Fort Collins Commercial Appraisers

Commercial real estate appraisers

Free Quote: (970) 236-4355

We’re the #1 commercial real estate appraisal provider in Fort Collins for individual property owners and their advisors

Here’s something you need to know about real estate appraisers. There are only two kinds:

  1. The kind that mostly serve institutional clients such as banks and mortgage companies (95% of them).
  2. The kind that mostly serve individuals like you (the other 5%).

For most appraisers, finding customers is hard work. So rather than having to do it, they ask mortgage lenders like banks to send them customers (because banks always need appraisals).

In fact, last year alone (2019) in the US, banks made about $2.6 TRILLION (yes, trillion with ‘T’) worth of mortgage loans.

Clearly, banks need LOTS of appraisals, and they need them fast and want them cheap. This forces appraisers to cut corners so they can keep up with demand and keep costs down.

As a result, appraisals must be churned out like a mass-produced, cheap product on a factory assembly line.

The problem is…an appraisal isn’t a product. It’s a complex professional service. It’s quality and reliability depends totally on the amount of skill, care and effort applied by the appraiser.

And this is why we choose not to work with banks. Instead, we work with individuals like you who need an appraisal of commercial property for some personal, legal, financial, or tax-related situation.

Call now for a FREE quote:
(tap here to call on a mobile)
(970) 236-4355

Give us a call—it’s the easiest way to get answers to your questions including info on appraisal pricing and timing. So why not give us a call now—during normal business hours, we always answer.


(About Us, and…) 3 reasons to count on us to appraise your commercial property

#1
We are not an ‘appraisal-factory’ for banks and mortgage companies

The reality is, banks need appraisals for very different reasons than you.

You need an appraisal to determine the value of a property. Banks need appraisals to sell mortgage loans (because it’s required by law).

Truth is, banks have minimal incentive to worry about appraisal accuracy.[1]

And as you read in the section above, with trillions of dollars a year in new mortgage loans:

“…banks need LOTS of appraisals, and they need them fast and want them cheap. This forces appraisers to cut corners so they can keep up with demand and keep costs down.”

Now, we all know how habits are formed. You do something a certain way for long enough and it becomes a habit.

In the factory-like, mass production world of appraisals for mortgages, questionable practices that yield unreliable valuations often become a habit.

And that’s the problem with hiring an appraiser who’s gotten used to the practices common in the production of mortgage appraisals for banks.

And unfortunately, most appraisers — from the local one-man-band to the big national firm (including most you’ll find online) — rely on mortgage appraisals for most of their income.

We’re different.

To maintain our standards, and our independence, we avoid working with banks or any other high-volume institutional clients.

Instead, we service individual private clients like you, as well as legal, financial, and tax professionals and their clients.

That means, we have better familiarity with your needs, and we haven’t developed the bad habits that come from constantly prioritizing speed and cost over quality and accuracy.

[1] You would think that banks and other mortgage lenders would care deeply about the appraisal being accurate.

The truth is they have very little incentive to care much about accuracy, and here’s why:

You see, most commercial lenders give themselves a built-in margin of error of at least 20% – 40%. They do this by lending only 60% – 80% of the property’s appraised value.

Needless to say, that may work for them but can you afford to hire an appraiser whose value could be wrong by 20% – 40% or more?

The bottom line: banks make money by selling as many loans as possible, as quickly and cheaply as they can.


#2
With us, you’re a big fish in a little pond
(instead of the other way around)

If you read the points above, you now understand why we avoid working with banks and other high-volume institutional clients.

Instead we prefer to work with individuals like you who need an appraisal of just one or maybe a small portfolio of properties.

We believe that when you hire a company for an important job, you should expect to be treated like an important person.

We know from experience this is not the case at many appraisal firms—where [2] big bank clients are doted on, while individual clients like you are disregarded and treated as less important.

Their bank clients deliver them dozens (even hundreds) of appraisal orders every month, so your business frankly means very little to them—as a result, you may incur poor service.

Unanswered phone calls, slow or no return calls, missed deadlines, and an unreliable or altogether unusable appraisal—all things you’d rather avoid, right?

Well, our clients have our office numbers, cell phone numbers and personal e-mail addresses. We make ourselves available day and night. When you call, we answer. Not a receptionist or a pushy salesman.

We offer you a unique level of access and commitment—and we can usually do so at a lower cost than big name firms, because we don’t have to charge extra to cover bloated operational costs.

[2] Because we focus on individual clients like you, and avoid institutional clients, quite frankly, your business means a lot more to us than it does to most other appraisal companies.

From your first phone call, to your receipt of the completed appraisal report—our commitment to your satisfaction is evident throughout every step of the process.


#3
We offer a Rapid Discovery Assessment™ at no cost (and no obligation)

Commercial real estate is a complex asset, and its valuation can be complicated – even for a seemingly ‘simple’ property.

That’s because every commercial property is unique, and so are your specific needs and objectives related to both, the property, and the circumstances motivating the appraisal.

In fact, there are 7 key components that determine the course and direction of the appraiser’s actions through the appraisal process for any commercial property.

Clearly identifying all aspects of each of these components, for each specific client, is essential to getting you the right appraisal.

That’s why we start every new client interaction with a comprehensive needs-based analysis.

I know this all might sound a bit complicated, but we make it easy for you with our Rapid Discovery Assessment.

Give us a call and we’ll walk you through it step-by-step, answering any questions you may have along the way. There’s no cost or obligation.

Bottom line, our job is to make sure you get the right appraisal.

Call now for a FREE quote:
(tap here to call on a mobile)
(970) 236-4355

Give us a call—it’s the easiest way to get answers to your questions including info on appraisal pricing and timing. So why not give us a call now—during normal business hours, we always answer.