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 When the appraiser is on the witness stand in
Bankruptcy court, depending whose side he or she is on, 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.
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.
Elliott W. Weinstein,
MAI
As published in the ABI Journal
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