Expert category
Real estate appraisal expert witnesses
Certified appraisers who value property for a condemnation rather than for a lender. The purpose changes the date, the definition of value and the method, which is why ordinary appraisal experience does not transfer cleanly.
Scope
The questions this expert answers
What was the whole property worth
The before value, as one economic unit immediately before the taking.
What is the remainder worth now
The after value, with the project built, which is the most contested figure in the case.
Which comparables actually support this
Verified sales, adjusted with a stated basis, excluding sales influenced by the project.
Is the agency report sound
Appraisal review under USPAP Standard 3, with or without a competing value opinion.
What use was assumed
Highest and best use, the premise everything downstream rests on.
How should the report read
Written for a hostile reader, because it will have one.
Selection
What to check before engaging
| Criterion | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Certification | State certified general appraiser, current, disciplinary history checked |
| Designation | MAI or equivalent establishes a baseline, though it is not proof of condemnation experience |
| Condemnation work | Assignments in this field, not lending volume |
| Property type | Experience with this kind of property, which matters most for income producing and special purpose assets |
| Yellow Book | Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions, where federal funding applies |
| Fee basis | Never contingent. Professional standards prohibit it and it would destroy the report\u2019s weight |
In practice
Where appraisal reports are attacked
Four findings recur in review, in rough order of frequency. Severance damages concluded as nil with no analysis. Highest and best use asserted rather than supported. The remainder never analysed separately, so the after value is a smaller before value rather than a valuation of what the owner keeps. And adjustments in the comparable grid that are larger than the differences they correct.
None of those requires anyone to prefer one judgement to another. They identify something the method requires and the report does not contain, which is why a standards argument is stronger than a difference of opinion.
Listed experts
Experts in this category
The directory is being built. Experts practising in this category can write to editorial@eminentdomainexpertwitness.com. Listing is free, requires evidence of credentials and condemnation experience, and is not sold.
In the meantime, how to find an expert sets out the four routes that reach the same population, and the questions worth asking before you engage anyone.
Questions about this category
Is an appraisal review cheaper than an appraisal
Considerably, because the reviewer is examining work already done rather than producing a valuation from scratch. It is usually the right first spend.
Can the same appraiser review and then value
Yes, and it should be instructed explicitly, because review and valuation are separate assignments with separate requirements.
Does the agency appraiser testify too
Yes. A condemnation hearing is usually a contest between two appraisers, decided on which reasoning held up.
What if nothing comparable has sold
Then sales comparison is weak and the cost or income approach carries more weight. A good report says so rather than forcing comparables that do not fit.
Related
Other categories
Eminent Domain
The primary category. Valuation and testimony in condemnation and just compensation disputes, covering every discipline a taking can put in issue.
Fair Market Value
Opinions on what the market would have paid at the valuation date, under the legal definition rather than a general sense of worth.
Real Estate Damages
Diminution in value, severance damages, cost to cure, lost rent and the loss that remains after a proposed cure.
Land Use and Zoning
Entitlement probability, zoning compliance after a taking, and whether the remainder can still be developed for the use it was valued on.
Land Surveying
Boundaries, easements, encroachments, right of way plans and the survey evidence a partial taking turns on.
Utilities and Corridors
Transmission lines, pipelines and utility corridors: easement scope, depreciation and the value of rights rather than title.
The right expert is the one whose field actually covers the dispute
Start from what is contested, not from a list of names. The category pages explain which discipline answers which question.