Litigation support
Finding out whether there is a case before building one
The cheapest expert work in a condemnation is the first piece: an experienced reading of the agency appraisal that says whether it has a weakness and roughly what it is worth.
The decision it informs
Three outcomes, all of them useful
The valuation is sound. That is worth knowing, and it is worth paying for. An owner who learns that the agency report is well constructed and properly reasoned can accept an offer with some confidence rather than with resentment, and can stop spending on the question.
There is a gap, and it is small. Also useful, because it frames a negotiation rather than a case. A specific criticism can be put to the agency without litigation.
There is a significant flaw. Then the question becomes which experts are needed and in what order, and the assessment has paid for itself many times over.
Assessment is usually done in a consulting capacity, which in most jurisdictions keeps it outside discovery. That matters if the answer is unfavourable.
What it covers
The scope of a first look
The method
Whether the right approach was applied to this kind of taking, and applied completely.
The premise
Whether highest and best use was reasoned or assumed.
The remainder
Whether it was separately analysed, and whether the project appears in the after value at all.
The data
Whether the comparables are genuinely comparable and whether the adjustments have a basis.
The omissions
Fixtures, access, temporary areas, planting, signage and the other items routinely left out.
The economics
What pursuing it would cost, against the plausible improvement.
Questions about assessment
What does an assessment cost
Far less than an appraisal. It is a reading and an opinion rather than an independent valuation, and in most matters it is the smallest sensible first spend.
Who should do it
An appraiser with condemnation experience in this jurisdiction. For specialised property, one with experience in that property type.
Is the assessment discoverable
Generally not if conducted in a consulting capacity, though rules vary and designation later changes the position. Settle it at retention.
Can it tell me what my property is worth
No. It tells you whether the agency figure is defensible. If you need a number to put forward, that requires a full appraisal.
The expert decides the number more often than the argument does
In condemnation the facts in dispute are technical. Who presents them, and how well, is usually what the case turns on.