Higgins & Welch Real Estate offers expert testimony and litigation support services relating to matters of real property appraisal, sales and property management.

Our appraisal, sales and property management review experts conduct in-depth analyses and provide objective opinions and advice that help resolve complex legal issues.

We advise client counsel in the preparation of discovery, appraiser and broker expert challenges, and compliance with state and federal regulations, professional trade groups, and other regulatory guidance including  Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP).

Engaging the right expert can make the difference between winning and losing. However finding unbiased, non-conflicted experts can be difficult.  Higgins & Welch will help you get the edge over the opposition. In many cases, our independent, supportable analysis has allowed clients to settle cases without going to court.

Higgins & Welch area’s of litigation expertise includes:

• Broker Duty & Standard of Care
• Bankruptcy
• Eminent domain, takings, Right-of-Way and Condemnation Challenges
• Estate planning and probate
• Zoning and land use
• Partnership dissolution
• Environmentally impaired properties
• Easement valuations
• Title disputes
• Lease disputes
• Litigation support
• Appraisal and Valuation Mediation
• Retrospective and Forensic Valuation
• Appraisal / Appraiser Professional Standards & Guidelines Compliance with Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP)
  Appraisal / Appraiser Standard-of-care Compliance: Misconduct / Malpractice and Fraud Investigations

Real estate appraisers may assist with disputes involving agricultural appraisals, commercial appraisals, and easements. These professionals may provide reports on fair market value, current market value, industrial appraisals, investment value, land valuation, licensed or certified appraisers, and market value. They may also be available to opine on property valuation, real estate appraisal terms, residential appraisals, residential appraisers, site value, Uniform Residential Appraisal Reports, Uniform Standard of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP), vacant land appraisal, and real estate appraisal fraud, as well as related issues.

Other areas that require specialized expert appraisals include: construction defects, trust and probate, stigma loss, eminent domain, temporary construction easements, water intrusion, mold, airport noise, inverse condemnation, regulatory takings, missed easements (title companies), fire, earthquake, and flood losses, tenant disputes (leasehold and leased fee estates), partitionment (termination of partnerships, marriages, etc.), partial interest appraisals, removal of lateral support, bankruptcy (“Fair” Value), gift appraisals for donations to charities or state parks, etc.

Our experts have appeared successfully at hearings in Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks, Delaware and Chester Counties.