A property may look like a great investment on paper, until the zoning says otherwise. Imagine buying a commercial property because you believe the existing retail building can be replaced with a three-story apartment project. The location looks strong, the numbers appear to work, and the purchase price reflects that redevelopment potential. Then the zoning change is denied. At that point, the property may be worth very differently to you than what you originally expected, be

Let’s start off this article by imagining yourself living in a luxurious house in an estate with similar houses like yours, then you get word that a neighbor who lives a few houses from yours has put it on the market for $1.2 million. You get excited because it definitely means yours must be worth the same too, then you reach out to an appraiser, and when the appraisal comes back, it comes back much lower, and you wonder how that happened, and how the appraiser ignored the mo

A homeowner calls her real estate agent and asks what the house might sell for; the agent pulls a handful of recent sales nearby, drives by a couple of them, and has a number back within a day or two, often for free. A few miles away, a couple going through a divorce needs a value their judge will accept, and their attorney tells them a broker's opinion won't cut it, and that they need a certified appraisal instead. An appraisal and a broker's opinion are honest, professional