Appraising contaminated real estate requires broad knowledge of several
fields outside typical real estate, including state and federal environmental
law, insurance and liability issues, public perceptions of health risks,
chemistry and biology. It also requires the ability to work in tandem
with lawyers, biochemical engineers, and other professionals.
Few firms have the knowledge and experience to evaluate contaminated
properties. Fewer still can produce the kind of research and analysis
that holds up in court. Austin Valuation Consultants has that knowledge
and experience, and we stake our reputation on providing accurate and
reliable appraisals of real estate.
Our experience ranges from residences to industrial facilities to Superfund
sites. Below are examples of AVC's environmental consulting assignments.
| AIR, SOIL AND GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION |
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Suburban Chicago, Illinois - Class-action valuation assignment involving several thousand residential properties with drinking-water well contaminated by chlorinated solvents. |
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Southeast Texas - Impaired and unimpaired
value estimates of four single family residences. The groundwater
and potable water wells on these properties were contaminated
with benzene and chlorides from saltwater disposal wells used
in oilfield operations. The full extent of the contamination and
the time needed to remediate it were undetermined, and the assignment
included analysis of property values assuming alternate sources
of drinking water.
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Northeast Texas - Appraisal
of houses near a Texas Superfund site for a class action lawsuit.
The point source was a property that manufactured arsenic acid,
a cotton defoliant, from the early 1950s until the early 1970s.
Wastewater and contaminated soil stored at the facility had seeped
into the groundwater onto adjacent properties and into a nearby
creek. The contamination affected 120 homes and 200 acres of land. |
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Fort Worth, Texas -
Appraisal of a multi-tenant retail building. Gasoline leakage from
underground storage tanks on the site had contaminated the groundwater.
Contamination was first discovered in 1988; eleven years later the site
still had not been cleaned to the satisfaction of state authorities.
Assignment included estimate of pre-remediation and post-remediation
diminution in value. |
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Clear Lake, Texas -
Appraisal of a science laboratory. Trichroloethylene concentrations
in the soil and groundwater on the site measured up to 80 parts
per million. Property also was adjacent to a bayou. Cross contamination
with other properties had occurred. Assignment included estimate
of pre-remediation and post-remediation real property value diminution. |
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South Texas - Climate-controlled
produce warehouse near the Texas/Mexico border. The site had once
been used as a distribution station for 55-gallon drums containing sludges
contaminated with lead, copper, and other heavy metals.
Leakage from the drums contaminated nearby soils. AVC estimated
post-remediation damages under a variety of cleanup scenarios. |
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Laredo, Texas - Appraisal of a prime
commercial tract in Laredo. Petroleum products from an adjacent,
government-owned facility had contaminated the soils. The contamination
rendered a portion of the property useless and compromised the
highest and best use of the entire site.
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Dallas, Texas - Appraisal
of a storage warehouse and food processing center. Property had
been employed in a variety of uses over the years and had acid tanks,
oil/water separators, underground storage tanks and above-ground
chemical storage tanks on the premises. The brownfield property
was intended for contribution to a non-profit organization that
planned to remediate the property and rehabilitate it under the
recently passed Municipal Setting Designation. |
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Odessa, Texas -
Several residences near a petrochemical complex near a facility
cited for hundreds of violations of the Texas Clean Air Act. The
facility had exposed the neighborhood to near-constant air exposure
to styrenes, butylenes, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and other
chemicals. This assignment included estimates of unimpaired and
impaired property values. |
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Palestine, Texas - Appraisal
of two rural, vacant tracts with a gas pipeline running through
them. Releases from the pipelines contaminated soils on the properties,
and ongoing, long-term remediation efforts required the use of portions
of the properties near the pipeline. Consultation involved estimates
of permanent loss of value and loss of use during a 30-year remediation
process. |
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Houston, Texas - Appraisal
of a large apartment complex in west Houston contaminated with leakage
from underground storage tanks on an adjacent gasoline service station.
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South Texas -
Retail store and gymnasium adjacent to a gasoline service station
with leaking underground petroleum storage tanks. Leakage from the
tanks had contaminated the surrounding groundwater ands threatened
to contaminate potable water wells. This assignment included estimates
of unimpaired and impaired property values. |
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Austin, Texas -
Estimates of post-remediation value and damages for a rehabilitated
apartment complex. The apartments were constructed in the 1980s
over a former landfill. Methane seeped up from the landfill and
collected in several units, threatening explosion. The apartments
were evacuated and abandoned for several years. Groundbreaking legislature
permitted redevelopment of the apartments. For further information,
please read an article AVC published in the Appraisal Journal,
"Watersbend: Appraising a Brownfield Redevelopment Project." |
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San Antonio, Texas -
Appraisal of a cattle ranch adjacent to a battery-manufacturing
plant. Lead-contaminated emissions settled onto the ranch, and cattle died from ingesting contaminated
soil and feed. |
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Austin, Texas -
Estimates of property damages to over 70 residences and commercial
properties near a now-closed petroleum "tank farm." Gasoline
and gas additives had leaked into the soil and groundwater over
a period of thirty years. Residents were also affected by gasoline fumes
while the facility operated. |
| MOLD CONTAMINATION |
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Austin, Texas - Mid-rise downtown office
building impacted by reduced rents and occupancy levels because of mold contamination. Assignment involved estimates of value
had the property not been contaminated and assessment of economic
damages from construction defects.
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Austin, Texas - Residential
condominium complex with mold contamination caused by construction
defects. Property required $5 million in repairs. Consultation included
estimates of real property damages and a review of another appraisal. |
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Austin, Texas - Multi-million
dollar residence contaminated so badly that it required
demolition down to the slab. |
| ASBESTOS CONTAMINATION |
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New Braunfels, Texas - Appraisal of
a 100-year-old, 115' tall, abandoned power plant. AVC appraised
the property assuming its conversion to commercial use; options
included loft-style apartments, condominiums, a hotel/resort,
and offices. The building was architecturally fascinating but
presented a variety of problems for conversion such as extensive
asbestos, lead and PCB contamination, flooded subfloors, rodent
infestation, and a variety of heavy equipment dispersed throughout
the premises and on the roof. Environmental remediation alone
cost $9 million.
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Austin, Texas -
Appraisal of a U.S. post office contaminated with asbestos. AVC
estimated the value of the property with and without contamination. |
