Expert category
Special purpose property expert witnesses
Churches, schools, clubs, marinas, golf courses and processing plants rarely trade, so the methods that work elsewhere have no evidence to work with and have to be replaced rather than adjusted.
Scope
The questions this expert answers
What would it cost to replace
Replacement cost of a building of equivalent utility, the basis of the cost approach.
How much has it depreciated
Physical, functional and external obsolescence, where estimates vary widely between competent professionals.
Is a substitute facility the measure
In some jurisdictions a public or institutional owner is compensated by the cost of an equivalent replacement rather than market value.
Is the land worth more cleared
An alternative use conclusion, correct in some cases and asserted too easily in others.
Does continued use count
A building in active service for its purpose has utility, and an obsolescence deduction implying otherwise should explain itself.
What do the site works cost
Specialised infrastructure that cannot be replicated elsewhere on the site.
Selection
What to check before engaging
| Criterion | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Discipline | Certified general appraiser with special purpose experience in this asset type |
| Method | Can apply and defend the cost approach, including the depreciation estimate |
| Substitute facility | Knows whether the jurisdiction allows it and for which owners |
| Cost support | Works with a professional estimator rather than a single contractor quotation |
| Search breadth | Will look regionally or nationally for the rare comparable, and acknowledge the adjustment that requires |
| Testimony | Can explain why sales comparison does not apply here |
In practice
Continued use is itself evidence
The cost approach is accepted for this purpose and it is also the method most exposed to disagreement, because depreciation on a long lived special purpose building is substantially a matter of judgement. The contested question is usually functional and external obsolescence: whether a building that serves its occupier perfectly well should be written down because a hypothetical buyer would not want it.
Where a report concludes the building contributes nothing and only the land counts, ask what evidence supports it and whether continued use for its purpose was considered.
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
Our congregation cannot replace this for what is offered
That is the substitute facility argument. Availability depends on the jurisdiction and on the nature of the owner, and it changes the whole measure of compensation.
Can comparables come from another state
Sometimes, for property types that trade so rarely that a regional search is the only option. The location adjustment is then large and should be acknowledged.
Is a golf course valued differently from a church
The method is the same and the inputs differ. A golf course has income evidence a church does not, so income analysis usually carries more weight there.
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.
Real Estate Appraisal
Certified appraisers who value property for condemnation rather than for lending, working to USPAP and, on federally assisted projects, the Yellow Book.
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.
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.