Blindsided

Published 8:00 pm Thursday, April 28, 2016

It’s not every day one is unfairly, publicly slandered by self-appointed value experts (“City to hold hearing on property sale,” The Daily Astorian, April 19). It created a moment of self-reflection on working nine years for the Clatsop County Assessors Office, and 32-years as an independent fee appraiser in Clatsop County, responsible for valuing over $115 million of residential property last year, and a career total of over $2 billion in valuations, resulting in a corresponding dollar amount of local mortgages, estates, and marketed properties. I am proud of the work I’ve done for the community.

The situation presents a teachable moment, to inform the public about real estate appraisals. Appraisals are objective, unbiased opinions of real property value based on a description of the subject property and a supportable analysis of the most comparable sales.

While a value amount can easily be criticized by homeowners, borrowers, loan reps, realtors, engineers or other unintended users, I know professionally the set of comparables I’ve selected and analyzed yielded a report which is not matched or exceeded by others who choose biased or limited information. And, Real Market Values (RMVs) from the assessor, list prices, or Zillow “Zestimates” are usually just slanted, unsupported numbers.

So, I take the opportunity to assure Clatsop County, and especially the residents of the city of Astoria, that I was never aware of, participated in, or had any involvement in a conspiracy of the “Astoria Order of the Well-Connected.”

The staff of the city of Astoria has always engaged appraisal services from me in a completely open, transparent and professional manner. I never accept assignments where I feel there are conditions which are not completely honest to all parties involved, including lands owned by the public.

I was totally blindsided on April 20 to read that the appraisals of three unique, limited-use properties in Astoria, with difficult access, challenging topographies, and restricted potential ownerships were somehow diabolically connected to the “AOWC.”

Steven Weed

Gearhart