KO Appraisal
Commercial service
Retail
Neighborhood and community shopping centers, strip retail, and single-tenant buildings.
What makes this assignment different
Anchor tenant strength drives the whole center. A single-tenant net-leased building is closer to a bond than to real estate, and is valued accordingly.
Who orders this appraisal
- Owners
- Lenders
- Investors
- Attorneys
What the engagement covers
- The anchor, where there is one, and the strength of its covenant. An anchor drives traffic to the rest of the centre, so its lease term is a risk factor for every other tenant.
- Co-tenancy clauses. These allow tenants to reduce rent or terminate if an anchor or a stated occupancy threshold is lost, which turns one departure into a chain of income reductions.
- Percentage rent, where it exists, and the sales figures behind it. Sales performance also indicates whether tenants can sustain their rent at renewal.
- Frontage, visibility, access, and parking. Retail is unusually sensitive to physical access, and a median or a difficult turn genuinely affects value.
- Whether the tenancy mix serves demand that is durable locally. Service and food uses behave differently from goods retail that competes with online.
How it works
- All leases, including exhibits. Co-tenancy, exclusive use, and radius clauses live in the exhibits.
- A current rent roll with expiry dates, options, and recovery basis.
- Tenant sales reports where percentage rent applies.
- A site plan showing parking count, access points, and pad configuration.
- The common area maintenance reconciliation for the last full year.
What you receive
USPAP-compliant appraisal of retail property. Standard turnaround is 1–3 weeks. Rush appraisals available for urgent deadlines.
| Appraiser | Kevin O'Brien, MAI, SRA |
|---|---|
| License | CA Certified General Real Estate Appraiser #3005065 |
| Standards | USPAP compliant |
| Turnaround | 1–3 weeks standard; rush available |
| Testimony | Deposition and expert witness testimony available |
Common questions
Which approach to value governs for retail property?
Income capitalisation governs for multi-tenant centres, with careful attention to recovery income and to the difference between contract rent and market rent. Single-tenant net-leased retail prices heavily off the covenant and the remaining term, which makes sales comparison against similar credit and term unusually informative. Where a pad or a small centre trades frequently, sales comparison carries more weight.
What retail subtypes do you appraise?
Big box, retail pad, department, drug, grocery, street retail, and showroom; plus shopping centres from neighbourhood and community through regional, super-regional, outlet, lifestyle and specialty, per his declared competency.
What is the most common error in these valuations?
Treating a centre as fully occupied when a co-tenancy trigger is close. If losing one tenant entitles others to reduce rent or leave, the income is more fragile than the rent roll suggests, and that fragility belongs in the analysis rather than in a footnote.
Next step
Tell me about the property.
Most assignments start with a short call, property type, the purpose of the appraisal, and the deadline you are working against. You get a fixed quote before any engagement, never contingent on the value reached.
Typical commercial fees range $2,000–$4,000. Residential and simpler assignments quote lower. Every engagement is quoted in advance, so the figure is known before work begins.