For Attorneys & Professionals
Independent Residential Valuation Support for Professional Matters
When a residential value opinion will be reviewed by opposing counsel, an accountant, a fiduciary or a court, its worth lies in its independence and in the precision of its scope and effective date. Washington State-Certified Residential Appraiser, experience since 2009, serving King, Pierce & Snohomish Counties.
Order directly as the client, or refer a client and we will contact them. Either way you will hear about availability, scope and fee before an engagement is made.
Washington State-Certified Residential Appraiser
Experience since 2009
King, Pierce & Snohomish Counties
Independent — no interest in the outcome
Who refers this work
Professional matters this practice supports
Each of these arrives with different constraints. What they share is a report that will be read by someone who was not involved in producing it.
Family-law attorneys
Dissolution matters often turn on the value of the marital residence, and on which date that value should reflect. Assignments are developed independently of either party, with the client, intended users and effective date confirmed in writing before work begins.
- Current and retrospective effective dates
- One independent opinion both parties can work from
- Report written to be read by someone who was not involved in producing it
Estate & probate attorneys
Estate administration frequently requires a value as of a date that has already passed. Retrospective assignments are performed routinely, and the effective date is confirmed at the outset because in that work it governs the entire data set.
- Date-of-death and other retrospective dates
- Current value for disposition decisions
- Prepared for the intended users you identify
Real estate agents & brokers
An independent appraisal answers a different question than a CMA does, and there are situations where a client needs both. Referring one does not put your pricing work in question — it supports it with third-party analysis when the file calls for it.
- Complementary to your pricing strategy, not a substitute for it
- Useful where a neutral third party is expected
- Your client stays your client
CPAs, fiduciaries & financial professionals
Trustees, personal representatives, accountants and advisors who need documentation of residential real property value as of a specific effective date, developed independently of any transaction.
- Documented value as of a stated effective date
- Independent of any sale or transaction
- Trust, planning and fiduciary contexts
For real estate professionals
When a CMA Isn't Enough
A comparative market analysis and an appraisal are different instruments answering different questions. A CMA is prepared to inform a pricing and marketing strategy, drawing on an agent's direct knowledge of buyer behaviour in a specific area. An appraisal is an independent opinion of value developed for a defined intended use, as of a stated effective date, with the reasoning documented for a reader who was not involved in producing it.
Neither replaces the other, and referring one does not call the other into question. There are simply files where a client needs an independent third party as well as an agent — and in those files, the referral tends to make the agent's own work easier to defend.
Estate or inherited property
Heirs, executors and beneficiaries generally expect a value developed by someone with no interest in whether the property sells.
Divorce or property division
When two parties have opposing interests, a value opinion produced independently of either is usually the one both can work from.
A value as of a past date
A CMA describes the market now. Some matters require the market as it existed on a specific earlier date.
Atypical or complex properties
Limited comparable sales, unusual improvements, acreage or mixed characteristics call for documented adjustment reasoning.
Private sales between known parties
Family transfers and off-market transactions often need support that the price was market-based.
An independent third party is expected
Where a court, a fiduciary, a lender or another professional will review the figure, independence is the point.
What you can expect
How assignments are handled
These describe the working process, not a guaranteed outcome or timeline. Availability, scope and fee are confirmed for each assignment individually.
Clearly defined scope of work
The client, intended use, intended users, type of value and reporting format are agreed in writing before the assignment is developed.
Explicit effective date
Current and retrospective assignments are both performed. The effective date is confirmed at the outset and stated prominently in the report.
Professional communication
Direct correspondence about availability, scope and status. Questions about what the report does and does not conclude are answered plainly.
Local market experience
Residential appraisal experience since 2009 across King, Pierce & Snohomish Counties, where correctly defining the neighborhood and submarket often separates a defensible conclusion from a superficial one.
Referral workflow
How a referred assignment moves
A description of process, not a guaranteed timeline. Scheduling is confirmed for each assignment individually.
- 01
Send the assignment or refer the client
Use whichever pathway fits: order directly, or refer your client and we contact them. Identify the matter type, the property, the effective date you need and any date the report must precede.
- 02
Scope and feasibility are confirmed
Client, intended users, intended use, type of value and effective date are settled in writing, along with fee and scheduling. If a required date or deadline is not feasible, you hear that before an engagement is made rather than partway through.
- 03
The assignment is developed
Property information is gathered, access is coordinated with whoever you designate, and the relevant market and comparable data are researched and analyzed.
- 04
The report is delivered to the intended users
The written report states the scope of work, the effective date and the analysis supporting the value opinion.
Ordering on behalf of a client
Information that speeds up engagement
- Client and intended users
- Whether the firm or the individual is the client, and which parties will be permitted users of the report.
- Intended use
- The purpose the report will serve, described in general terms. This determines the appropriate scope of work.
- Effective date
- Current, or a specific prior date. Which date applies is a legal or procedural question for you and your client, not a determination the appraiser makes.
- Property information
- Address, property type and access arrangements, including who to contact for entry and whether occupancy affects scheduling.
- Deadline context
- Any filing, hearing, mediation or settlement date the report needs to precede, so scheduling feasibility can be confirmed honestly up front.
Discuss an assignment or refer a client
Outline the matter, the effective date and any deadline. You will hear about availability, scope and fee before an engagement is made.
Washington State-Certified Residential Appraiser · Serving King, Pierce & Snohomish Counties