Litigation Support / Expert Witness

Expert testimony in real estate matters for a full range of commercial, industrial and residential valuation issues. Our forensic appraisal services include court testimony and litigation support services. With over 30 years of experience we have performed appraisal services on numerous property types throughout the Southern California geographical region including Orange County, Los Angeles County, San Diego County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, Santa Barbara County and Ventura County. Our State Licensed and Certified real estate appraisal consultants include MAI members and others who hold some of the highest real estate appraiser designations in the industry. Our experience includes numerous types of real estate and assignments including residential homes, luxury estate homes, multimillion dollar estates, ranches, landslide, easements, encroachments, construction defects, IRS tax matters, retrospective date of death, acreage parcels, commercial property, mixed use retail commercial, industrial, distribution warehouse, commercial office, gas stations, apartments, vacant land, mini-storage facilities, restaurants, office buildings, retail shopping centers, mixed use residential commercial real estate and numerous other types of special use real estate.

We provide forensic appraisal services including prospective and retrospective real estate research support services for bank loan fraud, appraiser fraud, property disputes, real estate partnership dissolution, divorce, retrospective IRS 706 date of death  valuations, mortgage & appraisal fraud, probate, arbitration and mediation. As real estate experts our appraisers have testified in California courts.

Regarding Rule 702 and Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc., 509 U.S. 579,589, this court decision set a precedent placing an obligation on federal judges to determine that scientific testimony is relevant and reliable. The four criterion utilized are testability, peer review of theory or technique, potential error rate, and industry standards and general acceptability in the industry i.e. real estate. The case purportedly set new guide lines for testimony. However, in Kumho Tire Co. v. Carmichael (97-1709) 526 U.S. 137 (1999) 131 F.3d 1433, reversed, the Eleventh Circuit court held that the District Court erred in that Daubert was limited to a scientific context and did not apply to the expert testimony in this case, which it characterized as skill-or experience-based.

Our appraisal reports meet or exceed the Uniform Standards of Appraisal Practice (USPAP)and generally recognized real estate industry standards, techniques and methodologies. In order to comply with guidelines set forth in Daubert, generally additional research is required to search out empirical data and peer review articles to further support an appraisal valuation opinion of the real estate involved. However, one must note that because an appraisal opinion is generally regarded in the real estate industry as an art and not a science, appraiser experience and skill level is also extremely important in expert court testimony.

Each California real estate expert in appraisal must remain unbiased when testifying in a real estate matter. Therefore, we cannot be an advocate for either side, unless you hire us as a consultant and not as an appraiser. As an real estate consultant, we can consult with you and advise you about the relative strength of an appraisal presented by opposing parties. We can also perform additional real estate research and analysis to support or discredit assumptions or conclusions. If hired as an appraiser, we must remain unbiased and neutral. Some examples of issues acting as an expert appraiser or as a real estate consultant involving real estate assignments include:

  • Bankruptcy
  • Standards of Professional Practice
  • Mortgage Fraud
  • Real Estate Fraud
  • Stigma
  • Real Estate Research & Opinion Survey’s
  • Marital Dissolution (Divorce)
  • Real Estate Construction Defects
  • Real Estate Damages
  • Diminution in Value
  • Fair Market Rent – Leasehold Analysis
  • Probate & Wills involving Real Estate Appraisal
  • Trusts
  • IRS Estate Tax Filing 706, 709, 8283
  • Foreclosure & REO real estate Bank Owned
  • Estate Planning
  • Fractional Valuations (tenancy in common)
  • Property Tax Assessment Appeal Challenge
  • Date of Death Valuation (forensic research & restrospective valuation)
  • Estate Settlement Valuation for Divorce, Partnership, IRS Taxation issues etc.
  • Accounting Matters – Balance Sheet Real Estate Asset Valuations
  • Foreclosure Fraud (Professional Practice)
  • Los Angeles Real Estate Fraud
  • Condemnation and Eminent Domain
  • Orange County Fraud
  • Deceptive Loan & Mortgage Practices
  • Riverside Real Estate Fraud
  • San Bernardino Real Estate – Mortgage Fraud
  • Insurance Claims Loss Adjuster – Flood Appraiser Services
  • Real Estate Damages
  • Condominium Construction Claims
  • Fire & flood damages Appraiser
  • Landslide, Foundation, Soils and Geological Damage
  • Los Angeles Real Estate Expert

Clients who have utilized our real estate expert witness services include, attorneys, testimony for mortgage fraud, loan fraud, SBA lending, wholesale secondary mortgage market, lenders, banks, construction loan finance entities, secondary mortgage warehousing market, REO Sales Departments, auction companies, alternative dispute resolution, fee arbitration panels, savings banks, corporations, estate tax entities, bankruptcy attorneys, insurance and financial institutions, legal and accounting firms and many other businesses. In many cases, our real estate appraisal consultants have produced independent supportable opinions of value that has allowed many clients to settle real estate disputes without going to court.

 

If your client requires real estate court testimony, our firm will review each case presented to us. If we feel your case meets our requirements, the following fees and requirements will apply before we accept any appraisal assignment:

Commercial Real Estate Services

Certified General Real Estate Appraiser
Estate Tax Appraiser
Condemnation Appraiser
Forensic Appraiser
Residential Real Estate Appraiser
Commercial Appraiser Los Angeles Southern California
Investment Property Appraiser
Medical Office Appraiser
Industrial Real Estate Appraiser
Support Services Bankruptcy Los Angeles, Orange County
Special Purpose Property Appraiser
Commercial Review Appraiser
Proceedings of Eminent Domain Appraisals