As many of you know, an offer based on an appraisal must be made to the property owner before the condemnation process may be pursued. This requires the retention of what is often referred to as a “precondemnation” appraiser.

A condition of any precondemnation appraisal assignment should be that the selected appraiser commit to delivery on or before a date certain. This often means that the appraiser must be retained a year or more before the acquiring agency needs possession of the subject property pursuant to an order of possession. This long lead time is necessary because:

•   able appraisers are completing other assignments and may not be able to start an appraisal assignment immediately;

•   the appraisal may take several weeks (or even months) to complete; and

•   the acquiring agency needs about three months’ lead time from the receipt of the appraisal and the required hearing on the adoption of a resolution of necessity.

Use of appraisers with reputations for valuing property well above or well below the reasonably probable market value is counterproductive. Such an appraisal may create unrealistic expectations of the public agency and frustrate a reasonable early settlement. Additionally, if the appraisal is relied upon when creating budgets for the overall project, the resultant value can wreak havoc on the public agency’s bottom line. For these reasons, I recommend that public agency counsel participate in the selection of the precondemnation appraiser, as the attorney can provide guidance on selecting competent appraisers with a good reputation in the industry.