7 Pa. Code § 138e.64 - Appraisal
(a) An offer to
purchase an easement shall be based upon one or more appraisal reports which
estimate the market value and the farmland value of the farmland tract, as
those terms are defined in §
138e.3 (relating to definitions).
The initial appraisal shall be at the county board's expense. This expense may
be reimbursed as a cost incident to easement purchase in accordance with
section 14.1(h)(6) of the act (3 P. S. §
914.1(h)(6)) and §
138e.68 (relating to statement of
costs).
(b) An appraisal of market
value and farmland value shall be based on an analysis of comparable sales, and
shall be conducted in accordance with standards in the most recent edition of
the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice,
published by the Appraisal Standards Board of the Appraisal Foundation. If an
appraiser cannot practicably conduct an appraisal based on an analysis of
comparable sales, the appraiser may conduct an appraisal using another
methodology only if that methodology is an acceptable methodology under the
Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice and the
appraisal report clearly describes the information considered, the appraisal
procedures followed and the reasoning that supports the analyses, opinions and
conclusions.
(c) The value of a
building or other improvement on the farmland tract will not be considered in
determining the easement value.
(d)
The appraiser shall be a State-certified general real estate appraiser who is
qualified to appraise a property for easement purchase. An appraiser shall be
selected by a county board on the basis of experience, expertise and
professional qualifications.
(e)
The appraiser shall supply a minimum of three copies of a narrative report
which contains the following information and is in the following format:
(1)
Introduction.
(i) A letter of transmittal.
(ii) The appraiser's certificate of value as
to market value, farmland value and easement value.
(iii) A table of contents.
(iv) A summary of salient facts and
conclusions.
(v) The purpose of the
appraisal.
(vi) The definitions,
including definitions of market value, farmland value and easement
value.
(2)
Description of property.
(i)
A brief area of neighborhood description.
(ii) A description of appraised property.
(A) A legal description.
(B) Property data and zoning.
(C) A brief description of
improvements.
(D) Color photos of
subject property's fields and improvements.
(E) Tax map or official map used for tax
assessment purposes showing the subject property and its relationship to
neighboring properties.
(F) A
legible sketch or aerial photograph of subject property showing boundaries,
roads, driveways, building locations, rights of way and land use.
(G) A location map showing the location of
the subject farmland tract in a county or municipality.
(H) Soils map showing property
boundaries.
(3)
Analyses and conclusions.
(i) An analysis of highest and best
use.
(ii) The valuation
methodology: market value.
(A) Comparable
sales data.
(B) An adjustment
grid.
(C) A locational map of
comparable sales showing the location of the subject farmland tract with
respect to the comparables. A single locational map shall be submitted with
respect to each county from which comparable sales are drawn.
(iii) The market value
estimate.
(iv) The valuation
methodology: farmland value.
(A) Comparable
sales data.
(B) An adjustment
grid.
(C) A locational map of
comparable sales showing the location of the subject farmland tract with
respect to the comparables. A single locational map shall be submitted with
respect to each county from which comparable sales are drawn.
(v) A farmland value
estimate.
(vi) The easement
value.
(vii) An appendix containing
a brief statement of the appraiser's professional qualifications and a copy of
the appraiser's current certification issued in accordance with the Real Estate
Appraisers Certification Act (63 P. S. §
§
457.1-457.19).
(f) The appraiser shall supply information
concerning comparable sales as follows:
(1)
At least three comparable sales shall be used for estimating market value and
at least three comparable sales shall be used for estimating farmland value in
an appraisal. If the appraiser cannot obtain sufficient comparable sales data
within the same county as the subject farmland tract, the appraiser may use
comparable sales from other counties, with the approval of the county board.
The use of comparable sales which require adjustment of 50% or more is
permitted only with the approval of the county board.
(2) Pertinent data for each comparable sale
used in the preparation of the appraisal shall be stated in the appraisal
report, including the date of sale, the purchase price, zoning, road frontage
in feet (for determining market value) and soil mapping units (for determining
farmland value). The appraisal shall include an analysis comparing the
pertinent data for each comparable sale to the subject farmland tract. This
analysis shall be in the form of a narrative statement of the information
considered and the reasoning that supports the analyses, opinions and
conclusions, and an adjustment grid assigning, when practicable and within the
Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice referenced in subsection
(b), approximate dollar values to adjustment shown on the adjustment
grid.
(3) The location of each
market value comparable sale used in the appraisal report shall be shown
accurately on a comparable sales map depicting the entire county in which the
comparable sale is located, and shall be sufficiently identified and described
so it may be located easily. If the comparable sales map depicts the county in
which the property that is the subject of the appraisal is located, that
property shall also be sufficiently identified and described so it may be
located easily.
(4) The location of
each farmland value comparable sale used in the appraisal report shall be shown
accurately on a comparable sales map depicting the entire county in which the
comparable sale is located, and shall be sufficiently identified and described
so it may be located easily. If the comparable sales map depicts the county in
which the property that is the subject of the appraisal is located, that
property shall also be sufficiently identified and described so it may be
located easily. If a farmland value comparable sales map and a market value
comparable sales map would depict the same county, they may be combined in a
single map.
(5) For comparable
sales used to estimate the farmland value, the appraiser may use sales of land
that are confined to agricultural use because of agricultural conservation
easements or other legal restrictions or physical impairments that make the
land valuable only for agricultural use. Comparable sales shall be in primarily
agricultural use. Data may also be gathered from farm real estate markets when
farms have no apparent developmental value.
(6) The appraiser shall set forth the reasons
the farmland comparable sales are confined primarily to agricultural use.
Examples of these reasons include:
(i) The
farmland tract has public or private land use restrictions.
(ii) The farmland tract is within a flood
plain or a wetland (in whole or in part).
(iii) The farmland tract is landlocked,
subject to additional easements, subject to restrictive zoning or has other
physical attributes which limit its developmental capability.
(7) The appraiser shall provide at
least one original and two copies of each report to the county board. The
original of each report and all copies shall be bound with rigid
covers.
(8) The appraisal shall
include the entire acreage offered for easement sale. If, following completion
of the appraisal, acreage is added to or deleted from the proposed easement
sale for any reason, the appraisal shall be revised accordingly or the
appraiser shall agree in writing to the use of a per acre value to account for
the change in easement value resulting from such a change in acreage.
(9) If acreage is voluntarily withheld from
the easement sale by the landowner through subdivision accomplished in
accordance with the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, the appraiser
shall, in making the estimate of agricultural conservation easement value, take
into account any increase in the value of the subdivided acreage because of the
placement of the easement on the remaining farmland.
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