Professional Development

2nd Year

James Kearns, SR/WA

Appraiser

(951) 780-7328

jkearns@surfcity.net

I am a real estate appraiser and a Senior Member of the IRWA. I have been appraising commercial and industrial properties since 1994 working primarily with clients in the valuation of damaged properties for litigation purposes and eminent domain. As an appraiser of damaged properties, I analyze whether there is an impact on market value resulting from detrimental conditions. I have worked on a wide variety of detrimental condition appraisals such as estimating if there is a loss of market value resulting from a murder in a high-rise, if contaminated groundwater affects residential property values, or if a loss of use or development potential due to an entitlement issue has an impact on market value, among many other interesting assignments.

I am now a second-year Professional Development Committee (PDC) member, charged with assisting and promoting candidates in their quest to earn the SR/WA designation. It is a pleasure working with Walt Evans and Stephi Villanueva in helping promote our future SR/WA’s.

As a committee member for the October 2007, First Annual IRWA Chapter 57 Golf Tournament at Eagle Glen Golf Course in Corona, our goal was to bring together the three greater Los Angeles IRWA chapters, headquarters, associated business professionals, and other professional organizations from the varied disciplines comprising the IRWA. The day began with an educational seminar about golf course valuation and a discussion of course environmental and engineering issues by Doug Main, MAI, CRE, the “guru of golf course valuation”. About noon, the tournament started. This was a “best-ball” event where everyone had fun and was competitive because each driven ball is placed where the best tee shot lands, and everyone hits from there. You need not be a good golfer to have a lot of fun using this format. After the tournament, an awards dinner was held, which was open to all, not just the players. Lots of people joined in the food and fun after the tournament.  I am very pleased to say that our Inaugural Golf Tournament was such a success, we are contemplating our First Annual Golf Tournament to be held in 2008.

In 2007, I was named Professional of the Year by IRWA Chapter 57, which was quite an honor.

I have been married for more than 30-years and have a son who recently graduated from University of California–Riverside, and is apprenticing in the appraisal profession in Los Angeles. My hobbies are woodworking and golf, neither of which I am very good at, but enjoy immensely.