Expert Witness Matter Testimonial

Positive: Professionalism, Quality, Responsiveness, Value

I would like to add my experience with Eric Engstrom, which was nothing less than stellar.

In 2014 I was in the middle of a very contentious divorce that centered around the value of the family home. I wanted to buy my (now ex-) husband out of the house so my two high school aged daughters could continue to live in the house and finish out their high school years with the same kids they had been going to school with since kindergarten.

My ex-husband obtained an appraisal for the house that was about $200k over what the true value of the home was once you took into account all the major repairs that would have been needed to obtain anywhere close to the price my ex-husband wanted.

I work in the legal field and asked around if anyone knew a real estate appraiser that was qualified to give expert testimony in these types of cases. Eric Engstrom was the name that came up repeatedly. To make a long story short, I hired Mr. Engstrom to do a real estate appraisal on the home, and document with pictures and numbers the kinds of big ticket repairs that were currently needed (new roof, 20 yr old pool replaster, exterior dry rot on all the wood trim, back patio completely cracked due to a broken water pipe under the patio, etc ) that affected the value of the home.

Mr. Engstrom prepared a very detailed, lengthy appraisal. Since the current condition significantly brought down the value of the home, and my ex-husband was not happy with the number Mr. Engstrom concluded was the fair market value, we ended up in court.

Mr. Engstrom appeared in court on my behalf to explain and defend his appraisal. He was nothing short of the consummate professional and his qualifications as an expert RE Appraiser, General Contractor, and expert witness qualified to testify in CA courts completely blew the other sides TWO page appraisal based on ‘comps’ in the area (but not taking into account the current condition of the house in question) out of the water.

Needless to say, I was able to use Mr. Engstrom’s number to buy my ex out of his share of the house, and for that I will be forever grateful. I cannot stress enough how thorough and qualified and professional Eric Engstrom is. It is rare these days to have someone completely exceed your expectations in every way, and Eric Engstrom did just that. 

I cannot recommend him highly enough.

(Thank you Carol, for your kind review and words. Very appreciated.! )