You make it sound like Eminent Domain is some new concept introduced by the Clintons. Remember the roads? Railroads? Highways? Pipelines? Tens of thousands of homes were destroyed to make way for the highway systems in a city like New York alone over the last 30 years. This is nothing new. It sucks, but I would take 185% of what my house is worth in a heartbeat, particularly in this bubble market, and when the appraised value (hers is $400k) typically exaggerates the market value.