Thirteen properties appraised by thirteen appraisers are thirteen separate opinions. One appraiser, one effective date, one method — and the properties can finally be compared against each other.
If you own thirteen rental houses and you order thirteen appraisals, you get thirteen reports written by different people, on different dates, using different comparable sets, with different judgements about condition and different adjustment rates. Each one may be perfectly credible on its own. Together they tell you almost nothing, because you cannot compare them against each other.
That matters the moment you need to do anything with the portfolio as a whole — divide it, sell part of it, borrow against it, report it, or argue about it. The question is rarely “what is this house worth.” It is “which of these is carrying the value, which is dragging, and what is the whole thing worth on one day.”
A portfolio engagement answers that, because every property is valued on the same effective date, by the same appraiser, using the same methodology and the same adjustment support, and reported in the same format. The internal comparisons hold up because the method behind them is identical.
Volume is just scheduling. What you are actually buying is that property seven and property eleven were valued the same way, so the difference between them means something.
Investors and rental operators — establishing current value across a holding for refinancing, disposition planning, insurance, or simply knowing where the equity sits.
Partnerships, LLCs and co-owners dissolving — when the entity holds several properties and the members are separating, every property needs a number and all of them need to be defensible together. This frequently runs alongside a partial interest question.
Estates holding multiple properties — a decedent who owned four rentals and a homestead needs a retrospective value on each as of the date of death, on one consistent basis, for the inventory and for basis under IRC § 1014. See date-of-death appraisals.
Property tax protests across a holding — owners protesting several properties in the same year want one appraiser whose approach the appraisal review board sees consistently applied. See tax protest appraisals.
Divorce where the marital estate includes rentals — the residence is rarely the only real property, and the rentals are usually where the disagreement actually is.
Bankruptcy, receivership and litigation — where a schedule of real property has to be valued as of one date and survive examination.
Up to about 50 properties, given roughly a month and two conditions that matter more than the count:
They need to be reasonably close together. Fifty houses inside Tarrant, Parker, Johnson and Hood counties is a month of work. Fifty houses scattered from Sherman to Waco is a different proposition and I will tell you so rather than accept it and miss the date.
I need to be able to get in. Occupied rentals are the usual constraint. If a portfolio is tenant-occupied, access has to be organised before the clock starts — notice to tenants, a point of contact per property, and realistic scheduling. That coordination is normally the longest part of the job, not the appraising.
Smaller portfolios are routine. Five to fifteen properties is the common size and fits comfortably inside standard turnaround.
Every portfolio has one — the one with no interior access, the one that is half-renovated, the one on acreage, the one nobody is sure about. That property sets the timeline, so it is the one worth discussing before anything is agreed.
I am a Texas Certified Residential appraiser. That covers one-to-four unit residential property and vacant or unimproved land whose highest and best use is one-to-four family residential, consistent with 22 TAC §153.8.
So a portfolio of single-family rentals, duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes is squarely inside it. A portfolio containing an apartment building of five units or more, or retail, office or industrial property, is not — those require a Certified General appraiser, and I will say so immediately rather than take the engagement and work out the problem later.
Mixed portfolios happen often. If yours holds both, the residential half is work I can do, and the two halves simply need two appraisers.
One engagement letter covering the whole schedule, with the properties, the effective date, the intended use and the intended users stated once.
A separate, complete appraisal report for each property, because that is what a lender, a court, an examiner or a buyer of any single property will need. They are not summaries or a spreadsheet of values.
A consistent effective date across the portfolio unless you need otherwise — for an estate, that will be the date of death; for a dissolution, usually the agreed valuation date.
One invoice, and one point of contact for scheduling rather than thirteen separate conversations.
A summary schedule listing every property and its value on one page, for your own use alongside the individual reports.
Fees are quoted per property and depend on what the properties actually are — a row of similar tract houses in one subdivision is not priced like fifteen scattered properties of varying age, size and condition. Volume is taken into account, because repeated work in one market is genuinely more efficient for me and that should show up in your number rather than mine.
The quote is fixed and in writing before I begin, and it is never contingent on the values reported, on a predetermined result, on the direction of value, or on anything that happens afterwards.
Send me the schedule of properties and the intended use and I will come back with a fee, a delivery date and an access plan — usually within one business day for a portfolio, rather than the business hour a single assignment gets.
A list of addresses is enough to start. More useful still:
The schedule — address, and if you have it, unit count, approximate size and whether it is occupied.
The intended use and intended users — who will rely on the reports, and for what. This decides the scope, and it is the one thing that cannot be changed afterwards without redoing the work.
The effective date you need, if it is not today. Retrospective portfolios are normal for estates and dissolutions and they take longer, so the earlier I know, the better the date I can promise.
Who controls access, and whether the properties are tenant-occupied.
Thirteen-property portfolio
“We asked Terrance to appraise 13 homes for our business, and he was excellent to work with from start to finish. He was quick to get the process moving, thorough in his work, highly communicative, and always punctual. His pricing was very fair and aligned with the high level of service he provided.”Jeffrey Heinz · Google review
Up to about 50, given roughly a month, provided they are reasonably close together and I can get access. Five to fifteen is the common size and fits inside standard turnaround. The constraint is rarely the appraising — it is scheduling access to occupied properties.
A separate, complete appraisal report for each property, plus a one-page summary schedule listing every property and its value. The individual reports are what a lender, court, examiner or buyer of any single property will need; the schedule is for your own use across the portfolio.
Not a building of five units or more — that requires a Certified General appraiser. A Texas Certified Residential credential covers one-to-four unit residential property and residential land, so single-family rentals, duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes are all inside it. Mixed portfolios are common and simply need two appraisers for the two halves.
Yes unless you need otherwise. A consistent effective date across the portfolio is most of the point — it is what makes the properties comparable to each other. For an estate the date is the date of death; for a partnership dissolution it is usually an agreed valuation date.
Per property, quoted in writing before any work begins, with volume taken into account. A row of similar houses in one subdivision is not priced like fifteen scattered properties of varying age and condition. The fee is never contingent on the values reported or on any later event.
It is the usual situation and it is manageable, but access has to be organised before the clock starts — notice to tenants, a point of contact for each property, and realistic scheduling. In practice that coordination is the longest part of a portfolio job.
Yes. Each property is valued as of the date of death on a consistent basis, for the probate inventory and for basis under IRC § 1014. Retrospective work takes longer than current-date work, so send the effective date early.
A list of addresses is enough to start. Portfolio quotes usually come back within one business day rather than the business hour a single assignment gets, because the scheduling has to be worked out before the date means anything.
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