Maryland, Virginia, & Washington DC
Commercial Real Estate Appraisals At Its Best
ValuStar maintains one of the fastest turnaround time in the Metro Baltimore,
Virginia, and Washington DC Area
Unlike other national firms, we're not a management company. We don't broker
appraisals to others and mark them up. We're not a franchise either. What
we are is an appraisal company with a business model you haven't seen before.
Quality starts at the top. John Simpson, MAI, CCIM, our CEO and Chief Appraiser,
has written three books for the Appraisal Institute, 11 articles for the Appraisal
Institute's Appraisal Journal, and is a nationally known appraiser.
There are five areas that distinguish ValuStar as your
Commercial Real Estate Appraisal Company of choice from the rest:
>> ValuStar's
Research Team
>> ValuStar's
Top Quality Appraisers
>> ValueStar's
Unparralleled Experience
>> ValueStar's
High Level of Technology
>> ValuStar's
Customer Service Team
RESEARCH
TEAM
Even before the commercial real estate appraiser
arrives at the property, our research team is busy collecting market information,
sales data, rental data, etc. We want our appraisers to be prepared and efficient.
You deserve no less.
Pre-research is the key to delivering high-quality
appraisals faster than the competition. Our research team gathers sales, rentals,
published market studies, tax assessment data, multiple listing service data
(where applicable), demographic reports, articles in online newspapers, and
contacts property owners, brokers and others under the direction of the appraiser.
They help the appraisal process by writing many of the competitive studies
and inputting the data they gather into our nationwide property database.
Speeding up the Appraisal Process
Many times, by the time the appraiser returns to his/her office, the competitive
survey, sales data, rental data, demographic data and market overview are
waiting for analysis. This speeds up the process greatly because the appraiser
can concentrate on what he/she does best: draw conclusions. It also results
in lower appraisal fees because the research team's hourly billing is less
than the appraiser's.
The Power of Specialists
The research team has been specially trained to do
their part of the appraisal process. Research is an area that can make or
break an appraisal, especially if the appraisal is performed for court. They
spend all day gathering information in the Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC areas, and have the training
and hands-on experience to find the market dynamics that others miss.
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TOP
QUALITY APPRAISERS
Each appraiser is trained by our Chief Appraiser.
John Simpson, MAI, CCIM, so expect nothing less than an expert to evaluate
the property and the market. The end result will speak for itself.
The quality of the appraisal report is directly dependent
upon the quality of the commercial real estate appraiser. Unlike other firms,
our appraisers spend more time in valuation and drawing market-related conclusions
because our Research Team gathers and prepares the information for them. Simply
put, specialization produces better results.
Trained by the Boss
John Simpson, MAI, CCIM, our Senior Appraiser, personally trains all of our appraisers. John wrote the Appraisal Institute's Property Inspection book
and has authored Appraisal Journal articles on training appraisers.
State Licensure
All of our assignments are performed by State Certified appraisers. In areas
where we don't hold a State Certified General appraisal license, we obtain
Temporary Practice appraisal licenses, which permit us to appraise a property
and be subject to the state's specific appraisal laws.
USPAP
Every appraisal performed by the firm conforms to
the Uniform Standards of Appraisal Practice (USPAP). It's a requirement of
designation within the Appraisal Institute and every report is written and/or
reviewed by an MAI Designated Member of the Appraisal Institute. Every report
is signed by at least one MAI Designated Member of the Appraisal Institute
as well. Lastly, state licensure requires adherence to USPAP. Expect nothing
less.
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EXPERIENCE
WHERE IT COUNTS
Each report is reviewed by an MAI Designated Member
of the Appraisal Institue. All appraisals are roundtabled to gain the benefit
of each senior appraiser's knowledge and experience.
Even though an appraisal is as good as the appraiser
who wrote it, our reports reflect the body of knowledge of our office. How?
Round-Table Review
Every report is reviewed by multiple appraisers. You get the benefit of everyone's
experience and individual viewpoint. This level of round-table review guarantees
that all our appraisals are of the highest quality.
Hire the Author
John Simpson wrote the Appraisal Institute's books on Marina Valuation and
Cooperative Apartment Valuation, so if your property is one of these two property
types, you've come the expert. Of course, he also performs appraisals of other
property types so you get the benefit of a writer when you request he perform
the appraisal.
USPAP
Every appraisal performed by the firm conforms to the Uniform Standards of
Appraisal Practice (USPAP). It's a requirement of designation within the Appraisal
Institute and every report is written and/or reviewed by an MAI Designated
Member of the Appraisal Institute. Every report is signed by at least one
MAI Designated Member of the Appraisal Institute as well. Lastly, state licensure
requires adherence to USPAP. Expect nothing less.
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THE
HIGHEST LEVEL OF TECHNOLOGY
Our staff uses this website's backend technology to
its fullest. Our nationwide database of information, advanced appraisal tools,
demographic analysis packages, and extensive custom programming allow us to
do an appraisal faster and better than our competitors.
Sure, we've got all the software buzzwords, such as
SQL Server, Office XP, BackOffice, Project and we've got the hardware too.
But what's important is what we do with it.
Managing the Appraisal Process
We've created a management process unlike any in the
industry. Using custom programming and Visual Basic, we've integrated the
sales, management and appraisal processes. Our website back-end give you a
status report 24-hours a day updated multiple times daily.
Speeding up Writing the Appraisal
Over the past five years, we've created a wide variety of software tools for the appraisers that integrate into our appraisal documents. Whereas it
typically takes 3 to 5 days to write an appraisal, we routinely do it in less.
By integrating Word, Access, Excel and MapPoint into an involved, step-by-step
Appraisal Wizard, we never have to enter something twice and always have it
in our database. We let the computer do the simple thinking so the appraisers
don't have to.
Delivering Customer Satisfaction
Want to download your appraisals from our website backend? Want real-time status updates? Report delivery in Adobe PDF minutes after the job is done?
These are only a few of the customer services our technology can offer you.
High-tech is high-quality.
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CUSTOMER
SERVICE TEAM
From the first day, you'll be assigned a customer
service representative who's only job is to make you satisfied with our service.
Your rep will be a watchdog making sure the appraisal process is going smoothly
and your report is progressing on time. If there's any problem or delay, you'll
be notified promptly by your customer service rep.
Customer service seems to have gone the way of the
dinosaur in our industry. How many appraisers ever took a class in customer
service? Every member of our customer service team has a sales or customer
service background and they've received specialized training to make them
even better.
Problem Resolution
Too often the client is the last to know about a problem, and by then it's
often too late. The number one job of our customer service reps is to take
action when problems arise and to notify you. Most of the time, you'll never
even know because our customer service team handles it. That's what customer
service is all about.
Making Sure You're Satisfied
When the job is done, how often do you hear from the appraisal firm? Does
an appraiser call you to see if you liked the appraisal quality or does a
customer service rep call you to see how you liked the service? Expect that
with us.
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Getting Back to Basics
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE APPRAISAL COVERAGE IN THE
WASHINGTON DC, MARYLAND, AND VIRGINIA AREAS
Real estate appraisals on any Commercial Property
in the greater metropolitan Washington DC, Baltimore, Maryland, plus areas
in Virginia and West Virginia.
EXCELLENT REPORTS
Strong market research results in good reports. An MAI designated member
of the Appraisal Institute completes and/or reviews every report for accuracy
and clarity. When only an MAI designated member of the Appraisal Institute
will do, you've come to the right place.
FAST TURNAROUND TIME
Even during busy times, expect us to beat our competitors for turnaround
time. Need it fast? It might cost a little more in overtime, but we're willing
to help. If the appraisal problem turns out to be more complex, we call to
advise you immediately, rather than missing a deadline.
COMPLICATED VALUATIONS
You can rely on us to handle special purpose properties other appraisers
will not even consider. For example, we assembled building engineers, economists
and professionals from other disciplines for such arcane bids as sports stadiums
and smelting plants. Our specialized team approach is especially well suited
to high value, unique or high profile properties.
GOOD COMMUNICATION
Your phone calls and emails are usually returned within four hours, but certainly
within 24. If you'd like, we can even give you daily feedback
PRICE BREAKS
Fees are competitive with other firms that retain members of the Appraisal
Institute. However, if we have done a similar appraisal, we can do yours for
less. Volume clients get lower fees.
