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The Art Of Testimony:
The Real Estate Appraiser, The Appraisal & The Expertise Of The Expert
Witness
When the appraiser is on the witness stand, it is the objective of counsel to
get the best (or worst) out of the appraiser. I have never seen an appraiser
leave the witness stand unscathed. There are always bruises and battle wounds.
Appraising is an opinion, and the appraiser is always entitled to his/her
opinion, but the degree to which the opinion is challenged is the shared
responsibility of the appraiser and counsel. The greatest error is that a
little knowledge is the most dangerous, and there needs to be knowledge of the
entire appraisal process, beginning with its very foundation.
The little knowledge often associated with the appraisal process is that
appraising is solely predicted upon the three approaches to value: the sales
comparison, income capitalization and cost approaches to value. Much has been
written on these approaches, and most appraisal courses focus on these
approaches. Very briefly, according to the Appraisal Institute's Dictionary of
Real Estate Appraisal, these approaches can be summarized as follows:
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Sales Comparison Approach
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Income Capitalization Approach
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Cost Approach
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Effective Date of the Appraisal Estate
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Market Value
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Highest and Best Use
The Superbowl of the appraiser is testifying in court. Many an appraiser loves
to write his/her appraisals, but heaven forbid, defending it in court often
evokes enormous stress for most appraisers, and for good reason. The appraisal
process is very complex, and the three approaches to value are only a small
part of this complex process. The key to the expert testimony lies in the
foundation. Counsel needs to understand this complex appraisal foundation to
get the best from the appraiser.
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