Valuationsbuilttosurvivethe courtroom.
Narrative appraisal reports built for probate court, the IRS, and opposing counsel, serving Vancouver and Southwest Washington. Not lending forms.
Working with attorneys, CPAs, and fiduciaries across Washington since 2015.
Appraising real property since
Serving Washington State since
Testimony & deposition appearances
Business days typical turnaround
Why This Practice
Built to be defended
Lender-form appraisal shop
- Standardized form, written for underwriters
- Adjustments asserted, not explained
- Prepared by whoever is available; defended by no one
- Turnaround pressure leaves no room for analysis
- Falls apart under cross-examination
Harper Certified Appraisals
- Narrative report: methodology stated, data documented, reasoning on the page
- Comparable selection explained, including what was rejected and why
- The appraiser who signs the report is the appraiser who defends it, with 100+ appearances
- Retrospective effective dates are routine, not exceptional
- Written for the reader looking for the weak point: an opposing expert, an examiner, a judge
Independence, stated plainly
The fee is never contingent on the value reached, whether the engagement comes from one party, both parties jointly, or the court. It's what makes the report usable in negotiation and admissible at trial.
Candor before the number
If the facts don't support the outcome a client is hoping for, you'll hear it from me before you hear it from the other side. That conversation is uncomfortable exactly once.
Confidentiality as an obligation
Assignment results are confidential to the client and the parties named in the engagement agreement, consistent with the USPAP Ethics Rule. Not a marketing promise but a condition of holding the license.
Purpose-Built Valuations
Built for assignments where the number will be challenged
Divorce & Dissolution
Independent valuation for equitable distribution, prepared for use in mediation, settlement, or trial. The role does not change with the source of the engagement. Neither does the analysis.
Date of Death & Step-Up Basis
Retrospective valuation as of a date of death, establishing the stepped-up tax basis for heirs, answered while the answer is still readily supportable.
Estate Settlement
Valuation for probate, distribution, and fiduciary accounting, prepared for the court, the fiduciary’s file, and the beneficiaries who will read it.
Litigation Support & Testimony
Valuation, review of opposing reports, and expert testimony. Work product is developed on the assumption it will be produced in discovery and defended under oath.
Inheritance & Gift Reporting
Reports prepared to meet the documentation standards for federal gift and estate tax reporting: Form 709, Form 706, and charitable contribution substantiation.
Retrospective & Historical Valuation
What a property was worth on a date that has already passed, for tax appeals, bankruptcy, insurance disputes, and basis substantiation.
How It Works
A transparent path to a defensible number
Consultation
We discuss the property, the intended use, the effective date, and the deadline. This determines the appropriate scope of work. Occasionally it reveals that an appraisal isn't what you actually need.
Engagement
You receive a written agreement stating scope, fee, and delivery timeline. The fee is flat and is never contingent on the value reached. No work begins without a signed agreement.
Inspection & research
Interior and exterior inspection where access permits, typically 30 to 60 minutes. Market data is then gathered, verified, and analyzed, with comparable selection documented, including exclusions.
Report
A narrative report with stated methodology, supporting data, and a reconciled conclusion, delivered in 5–7 business days (2–3 expedited). PDF delivery; hard copy on request.
Support
Questions from you, your client, opposing counsel, or the court are part of the engagement. Testimony is available and is billed separately at a rate stated in the agreement.
Methodology
The sales comparison approach carries most residential assignments: recent sales of comparable properties, adjusted for differences in size, condition, features, and location, with each adjustment supported rather than asserted. The cost and income approaches are developed where the property type or intended use calls for them. Reconciliation weighs the approaches explicitly rather than averaging them.
For Referring Professionals
Built for the people who carry the exposure
For Attorneys
You need an expert who doesn’t become the problem. The value of an appraisal in litigation is only partly the number. The rest is whether the person who produced it can explain the methodology clearly, hold up under cross, and avoid handing opposing counsel an opening.
- Scope settled in writing before work begins: effective date, property rights, intended use, assumptions
- Narrative format a judge can follow and an opposing expert has to engage with
- Candid assessment early enough to be useful
- Deposition and trial availability communicated when the engagement is set
- Review services for the other side's report, engaged on its own
Dissolution · probate & estate · partition · quiet title · judgment liens · condemnation · boundary & easement · construction defect · insurance & damage claims
Discuss a matter: include caption, jurisdiction & deadlineFor CPAs, Fiduciaries & Trust Officers
Documentation your file can carry. A valuation that states a number without showing its support creates exposure: for the filing, and for the professional who relied on it. Reports identify the effective date and the reason for it, and reconcile the approaches in a way an examiner can follow without a second call.
- Form 706 estate tax filings and stepped-up basis substantiation
- Form 709 gift tax reporting
- Trust funding, decanting, and termination
- Charitable contribution substantiation for donated real property
- Annual valuations for fiduciary accounting
Direct coordination with your office, delivery in the format your file requires, and availability for examiner questions after delivery.
Request a fee quoteThe Practice
The assignments most offices treat as overflow
Harper Certified Appraisals was founded in 2015 around a specific kind of work. Jerin Harper entered the profession in 2009 and was licensed in 2012. What became clear early was that estate, dissolution, and litigation assignments were being handled with tools built for a different purpose: lender forms, standardized formats, and turnaround pressure that leaves no room for the analysis these matters actually require.
A form can report a number. It can’t explain why the number is right, and in a courtroom or an examiner’s office that explanation is the entire product. The practice was built the other way around: reports are narrative, methodology is stated, and the appraiser who signs the report is the one who defends it.
The other half of this work is less technical. A dissolution or an estate is rarely anyone’s best month. The process here is built to require as little of your attention as the assignment allows: clear scope, a flat fee stated up front, and a report that answers the question without generating three more.
On the record
- Washington State Certified Real Estate Appraiser · License #1703044
- Appraising since 2009 · Licensed 2012 · Firm founded 2015
- Over 100 testimony and deposition appearances in Washington courts
- Reports prepared in narrative format for probate, dissolution, and civil litigation
Attorneys don’t select experts on the strength of anonymous praise. They select on credential, format, and testimony history. Every line above is verifiable.
Where We Work
The Vancouver office serves Clark County and Southwest Washington
The Spokane office serves Spokane County and the surrounding region. Assignments elsewhere in Washington are accepted by arrangement. If a matter isn’t a fit, we’ll usually know someone.
Clark County & Southwest Washington
Spokane County & Eastern Washington
Common Questions
Before you engage
Clark County and Southwest Washington from the Vancouver office, and Spokane County and Eastern Washington from Spokane. Assignments elsewhere in the state are accepted by arrangement. If you're outside these areas, call. If it isn't a fit, we'll usually know someone.
Start Your Assignment
Need a number that will hold up?
Tell us about the assignment. You’ll receive scope and pricing in writing, usually the same business day.