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A fee simple value for a jointly owned property, so a partition suit, an heirs’ property case, or a sibling buyout can be priced from one credible number.
When two or more people own a house together and one of them wants out, every path forward runs through the same number: what the whole property is worth. A buyout is that number multiplied by a share. A partition sale divides the proceeds of that number. A settlement between siblings is an argument about that number. Get it wrong and everything built on top of it is wrong.
So that is the assignment. I appraise the real property — the entire fee simple estate, as though one person owned all of it — and produce a report that states the value, the effective date, and the reasoning, in a form the other co-owners and their attorneys can examine. What each person's share is then worth is arithmetic your attorney or CPA does from that figure, sometimes with a further adjustment I will explain below.
If co-owners cannot agree and someone files for partition of inherited real property, Texas Property Code Chapter 23A — the Uniform Partition of Heirs' Property Act — governs how value gets established, and it is unusually specific about appraisal.
Section 23A.006(a) provides that the court shall determine the fair market value of the property by ordering an appraisal, subject to two exceptions. Under subsection (b), if all cotenants have agreed to the value of the property or to another method of valuation, the court shall adopt that value or the value produced by the agreed method. Under subsection (c), if the court determines that the evidentiary value of an appraisal is outweighed by the cost of the appraisal, it determines value after an evidentiary hearing instead.
Where an appraisal is ordered, subsection (d) directs the court to appoint a disinterested real estate appraiser to determine the fair market value of the property assuming sole ownership of the fee simple estate. The court then sends notice of the appraised value to each party with a known address within 10 days of the appraisal being filed, parties may file objections within 30 days, and the court holds a hearing no earlier than the 30th day after the notice is sent, at which it may consider other evidence of value before determining the final figure.
Read subsection (d) again, because it is the whole point of this page. The statute does not ask for the value of anybody's fractional share. It asks what the property is worth as if one person owned all of it. That is a standard residential appraisal assignment, and it is exactly what I do.
Texas Property Code §23A.006(d) directs a disinterested appraiser to determine value assuming sole ownership of the fee simple estate — not the value of anyone's fractional share.
This is where people order the wrong thing, so it is worth being precise.
The fee simple value is what the property would sell for if a single owner sold the whole of it. That is my work.
The value of a fractional interest — an undivided one-third, say — is often less than one third of the fee simple value, because a buyer of a minority share cannot force a sale, cannot control the property, and cannot easily find anyone to buy that share from them. Quantifying those discounts for lack of control and lack of marketability is business valuation work, with its own credentials and its own body of evidence. I do not do it, and an appraiser who applies a discount without that background is handing opposing counsel a gift.
For most co-owner situations the fee simple number is all anyone needs: siblings buying each other out at a proportional share, or a partition where the property is sold and the proceeds divided, generally work from the whole-property figure. Discounts usually surface in tax filings — a fractional gift reported on Form 709, or an undivided interest in an estate on Form 706. If your CPA has raised the word discount, tell me at the outset and I will coordinate with the valuation analyst rather than guess at their half of it.
Almost all of this work reaches me through one of the following. If yours is not on the list, describe it and I will tell you whether it is an appraisal question at all.
What the property is worth and what a share in it is worth are separate questions answered by separate professionals. Tell me which one your filing needs.
An appraisal is an opinion of value as of a specific date, and in co-ownership matters the right date is not always today.
For a current buyout negotiation it usually is today. For an interest inherited from a decedent, the relevant date is often the date of death, because that is what sets the heirs' basis and what the probate inventory reports. For a partition suit, ask your attorney — the date may be set by the court or by agreement. Where a co-owner improved the property at their own expense and wants credit for it, the question can require two effective dates so the change in value between them can be measured.
Send me the date if you have one. If nobody has raised it, ask before you order, because an appraisal developed to the wrong date is not fixable after the fact — it is a new assignment.
Most of these assignments involve people who are not getting along, and the report only works if every one of them can see that it was not bought.
USPAP's ETHICS RULE requires an appraiser to perform assignments with impartiality, objectivity, and independence, and not to advocate the cause or interest of any party. In a co-ownership dispute that is not a limitation, it is the entire value of the document. A number that leans toward whoever paid for it gets attacked, and once it is attacked nobody can settle from it.
So I take these three ways, and the analysis is identical in all three: appointed by the court under Chapter 23A; engaged jointly by the co-owners, which is usually the cheapest and calmest route; or engaged by one side's attorney, with the others free to review and rebut. Whoever engages me becomes my client and USPAP confidentiality attaches to that relationship — so if the report needs to go to every co-owner, say so at the start and I will set the intended users accordingly.
Under §23A.006(b), if all cotenants agree on a value or on a method of valuation, the court adopts it. One appraisal everyone accepts can stop the valuation fight before it starts.
My credential is Texas Certified Residential: one-to-four unit residential property, and land whose highest and best use is one-to-four family residential — at any value and any complexity. Houses, townhomes, condominium units, duplexes through fourplexes, and residential lots across Tarrant, Parker, Johnson and Hood counties.
I do not appraise commercial property, apartment buildings of five units or more, or land valued for subdivision development, and I do not value business entities, partnership interests, or personal property. Where a co-tenancy holds any of those, it needs a differently credentialed appraiser or a business valuation analyst, and you will hear that in the first conversation rather than after you have paid for the wrong report.
The fee is quoted in writing before I begin and does not change with the value I conclude, with who ends up owning the property, or with how the matter resolves. Partial interest and co-ownership assignments start at $500 for a standard single-family home valued as of a current date, $600 where the effective date is retrospective, and $850 for a complex or luxury property. Court-appointed engagements under Chapter 23A are quoted the same way.
Typical turnaround is 5 to 7 business days from inspection; retrospective and two-date assignments take longer. To schedule I need the property address, the names of the co-owners, the effective date if one has been set, the cause number and court if a case has been filed, and interior access. If the co-owners are not speaking to each other, that is ordinary in this work — tell me and I will coordinate through the attorneys.
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It is a set fee quoted in writing before I begin, never a percentage of value. Partial interest and co-ownership assignments start at $500 for a standard single-family home valued as of a current date, $600 where the effective date is retrospective, and $850 for a complex or luxury property. The figure depends on the property, the number of effective dates, and whether testimony is contemplated. Nothing about it changes with the value I conclude.
I can tell you what the whole property is worth, which is the number your one-third is calculated from. Whether a discount for lack of control or lack of marketability then applies to your specific share depends on why you are asking, and quantifying that discount is business valuation work rather than real property appraisal. For a buyout or a partition sale the fee simple figure is usually what everyone works from. For a gift or estate filing, your CPA will tell you whether a discount analysis is needed.
Chapter 23A is the Uniform Partition of Heirs' Property Act. Section 23A.006(a) provides that the court determines fair market value by ordering an appraisal, unless all cotenants have agreed on a value or a method of valuation under subsection (b), or the court finds after an evidentiary hearing that the cost of an appraisal outweighs its evidentiary value under subsection (c). Where an appraisal is ordered, subsection (d) has the court appoint a disinterested real estate appraiser to determine value assuming sole ownership of the fee simple estate.
No, and you should be careful with an appraiser who does without the credentials behind it. Those discounts are business valuation questions with their own literature and their own evidence, and applying one inside a residential appraisal is a straightforward way to get the whole report excluded or discredited. I appraise the underlying real property and coordinate with the valuation analyst your CPA or attorney engages.
Yes, and it is usually the better outcome. One inspection, one fee split among you, and one report means there is no second number to argue about. My analysis is the same whether one co-owner or all of them engage me, because USPAP does not permit me to lean toward whoever is paying. If everyone needs to receive the report, say so at the start so I can name all of you as intended users.
Yes. Court appointment as the disinterested appraiser is a normal engagement for me, and it is quoted the same way as any other assignment. Send the cause number, the court, the property address, and the order or proposed order, and I will run a conflict check and confirm scope and fee before anything is entered.
Whatever date the matter requires. A current date for a buyout, the date of death where the interest was inherited, or a date set by the court or by agreement in a filed partition case. Where a co-owner is claiming credit for improvements they paid for, the question can need two effective dates so the change in value between them can be measured. Confirm the date with your attorney before ordering.
For a credible opinion I need to see the interior, because condition, layout, updates and deferred maintenance all affect value and I cannot responsibly assume them. Where access is genuinely refused, an appraisal can sometimes be developed using an extraordinary assumption about the interior, but that has to be disclosed in the report and it weakens the result. In a filed case, access is usually arranged through counsel or by order, and that is the better route.
Written fee quote, typically within one business hour. If a partition case has been filed, send the cause number and court and I will run a conflict check first.
Would rather not type it out? Call or text (817) 903-4509.