Berndt Appraisals Inc

The best recommend to all my friends
May 10th, 2018

If a thorough, knowledgeable appraiser is what is needed, then Michael Berndt is not the individual to use. For the sake of brevity on Google, here are (4) main points: (Please know that we have a litany of additional information backing up this one-star review, and anyone can reach out for further specifics.) 1.) He is primarily focused on getting the job done as fast as he can. From the first conversation, we could tell that he did not have specific knowledge of our market nor did he care to learn more. We had the gut feeling that his work is not any better than what a computer could have done from a distance for a lot less money - unfortunately, we were right. 2.) We live in an older home in a more historic and eclectic neighborhood that has been through three indoor and two outdoor phases of extensive renovations, so it is not as cut and dry as it would be with new construction. Michael spent very little time here, on the inside or out. He did not really want to have any discussion with us nor did he give credit for considerable upgrades that were made and should have been credited. Given the lack of time he spent here, some of these upgrades are not even noted. 3.) The comps he pulled and used prove that he is not familiar with our market or geography. He did admit in person on the day of the appraisal that he lacked market and geography knowledge for our area in metro Atlanta and sadly, he did not take the time to do the fair and minimal amount of research to get up to speed. This is all evident in his subpar "work" in the end. 4.) He lied on the day of the appraisal, saying he lived in Marietta. He does not - he lives in Woodstock. I wondered why he knew so little and now it is clear.
Dec 18th, 2017

Michael Berndt of Berndt Appraisals is completely incompetent and that is the nicest thing I can say about him. He appraised a LOFT unit in Buckhead inside a HIGH RISE that I was selling for $152,500 / 910 square feet / $168 a square foot at $135k. I live in a building with 122 standard units and 6 loft units. The loft units have 10 foot ceilings (vs. 8 feet in the standard), real HVAC (vs. wall units), bigger windows, bigger tubs/counters/bathrooms, and the HOA's are over $100 cheaper a month than the standard size units. My unit was one of two in the building with a back door and no one above you on the first floor. These lofts have sold for as much as $212,000 in the last 15 years. I have the nicest unit in the building currently for sale so a cookie cutter appraisal didn't work for this particular unit. No lofts this size in Buckhead are currently for sale under $239k. The standard units in my building are all asking over $185/sq ft. I will cover errors in the appraisal first and then back up my valuation afterwards. ERRORS: Using the appraiser's pick of comp 1 at 820 square feet, he gave me a $3,200 bonus for my square footage. If that unit is a comparable, and sold at $151.22/ft and I have 90 extra square ft, that adds $13,610 of value to my unit. He also gave NO CONSIDERATION that the unit he picked is a STANDARD one and mine is a LOFT. Using the appraiser's pick of comp 2 at 840 square feet, he gave me a $2,400 bonus for my square footage. If that unit is a comparable, and sold at $167.67/ft and I have 70 extra square ft, that adds $11,667 of value to my unit. He put stable under pricing. Units in this building have gone up over 425% in 5 years. A unit I bought for $28.5k in 2012 just sold for $121.5k. That is certainly increasing, not stable. He put demand/supply in balance. It's a seller's market, there is limited supply will be for quite a while since it takes about 18 months for a property to come out of the ground. I would put shortage. He put growth as stable. There are 4 cranes all within a mile of my building putting up brand new properties. I would put rapid. Some of the 1 bedroom units at Sobu Flats have 2 bathrooms. That is an anomaly and I should not get a $4,000 deduction for not having a 2nd bathroom in a one bedroom space. You can't expect to buy a one bedroom condo at 820 square feet and have two bathrooms. It's more of a bonus for them than a deduction for me. I am in an urban, not suburban area. The appraisal only has my unit at 900 square feet. This change ALONE ups his current appraisal to $136,500 using his methods and the proper square footage (910). VALUATION: Appraising a property is both a science, and an art. 1) I used price per square foot in my own building of the STANDARD units. I showed him 4 comps in the last year of over $178/ft and 3 in the last 6 months at over $200/ft. He ignored them. 2) I used two high rise buildings closer than the buildings he picked for comps. Both comps are over $249/ft. He ignored them. 3) I used two loft building closer than the buildings he picked for comps. Both comps are over $245/ft. He ignored them. 4) I even used the buildings he picked - one was NOT a high rise, older than my building, had no amenities and was farther away than the buildings I used. The 2nd building he picked is not a conversion and farther away than the buildings I used. I found 4 recent comps at $171 to $188 a square foot. He ignored them. I buy and sell ITP condos and have lived in Buckhead over 20 years. Michael works in Woodstock and really shouldn't be appraising Buckhead condos. I have spent around $500,000 cash to sell around $800,000 in property. I'm making almost 60% gross return and know exactly what each of my properties are worth. His appraisal cost me almost $20k and I have lost $40k over 8 properties total. He refused to consider the information I submitted, call or text me back. Every low appraisal I have received looks absolutely ridiculous in hindsight as the market blows right past their numbers.
Apr 7th, 2017