APPRAISALS OF REAL PROPERTY AND TIMBER

        The S. A. Newman Firm has over 63 years of experience in performing appraisals and related timber inventories in Washington state and the region.  Samuel A. Newman, a registered land surveyor, founded and managed the firm for 39 years, following service with USDA's Pacific Northwest Experiment Station. Timothy D. Newman, lead partner of the firm since 1985, is a professional forester with an M.S. degree in Forestry and B.A. in economics from the University of Washington.  He is a certified general real property appraiser.  He also holds the MAI professional appraisal designation from the Appraisal Institute--one of only a few forestry professionals in the United States with this designation.  Tim is also a Certified Forester through the Society of American Foresters and licensed as designated real estate broker by State of Washington.

       The MAI designation:  Why does it matter?:  In Washington (and most other states), in general "no person other than a state-certified or state-licensed [a less stringent qualification] may receive compensation of any form for a real estate appraisal or an appraisal review ...."  RCW 18.140.020(1).  In the Pacific Northwest region, few persons or firms purporting to appraise "forests" possess even the basic qualification of being state-certified.  Appraisal Institute requirements for its MAI designation are significantly greater than state certification requirements, as detailed on this website.  >Read more

       Seamless and integrated appraisal services:  A representative project list is available on our website. [Click here]  Such appraisals--and appraisal reviews--are prepared in conformance with Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) as adopted by the Appraisal Foundation and the Appraisal Institute; and, when applicable, the Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions ("Yellow Book").  Local Agency Guidelines Manual (publication no. M36-63), issued by Washington State Department of Transportation, apply in some projects. The S. A. Newman Firm possesses the in-house credentialing, expertise, resources and staff to provide comprehensive integrated appraisals of timber, forestland, other real property and in partial acquisitions for public use.

        Most consulting forestry firms lack staffing with state appraisal certification required for whole property appraisals:  such firms therefore often follow the practice of either sub-contracting or joint venturing with a third party to sign or co-sign appraisals of forest land being performed for their clients.  A companion issue in such instances:  the state-certified signer typically appraises various property types but, because of limited forestry expertise, relies for key elements of the appraisal on the third party forestry firm with which it contracts. 

        In addition to its services as lead property appraiser, S. A. Newman is  pleased to serve in a specialist role on behalf of other firms acting as lead in evaluating the contribution of merchantable and pre-merchantable timber to overall market value under applicable forest practice scenarios.

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