Land Appraisal

Pete and Wayne are state Certified General Appraisers. We have all received extensive appraisal training, primarily through the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, in addition to a combined 70 years of practical experience. With several appraisers working together in the same office, sharing information and observations, we offer a high level of efficiency and synergy that is not typically found in a small company. In addition, having multiple appraisers allows us to timely service our established clients during peak, seasonal periods of the year while still allowing for new, challenging assignments.

Most of our appraisal reports are in the self-contained, narrative format. It is important to us that our clients find our reports readable and easy to understand which is also critical, as we are occasionally required to defend our reports in court as well as passing scrutiny of various regulatory agencies. Most reports incorporate the three approaches to value:

• Income Capitalization Approach -It provides a value based on expected net income divided by a capitalization rate derived from market sales analysis.
• Cost Approach –Allocation of value for each land class & improvement contribution, based upon market sales analysis.
• Sales Comparison Approach - Head to head comparison of subject to similar market sale properties.

As the value of agricultural land has dramatically increased, so has the demand for objective, un-biased professional appraisal reports.

Our fee structure is based upon the hours of professional time needed to adequately complete the appraisal report. Estimated hours are dependent on the size, variety of land classes, degree of building improvement, availability of comparable sales, value and complexity of the subject property. Accurate information provided by the client up front is helpful in streamlining the appraisal process and we can give an up-front estimate of fee, based upon that information.