Real Estate Consulting and Valuation Consulting in California

What is real estate consulting, and how is it different from an appraisal?

An appraisal answers one question: what is the property worth, for a defined purpose, as of a defined date. California law defines it that way. Business and Professions Code Section 11302 says an "appraisal" is "the act or process of developing an opinion of value for real property."

Consulting answers the questions around that number. Is this the right use for the site? Will the project support its cost? How many lots, at what prices, sold over what period? What could go wrong with this purchase? Sometimes the answer is a value, sometimes it is a range of options, a market study or a written analysis with no single number at all.

Here is the part most people do not know. The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) used to have separate standards for "appraisal consulting." The Appraisal Standards Board retired them in the 2014 to 2015 edition because of confusion and misuse. Today, if a consulting assignment includes an opinion of value, it is an appraisal under USPAP, and calling it an analysis, study, evaluation or valuation does not change that. In plain terms: when you ask us what a property is worth, you get an appraisal with the full supporting work, not a softer "consulting" number.

What is a highest and best use study?

Highest and best use is the use of a property that is physically possible, legally permissible, financially feasible and that produces the highest value. Appraisers test those four questions in that order, first for the land as if it were vacant and then for the property as it is improved today. The federal Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions (the "Yellow Book") lays out the same four tests and notes that complex cases can call for market and feasibility studies.

It sounds academic until it changes the answer. An older single-tenant building on a corner zoned for more density, a commercial lot with excess land, a grove on the edge of a growing town, a motel near a new transit station: in each case the current use and the highest and best use can be very different, and so can the value. That matters for eminent domain, where compensation considers every use the property is reasonably adaptable and available for, for tax appeals, for estates deciding whether to sell or hold, and for any lender sizing a land or redevelopment loan.

What does a feasibility study look at?

A feasibility study asks whether a proposed project makes financial sense: will the finished property be worth more than it costs to build, by enough to justify the risk? It typically looks at market demand and competing supply, likely rents or sale prices, absorption, construction and soft costs, the time to build and lease up, and what the land is worth for that use. For a construction loan, it pairs naturally with the as-is and as-complete values a lender needs. See as-complete appraisals for California construction loans.

Feasibility questions come up on new construction, ground-up multifamily and mixed-use, conversions of office or retail to other uses, hotel projects, subdivisions and agricultural land considered for development. The scope is set with you on the first call, so the study answers the question you actually have.

Do you do subdivision analysis and construction consultation?

Yes. Subdivision analysis looks at what individual lots are worth, how fast they can be sold, and what the land is worth as a whole before the lots are sold, which is rarely just the total of the lot prices. Builders, land lenders, trustees and partners use it to plan a sale, size a loan or divide an interest.

Construction consultation supports owners, developers and lenders while a project is being planned or built: the as-is value of the land and work in place, the as-complete value, and how changes to the plan or budget affect value. If you need a value at a specific stage of construction, say so up front and we will scope it that way.

Who uses due diligence and valuation consulting?

Buyers and investors want to know what they are buying before the contingency period ends: the market, the income, the competition, the zoning and the realistic value. Private and construction lenders use the same work to size a loan and understand the exit. See our hard money appraisals and bridge loan appraisals.

Attorneys and CPAs use consulting to understand a property before a case, a settlement or a tax decision, for example in partnership disputes and litigation, partition actions and estate and trust matters. Trustees and families holding several properties use it to decide what to keep, sell or develop; see multi-property portfolio appraisals. This page is general information. For tax or legal questions, talk to your attorney or CPA.

What property types and areas do you cover?

Every commercial property type: office, retail, industrial and warehouse, multifamily, mixed-use, gas stations, hotels and motels, land and development, vineyards and agricultural property, new construction and subdivisions, medical, care facilities, religious facilities, cannabis properties and other special-use property, plus related high-end residential. We consult on real estate only, not on business value or personal property.

And every part of California. "We do everything everywhere in California," as Paul Marinkovich puts it, from San Diego and North County to Sacramento and the rest of the state. See our statewide coverage and property types.

How do I start a consulting assignment?

Call or text (805) 990-9700. You talk directly to the appraiser, not a coordinator or an appraisal management company. We pick up the phone, and we are your ears and eyes on the property. Tell us the property, the location, the decision you are trying to make and your timeline. Helpful items: plans or a site map, zoning information, leases and operating statements, construction budgets, and any prior appraisals or studies.

Rush commercial appraisals are available in 5 to 7 business days. Consulting timing depends on the property and the scope of the question. Call (805) 990-9700 for a timeline on your assignment. Our opinions are independent, and our fees are never tied to a value or a conclusion.

Talk to your appraiser: (805) 990-9700