Before and After Appraisals
A Before and After appraisal is needed when there is a “taking” of property. A taking can occur when a portion of a property’s area or owner’s rights is being acquired. This might include, for example, easements related to utility lines, pipelines, road construction, or conservation purposes.
This type of appraisal estimates the subject property’s market value before the taking occurs, and then estimates the property’s market value after the taking. The difference between the two values is the impact to the subject property from the taking and, therefore, will influence the landowners’ compensation for the taking. This “impact” is sometimes referred to as “damages”. According to state law, compensation shall be based on market value.
In some instances, Before and After appraisals are used in the process of taking rights or land from landowners without their initial willing agreement. In situations like this, it is especially critical that the appraisal be laid out in a logical manner so all involved parties can understand the appraisal report and how estimations of value were determined.
The Steigerwaldt appraisal team has extensive experience in developing supportable and defendable Before and After appraisals, including expert witness services should the project end up in litigation.
