal activity, such as drug production or dealing taking place inside the home, or in some cases, development of the area. If the government decides that a home is the only thing standing in the way of building a new highway, they can exercise their right of eminent domain and condemn the property in order to acquire the land for use. In these cases, the property owner is usually paid the worth of the property as decided by a government appraisal.