September 15th, 2005

Complaint / Real Estate Appraiser

Filed against Delbert Nielsen

Colorado Board of Real Estate Appraisers
1900 Grant St, #600
Denver, CO 80203
Attn: Enforcement

Re: My File Number -- 5019
Subject Property: 5330 Lowell Blvd, Denver, CO 80221

This is a complaint against Delbert Nielsen, License Number CR01317379.

I have not contacted the appraiser. This matter is not under litigation.

Comments:

The appraisal in question is dated 6/9/04. The appraised value was $251,000. In my opinion, the property was overvalued by about $45,000.

The neighborhood section of the report says, “For the purpose of this report the neighborhood boundaries are those of Berkeley Gardens subdivision”. Neighborhood values are reported $175 - $345 with $265 predominant. My CMA (copy attached) shows 14 sales in the past year, $65 - $250 with $165 predominant. There was only one sale over $200 – it is a 5 bedroom rental. The next highest sale is $199,900.

Zoning is reported as “R-1 Residential”. This is factually incorrect.

The subject property is located in Adams County, and the correct zoning is R-2 Duplex District. None of the comps in the report have the same zoning, and none are in the same county. None of this is disclosed in the report.

There are 5 comps presented in the report. Comps #4 and #5 are on the same side of I-70 as the subject, but they are both in Denver County. The report says they are given no weight, so I will not address any issues with these 2 comps.

Comps #1, #2, and #3 are all located in Berkeley, which is not the same thing as Berkeley Gardens. They are all located in Denver County and are all on the other side of I-70.

Comp #1 photo was lifted from MLS.

My comments on Subject condition: Roof is functional with average appearance. Siding is good. Garage dilapidated (see photo). Landscape is below average. Kitchen and basement finish are above average, the rest of the interior is average. Subject is located on a corner, and Lowell is a busy street with adverse effect on market appeal. Overall condition is slightly above mid-point for this neighborhood.

There is no justification to ignore the market indication of sales in the neighborhood (i.e., go outside the neighborhood for comps). I have included MLS sheets on 5310 Irving and 5495 Lowell Blvd. These properties are in close proximity to the subject, they are in the same county, and they have the same zoning. They are clearly a better indication of the subject value than the properties on the other side of I-70 in a different county, different neighborhood, and different zoning.

I measured this property as 1,226 sq ft of GLA. It is tough to measure because the 2nd floor ceiling height was less than 5 ft tall for about half the total area (see photos). I do not wish to make an issue of the GLA difference, but I point this out because smaller ranch properties are reasonable to use as comps – with an appropriate adjustment for the subject 2nd floor living space. For example, 5310 Irving has about the same size first floor living area as the subject. In summary – it is not OK to ignore the market indication of the sales at 5310 Irving and 5496 Lowell Blvd.

Certification:

I certify that the statements and information supplied by me in this complaint including the attachments are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Signed,

Philip G Rice
11268 E Linvale Dr
Aurora, CO 80014
720-282-3376

Attachments:

Appraisal Report (10 pages)
CMA (2 Pages)
Subject Photos (1 Page)
MLS for Comp #1
MLS for Comp #2
MLS for Comp #3
MLS better comp #1
MLS better comp #2
My Sketch of the Subject (1 Page)
Interior Photos of Subject 2nd Floor (1 Page)

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