to come up with a sales price comparison approach to valuation.
As indicated in my email to the board on Monday,
Ridge Park is happy to submit the letter from Silverwood Designs
concerning the potentiality of buy-right uses and the costs used to determine the outsell
profitability of this project. Exhibit number 18 is our printout from the memorandum at the
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on the use of this consumer price index in real estate matters.
Exhibit number 19, these are the updated comparable sales that Ms. Ertz is going to
testify to today. As you can see, a comparison between Exhibit 19, which we submitted.
As you can see, a comparison between Exhibit 19, which we submitted on Sunday, with Exhibit 16 shows that many of the same properties are being referenced again.
And the particular new addition for comparable sales purposes is 6903 Petchen Street, which is pending right now, and Ms. Urchel testified to being a comparable property at a $625,000 price, as well as Lot 1 on Petchen, which is active and has a $879,900 comparable sale price.
And exhibit number 22 is a letter submitted by Ms. Ertz, and she is a licensed realtor with
Compass, which is a well-known regional and national real estate brokerage, and she has
extensive experience both in the Philadelphia market in general, as well as the Ridge Park,
Maniunk, Roxborough Markets in particular, and she has been a licensed agent since 2018.
So with that, I would like to call Ms. Ertz. May I offer objections to some of these exhibits,
Mr. Chairman? Why don't we let Ms. Ertz and you'll get a chance to summarize at the end,
is it okay? All right. Ms. Ertz, could you state your name,
please and spell for the court reporter? Chair, the only person that has their hand
raised is someone by the name of David Henderson. Oh, there she goes. He's the owner of the
property, I believe. Correct. Okay. Ms. Ertz, you're free to speak. Hi, Ms. Ertz, could you
state your name and spell for the court reporter, please? Ms. Ertz? I know she was on.
Okay. Do we see her hand raised? Yes. Oh, I have to promote her to panelists because her version
is a little outdated. Fine. Thank you. Okay. Hi, everybody. Can you hear me? Yes. Could you
state your name and spell for the court reporter, please? Yes. Christine Ertz, C-H-R-I-S-T-I-N-E,
last name E-R-T-Z. Right. Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing
but the truth? Yes. Could you raise your volume just a little bit? I can try to talk louder. My
apologies. No, that's okay. Fine. Counsel? Ms. Ertz, can you briefly describe your professional
background experience with the Ridge Park real estate market? Yes. I have been selling in this
area for a little over four years now. I've sold a total of about 60 homes and in this area alone
over 25 homes have been sold by me. So that being 60 homes in the Philadelphia market in total with
25 homes? Yes. In what zip codes Ms. Hertz? 19127 and 19128. And as part of your professional
experience as a licensed realtor, are you required to take any educational classes or
updated professional training? Yes, I actually have to take 14 hours of continuing education
every two years, but I also take additional education myself. I have two certificates,
accredited buyer's representation and EPRO. And are you familiar with
with how the fair market value for properties are set in the real estate market in Philadelphia?
Yes, we do that by using comparative sales.
Okay. Mr. Bergman, I'd like to move for the admission of Ms. Ertz as an expert real estate agent in the Philadelphia market and the Ridge Park area in particular.
I see Mr. DeMarco objecting.
Let me place an objection on the record, Mr. Chairman.
what this document and what her testimony from what the offer proof appears to be is she's going
to give an opinion of value of a property, namely our property. She is not an appraiser. I heard no
voir dire that she has qualified in any way to offer an opinion of value of a property. And what
she's purporting to do is present an appraisal to the board. She's not qualified in any way
to offer an appraisal. She's talking about comparative sales. She's got two comparative
sales in her report, and they're not comparative in any way. Neither are
the comparative sales that Mr. Toner has offered to the board. They're all radical.
the comparative sales that Mr. Toner has offered to the board. They're all radically different
properties. They're cherry picked to support the highest possible value. She has not looked
at comparable properties that sold for lesser value. She's also not an expert. She's a
protestant. This is not an independent report by someone who is unbiased, who did an actual
appraisal. So the board should not accept her testimony. She could testify to her experience
as a realtor, but not as an appraiser. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I can respond, Mr. Bergman.
Go ahead, Mr. Turner. Yes. While the rules of evidence are not directly applicable
to zoning hearings, I would note, even under a heightened burden at the Philadelphia Court
of Commons, Ms. Ertz would certainly qualify as a competent expert in the real estate industry
in Philadelphia. The standard under the Pennsylvania Rules of Evidence is, does a
expert's testimony provide opinions above that of a layperson that would help guide the finder
effect? Now, Mr. DeMarco is certainly able and it's appropriate for him to cross-examine her on
what comparable sales she used. All that will go to the weighted testimony. But whether Ms. Ertz
as a professional licensed realtor
with over four years of experience
in the Philadelphia market
and 25 sales in these two zip codes in particular,
she certainly has a professional basis
to assess the comparable sale analysis
for market value of property in this case.
So I would agree that she can't be an appraisal,
but I think what she can do is testify
to what she knows what things are selling for
and leave it at that.
That's where I'd like to be.
Okay, Mr. Turner, proceed.
Thank you, Mr. Bergman.
And if I could share my screen again.
Ms. Ertz, did you have a chance to review the zoning plans submitted by the applicant in this case?
I'm sorry, Mr. Turner, this is Tanya.
Ms. Ertz, can we get you to move a little closer?
It's a very low.
Thank you so kindly.
Sorry about that.
And did you have a chance to analyze the zoning plans for the number of bedrooms, the number of the square footage of each unit, and other considerations typically taken into a factor when a person is evaluating the comparable sale analysis for real estate in Philadelphia?
Yes. This appeared to be a four-bedroom, two-bath, two-half-bath, about 2,100-square-foot home, not including basement.
And did you have a chance to review the cost analysis provided by applicant and his assumed value of $516,222 for each one of these units?
Do you agree that the estimated fair market value for each unit is $516,000 or $522,000?
Objection based on my prior objection, Mr. Chairman.
Yeah, I think she should say what she knows about other properties.
I don't think she should meet appraisal, really.
mr bergman this this witness has testified that during the course of her duties as a professional
licensed realtor that she evaluates and comes up with the fair market value by running comparable
sale analysis well what i'm saying is she can talk about comparative sales analysis i just
don't think she could put a price on that what this house would be if you if not she should be
an appraiser and I don't see the appraisal. I want to direct your attention to what we've
marked as exhibit number 19. And this is the property at 325 Gate Street. Do you believe
this is a comparable sale to the property issue in this case? Yes. And why do you believe that?
It is a four-bedroom, two-bath home with one half-bath, about 2,500 square feet, which includes the basement.
So this bath is about, or excuse me, the home is about the same size. It has one less half-bath.
And what is the listed price, list price for 325 Gage Street?
$845,000 it closed at.
$845,000?
And when did it close?
It closed back in March.
of 2022? Yes. Moving to the second comparable sale included in exhibit number 19,
Of 2022?
420A Seville Street. Can you explain to the board why you believe 420A Seville Street is a comparable
sale? Now in this case, it has one less bedroom. So this is only a three bedroom, two and one half
bath with 2,200 square feet. So in this case, it's missing a bedroom. So it has one less
bedroom than the subject property, 6695 Pecheon Street. Correct. Due to the square footage,
it's a good comp though. And when did this property close? April of 2022. And what was
the settlement price? $625,000. So one less bedroom, or 420A Seville sells for $625,000.
Correct. How about 422B Seville Street? That's exactly the same as 420A,
one less bedroom, and sold in May of this year for $650,000.
moving to what was pre-marked as exhibit 20
can you explain to the board why you believe 6903 Petron Street is a comparable sale
square footage is very close as well beds and baths are the same missing one half bath
it is also a single family which will up its value just a slight amount
um but otherwise it's it's typically the same and it is not a new construction it is five years old
and what was the sale price for 6903 petron street objection there's no sale this is a pending
pending comp it's not a sale to be able to get through my testimony
i'm allowed to check the record this is not a cop
first of all mr toner have your witness yeah mr please i heard what mr demarco said
and i and i think what we should say just take note that that's what it's listed for
thank you well it's actually pending so it's under contract it's pending all right but it's
not only objective that's sale right okay all right okay miss ertz uh the property is 6903
patch in this list as being pending. What does pending mean? It is currently under contract.
Okay. So there's a binding contract between a buyer and seller for a particular sale price?
Objection. And what is that particular sale price?
We don't know the exact sale price, but this was listed at 625.
The price won't be made available to us for what it's under contract for until it closes.
okay and the last um comparable sale which is lot one pension can you explain to the board
why you believe this objection is not a comparable sale it's an active listing not a sale
oh just just change your wording of the question please thank you
Ms. Ertz, can you please explain why you believe the listing of lot one is comparable to what would be the listing, what you believe should be a listing price for the nine lots at issue?
This is a good comp to show what the recent new construction sale prices look like.
It's a four-bedroom house.
It does have four bathrooms with one half bath, and the square footage, 2,500 estimated,
most likely is going to include the basement in this case.
Ms. Ertz, in your duties as a licensed realtor, do you represent both buyers and sellers?
When you represent sellers, is part of your professional responsibility to assist in
the listing price or setting the listing price for real property? Yes. And what do you do
as a licensed realtor when you assist sellers in setting a listing price?
I generally pull comparative recent sales. I pull pending as well just to see what's currently
pending. And I also pull active just to look and see what's on the market. But I will base
a sales price off of things that have closed. And for the nine lots at 6695 Pension Street,
did you perform a similar analysis as though you were serving as a listing agent? Yes. And what did
you come up with as an appropriate listing price for each one of the nine units at 6695 Pension
Street? Since we can't be sure of the exact features and finishes of the house,
Since we can't be sure of the exact features and finishes of the house, I said the price would be approximately $625 to $675.
Object by prior objection, Mr. Chairman.
I understand his objection, Mr. Tone.
I mean, I think what you've done is you've showed a lot of places what the pending number is, what they sold for, and I think we should leave it at that.
moving on from the comparable sales did you have a chance to review
the market conditions within the ridge park neighborhood over the past five years yes
can you please identify the document which we've marked as exhibit 15
that's an mbs highway real estate report card this is accessible by many mortgage brokers
and that's where I got this one from. And can you explain to the board what this report card
summarizes? Basically, the most important thing that we're looking at here is the historical
appreciation. So if you look for the last five years, the appreciation was about 6.14 percent,
and there is forecasted appreciation as well. Is the consumer price index referenced anywhere in
this real estate report card? No. Have you ever seen the consumer price index used to set the
value of real estate? No. And were the opinions given today all given within a degree of reasonable
and professional certainty? Yes. I have no further questions for this witness. Thank you, Mr. Toner.
You have any questions, Mr. DeMarco?
Yes, Mr. Chairman, thank you.
Ms. Ertz, you agree that you are not an appraisal, right?
Appraiser.
Correct, I am not.
All right, and you agree that your report is not an appraisal, right?
It is not an appraisal.
I am not an appraiser, correct.
All right, thank you.
I want to go back to, I can share my own screen or I can, if Mr. Toner wants to put it back up,
Let's put that report card back up on the screen, please.
I can do it as well if you need me to.
Look at the top corner, Ms. Ertz.
What's the medium home price in the top corner of that document?
$342,000.
All right.
And that's for this area, right?
That's for this area, including all of the tiny little row homes.
Right.
And my client's estimate of value is almost $200,000 more than the medium home price,
isn't it?
yes and it's new construction all right and you're the five-year gain on the in the other
right hand corner is 77,717 dollars right right yet you your opinion of value that you purported
to make in a case like in this case is far more and exponentially greater than this document
isn't that right because i did not use this document to price the homes
but this document is in evidence submitted by your attorney it shows that the the properties
in this area appreciated by an average of 77 000 over five years do i read that right
objection mr bergman relevance their own document mr bergman okay okay this is for the entire market
as the witness just testified i i i i understand i think mr demarco let's move on i think you made
your point i made my point all right fair enough all right so let's let's talk about so you're a