But wouldn't you think the real estate appraisal experts hired by York County government and Peter Alecxih Jr. over the last four years would at least have been in the same ballpark when it came to appraising the 79-acre Highpoint property in Lower Windsor Township that was seized by the county?
I certainly would have thought so.
After all, they are professionals in their field. Professionals, who in every instance, hold professional designations and/or memberships in professional organizations and are certified by the states in which they work.
In every case, they have been doing their jobs as real estate appraisers for many years.
That said, I wouldn't expect to bring 10 different appraisers into York County, ask them all to study the Highpoint property, present an estimate as to its value at the time it was taken by eminent domain and have every estimate fall within a couple thousand dollars of the others.
It just wouldn't happen. Not even from professionals.
They are human beings, after all. So you might figure the difference between the low and high estimate to be, say, 10 percent. Maybe even 20 percent on a bad day.
But how in the world does one explain one appraisal for $2 million and another for $17.5 million for a 79-acre piece of property that has been variously described as "the most beautiful spot in York County," or "incomparable," or "a spectacular piece of property"?
And in between,
I don't know how to explain the disparity in those numbers. But I will say this: You could have turned the project over to 10 monkeys and not have come up with more of a numbers mess than we have with the Highpoint property.
And the trial isn't over yet. Goodness knows what other numbers will be thrown into the mix before the trial is concluded.
I don't get it. You have 79 acres with a perfect view sitting up on a hill. It's been there for 20 million years, and it's never moved. Not an inch.
And the only thing that's been done that might add some confusion to the situation is that two lots (out of 51) were sold before condemnation for nearly $1 million, Alecxih had made improvements on the land and had subdivided it for luxury homes, had arranged for public water and sewer at the site, had obtained all the permits necessary to begin working on the development and had received final approval for the development.
Factor all that in however you wish, but it would seem to add value to the property, not detract from it.
So what I'm suggesting is that appraising the value of the land is a matter of taking the stagnant piece of property and comparing it against the known value (market
value) of other similar pieces of land in York County and beyond.
And the bottom line is that Highpoint's value (by law) should be equal to its worth at its highest and best use.
Now I'm no authority on land development and such, but it seems to me that a bunch of experts using known appraisal standards should be able to agree with each other on the value of 79 acres to within $500,000 or so, at least.
Brain surgery? Of course not.
Which is precisely why $2 million compared to $17.5 million is just ridiculous.
Six million dollars versus $16.5 million is embarrassing.
Seven and a half million dollars against $10.5 million is ... well, an inch is as good as a mile, I guess.
Imagine having 10 doctors examining the same dying patient and coming back with 10 diagnoses ranging from an ingrown toenail to a brain tumor, and in between there's a bellyache, a knee sprain, a nosebleed, a sore throat, an enlarged heart, a bad hip joint, tennis elbow and an unreliable bladder.
How does one explain such disparity without laughing?
When it's no laughing matter.
Columns by Larry A. Hicks, Dispatch columnist, run Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. E-mail: lhicks@yorkdis patch.com.
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