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Review of Real Estate Damages : An Analysis of Detrimental Conditions by Randall Bell. Appraisal Institute Hardcover (February 1999)
This review will be published in the January, 2000 issue of Appraisal
Today. Reviewed by Ann O'Rourke.Copyrighted. For reprint permission Contact Us.
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Real Estate Damages, An
Analysis of Detrimental Conditions by Randall Bell, MAI, is one of those books
that you want to have on your appraisal bookshelf. All appraisers are faced with
considering detrimental problems.
This is one of the
most comprehensive and practical appraisal books I have seen for quite awhile.
Also, it is well written and not full of stilted textbook type words and
phrases.
Residential
appraisers have to deal with problems such as airport noise or settling
problems. Commercial appraisers have site contamination and structural problems.
Detrimental conditions analysis tools
The book
discusses four tools, developed by Bell, which help appraisers categorize and
analyze damages:
- Detrimental conditions matrix (stages, and
issues in each stage)
- Detrimental conditions model (graphical
illustrations of stages)
- The Bell Chart (Classification of detrimental
conditions)
- Three detrimental condition approaches to
value (Cost, Sales Comparison, Income)
Who wrote the book?
The primary
author is Randall Bell, MAI. In addition, other appraisers contributed case
studies, including Orell C. Anderson, MAI and Michael V. Sanders, MAI, SRA.
Over the past
several years Randall Bell has established himself as an expert on property
damage issues, first in his own appraisal business and now with the Real Estate
Damages Practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
He lives in Southern
California, where several famous and notorious damages occurred in the 90s such
as the Northridge earthquake, Jeffrey Daumer’s apartment building, and O.J.
Simpson’s condo, so Bell had plenty of opportunities to value damaged
properties.
He talked with many
appraisers and traveled to different states in his research for this book.
Bell has been
profiled in the media, from the Los Angeles Times and the Wall St. Journal to
CNN, and has developed a Detrimental Conditions seminar for the Appraisal
Institute.
Case studies
Damages to both
residential and commercial properties are included with most of the case studies
on problems with homes.
I found the case
studies very interesting. They include:
- Jeffrey Daumer’s apartment house
- Proximity to a new shopping center (house)
- Airport noise (houses)
- Leaking underground storage tank (industrial)
- Earthquake and tsunami in Alaska (many
property types)
- Landslide (houses)
- O.J. Simpson condo
- Motel eminent domain partial taking
- Subsurface construction defects (house)
- Floods over a 10 year period (houses)
- Sinkholes (house)
- Feng shui (2 cases - residential subdivision
and industrial land)
How to read this book
If you appraise
damaged properties for litigation purposes, you will probably read this book
from cover to cover.
To be honest, I
picked up this book many times before I actually read it. Although I like graphs
and statistics, the first few chapters are packed with them and I didn’t want
to take the time to wade through them.
Finally I just
skipped to the fascinating case studies. Then I went back to the detailed
chapters. You may want to do the same.
How to use this book
Is Bell’s way
the only method to use when evaluating damages. No. There are many other ways.
Can you take this
book and do appraisals on damaged properties? No. You need to get assistance
from others, including appraisers.
Are there lots of
references to give you resources to use after reading Bell’s book? Yes.
This book is an
excellent resource for all appraisers, giving us an overview of damaged
properties, one appraiser’s systematized way of analyzing them, and approaches
used by several different appraisers who authored the case studies.
References
The 350-page
book has 100 pages of references and the end of the book, including an index.
Within the chapters, and at the end of several chapters are more references.
References include:
- ADA overview
- Federal and state agencies - name, address,
and phone number
- Associations and periodicals
- Glossary
- Bibliography
Should you buy this book?
This 350-page
book has something for all appraisers. If you appraise damaged properties, buy
this book. If you’re interested in the issues in what affect, if any, damages
have on properties, buy it. |
