Neighborhood Commercial at Appraisal Research Counselors

Purchased by local investors and often leased to non-credit tenants - "ma and pa" operators, neighborhood commercial properties require the local expertise of full time experts in the marketplace. Appraisals include 5-100 unit apartment buildings, storefronts and mixed use buildings, retail stores, restaurants, small industrial facilities, churches, gas stations and schools.

Know the Neighborhood
Several of our professional staff are dedicated to the valuation of neighborhood level projects – properties whose values are driven by the immediate surrounding area rather than a region or national influence. The properties are most often purchased by local investors for either owner occupancy or leased to non-credit tenants – “ma and pa” operators. This level of real estate provides unique challenges since the influences on value can vary from block to block within a given community area. Knowing the neighborhood is critical to the analysis.

Property Types and Geographic Coverage
Projects typically include apartment buildings under 100 units, mixed use buildings with storefronts on the first floor and dwelling units above, single story retail buildings and small business industrial facilities. A variety of special use properties fall into this mix including churches, restaurants, car wash facilities and schools.

Unlike our institutional quality asset geographic coverage area which is national in scope, for neighborhood properties we are focused on the city of Chicago and the MSA at large.

We have extensive experience with multi-family projects proposed for rehab where looking beyond past property operations is critical to the analysis. Our geographic coverage includes the more modest neighborhoods where Section 8 or Low Income Housing Tax Credit properties are the norm as well as higher priced markets where virtually every apartment building is being converted to condominium ownership. Not only does Appraisal Research Counselors provide the higher end consulting and appraisal services for large-scale condominium projects, we also have extensive experience with neighborhood conversions with as few as 3 to 6 dwelling units.

Turn around, Fee, Reporting Options
For smaller projects, we recognize that not only is an understanding of the local markets a high priority, but these assignments must be turned around quickly and in a cost effective manner. Our staffing with geographic and property type specialization make this possible. Reports vary based on client needs and can include either a summary or self-contained format with many residential projects completed on the 71A (8 page) and 71B (4 page) forms.